My good friend, Shari, loving calls me "Susie Homemaker" anytime I do something domestic...like make supper...from scratch. She shakes her head at me when I bake bread. Yesterday I found strawberries for $1/pound at ALDI's, so I made freezer jam. She's starting to make me feel like something of an oddity. Many women I know don't cook or bake anymore. They don't follow recipes. They don't dream of meal plans. They order take-out. And though I must admit it would be wonderful to afford to eat out more frequently, I'm often disappointed when I do. I find myself thinking, "I could have made this at home...for less...and it would have tasted better!" Now, this isn't as much a testament to my cooking (I'm not that great!) but more indicative of the quality of restaurant we can afford. :) Trust me, McDonald's is not that fabulous!
Making jam with Abbie took me back in time. When I was about her age, I got to "help" Aunt Frieda make orange marmalade. Aunt Frieda wasn't my aunt, she was a missionary "mom", but back then we called adults "Uncle & Aunt" instead of "Mr. & Mrs.". I'm not sure how much help Sarah, her daughter, and I were. She probably suggested we go play so she could work in peace. I still can't believe she cooked jam...in the Amazon...with 100% humidity & NO air conditioning! I loved watching her make it. I loved being the taste-tester. I loved playing with the extra jam, adding color to our hearts content until it turned a lovely shade of grayish-brown. I never heard of freezer jam until I stayed with Phil's family. My mother-in-law was the one who introduced me to freezer jam and strawberry pie and zwieback. It's so quick & easy to make...the challenge is finding cheap or free fruit to make it worth the cost. But when you do, it is definitely worth it.
2 comments:
Strawberry freezer jam is the best! My mom made it all the time when I was young and when we lived in Oregon, I would go pick strawberries and make it myself. It's really not that difficult either, I was surprised! So good on toast!
Oh... how I love strawberry freezer jam and Aldi's. My grandma use to make it every summer. I don't have the recipe, so if you could post yours, or email it to me, I could have some yummy jam. Do you think you could make it with Splenda? I am sort of cutting out sugar.
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