One of my favorite things to do for my girls is make their school lunches. I don't usually do anything super special, but I do like to make their food fun and healthy. Last Summer while on my crusade to learn more about urban homesteading, I picked up a book by Ashley English at the library. It was called, Canning and Preserving. They say you should never judge a book by it's cover, but there was a slight vintage-y feel to this one and I thought that maybe I'd be interested in, well, canning and preserving. The book had obviously been checked out dozens of times. I could tell by the dog eared recipes and random food stains left on the pages from the canning process. I was lucky to have been able to stumble upon this gem!
I also picked up a book titled, The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving.
I liked the term "small-batch" because it sounded less threatening. Like if I totally messed up a recipe I wouldn't end up with a pantry full of peach bourbon jam that had too much of a "bourbon" taste and not enough peach. Unfortunately, this had actually happened... But I digress...
Strawberry season was coming to an end and my first recipe to try by Ashley English was her Strawberry and Vanilla Sauce. It turned out so amazing and we had so many uses for it! We ate it with waffles, ice cream, crepes, bread and brie. Not at all overpowering and so simple and easy to make! It was this recipe alone that gave me the boost to learn how to can faster and more efficiently and to try fun new recipes.
Which brings me to the Peach Bourbon Jam debacle... It wasn't the recipe, it was ME and my choice of improper ingredients. We had an overstock of Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum and I figured that I could use that in my recipe instead. Boy was I wrong! Yep, I used rum for bourbon and it single handedly ruined the recipe. It all smelled so good during the process, but when I actually got to taste it... The rum taste was so overwhelming. You couldn't taste any of our beautiful farmer's market peaches. I was so disappointed.
But I didn't give up! I started off simple again and successfully canned applesauce, apple butter and strawberry jam. The strawberry jam was an interesting process. It was a recipe that came from the Small-Batch Preserving book called Favorite Strawberry Jam. I had photocopied the recipe because the process of making it was so unique. Basically it involves letting the strawberries and sugar stand for long periods of time while allowing shorter cooking times. The first time I made it I think I overcooked it because what I ended up with was equivalent to a large fruit snack in the shape of a half-pint canning jar. I sliced it into pieces and the kids ate 'em up!
The second time I made it, it turned out the way it was supposed to and I have to say that it truly is my favorite strawberry jam recipe. The picture up top is the end of the very last jar of our Favorite Strawberry Jam. I made the girls a couple of heart shaped PB&J sandwiches for their lunch boxes tomorrow and I know they will enjoy them! I can't wait to make more this Summer!
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