the other day our neighbors sent their kids over bearing baskets of strawberries. apparently they had too many and they were going bad, so they decided to share. well i'm not gonna say no to strawberries.
and they were awesome. more perfectly red strawberries you will never find at the grocery store--not a hint of white in the middle or anything. two baskets were used up immediately with some strawberry shortcake. i don't do that nasty twinkie cake thing with cool whip (shudder). i make big sweet biscuits and whip up some cream from scratch. no pictures because it was inhaled by the family pretty much as soon as it was done.
the other four baskets were getting rank pretty quick, so i decided to make preserves.
i'm not a huge fan of jellies and preserves personally, but my husband goes through jelly like donald trump goes through bad hairpieces. i figured some extra wouldn't go amiss, and i love making things out of stuff i got for free. i do actually like strawberry preserves despite my general apathy, especially when it's slightly tart. so i stopped by our local farmers market to get a few stalks of rhubarb. i can't honestly say i know what the point of that plant is other than helping make preserves--it's absolutely vile uncooked. but paired with strawberries it's DELISH.
this was my first easy preserves-making experience, because instead of just winging it and hoping that hours of boiling would make it jell, i actually bought pectin. like 20 minutes later i had six jars of the yummiest jam ever, and some leftovers in a bowl. i went to church, and when i came home my husband guiltily admitted that he and my two older boys sat down with hot tea and some spoons and ATE THE WHOLE BOWL. man, russians are weird.
also, this week i have a weird to-do list and felt like sharing.
lastly, i leave you with this: i cut these blossoms off a tree outside, and it's been smelling up my house since saturday. it looks nice with the afternoon sun shining through it i think. is it weird that mason jars are one of my favorite things ever?
3 comments:
i know a certain man whose name starts with a Z who has been going through jelly like there is no tomorrow. share your recipe! he would die if he came home to homemade jelly. especially strawberry...it's his favorite!
and those flowers are beautiful. every time i go outside lately i can smell the honeysuckle and orange blossoms. i LOVE this time of year.
and lastly, if i wasn't pregnant i'd help you come paint! what color?
homemade strawberry jelly?! i agree with rachel, you should share the recipe.
and it's not weird that you love mason jars, i do too. i have way too many at my house leftover from my wedding. beautiful flowers.
the recipe is actually right inside the box of pectin. at publix they usually have a small section with mason jars and lids, and they usually have the pectin right there. just don't get the low-sugar kind.
as for the painting, i'm not changing the color. i just need to patch some holes and cover that big white square behind the bookshelf that the previous owners forgot to paint. i'm gonna paint my kitchen yellow soon, though.
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