mama urchin

It’s been all food, all the time around here recently hasn’t it? I’ve been busy putting by the summer’s bounty for this winter. Last year we ran out of lots of things — raspberry jam and applesauce particularly — before the cold season had really set in and I realized some of the problem was I had no idea how much I canned each year or how much we used either. I knew I needed a system and asked around a bit but most people either don’t have a system or use a journal of one kind or another. Well, rather than putting pencil to paper I decided to keep an online canning record. It’s nothing much at this point but I know some of you — Melissa — are interested in knowing what I’m making and others — my family mostly — are interested in knowing what they should take from my pantry when I’m not looking.

We give jam to our friends every Christmas and they always say how much they enjoy it. And making jam is really easy. We can other things too — salsa, barbecue sauce, pickles, relish…. — but jam is really so simple. It’s something my mother did and something I’ve done since before I was married, before it was back in fashion. If you haven’t ever tried putting by some jam I really encourage you to try it. I have to warn you though, you will never want store-bought jam again.