...or not.
Here's the thing. When I know I get to share my trials and tribulations with our fair readers on a Sunday, meaning the day after my usual Saturday post, I plan ahead. Basically make sure We stay in on the Saturday night or if we go to someone's house I make something to bring.
But this Sunday just snuck up on me, in point of fact so did this Saturday (note the obnoxiously late post time) and I wasn't prepared. It didn't help that after an afternoon of picking beans and raspberries we stopped for a cold beer, a ton of wings and baseball (my ideal summer afternoon). It wasn't until we finished that we realized it was 4pm and we had a trunk of fresh produce, including uber perishable raspberries.
We hurried home with our bounty and I got to preserving it all, pickling beans, freezing them, making jam etc. About an hour or so in, when I realized I should get on dinner but realized neither of us were hungry after the ridiculous amount of wings we consumed. Note to self next time we go to pick fruits and veggies eat beforehand because the hunger you develop and the amount you are able to consume after picking on an empty belly is Guinness World record worthy.
So, did we eat raspberry jam for dinner last night? No. But it's what I made and actually it's good enough to eat anytime. Not too sweet so that it will pair well with a cheese tray or if you're a sweet & Savoury person like me goes ridiculously well on an egg sandwich at breakfast, lunch or dinner. So while we skipped dinner, I am confident that this jam will be making it's way into one of our dinners in the near future.
Raspberry Jam
makes 6 half-pint jars
3 lbs raspberries - gently washed
3 cups granulated sugar
1 lemon - zest peeled off in long pieces with a vegetable peeler and juiced
2 cinnamon sticks
1. Place a hot water canner on the stove and start to bring the water to a boil. Place the empty jars in the water and the snap lids in a heat proof bowl. 2. Place the berries, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and cinnamon sticks into a heavy-bottomed 8 quart pot. Cook over medium heat until the mixture begins to simmer. 3. Simmer, stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes. At this point you can test if the jam has gelled by placing a bit on a plate from the freezer and returning it to the freezer for 1 minute. If it is too the consistency you like it's done. Note since there is no added pectin it tends to be a looser jam, but that's what I prefer.4. Remove the jars from the canner and ladle a bit of the boiling water over the lids. Carefully fill the jars to 1/4" from the top. Wipe with a damp paper towel. Drain the water from the lids and top each jar with snap lids and rings, turning until finger tight. Place in the hot water canner and process for 5 minutes. Remove to a folded towel and let sit for 12 hours. If any of the lids don't pop place in the fridge and use with in a month.
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