Cherry Rhubarb Jam

Sweet cherries have enough pectin in them to make a jam set. The problem with sweet cherry jam is once you add all of that sugar it is overly sweet. This is why I have decided to try it with rhubarb to tart it up a bit! As it cooked it still seemed a bit too sweet so I added some lemon juice. Lemons are not very local for Ontario but it did improve the batch. The next time I will increase the ammount of rhubarb to about 50-50 with the cherries and see how that goes. For now it was tasty jam but a bit on the sweet side. I will probably be excellent between chocolate cake layers.

Cherry Rhubarb Jam with No Added Pectin

9 cups sweet cherries
3 cups rhubarb
8 cups fair trade evaporated cane juice (or granular sugar)
OR 6 cups honey
Juice of 2 lemons

Mash the fruit into a pot with a thick bottom and add the sugar. Heat to boiling over medium heat stirring occasionally. Allow the jam to simmer for about 30 min until it starts to thicken. At this point test for set. If it is not set keep re-testing every 5 minutes until the jam has a loose set. Ladle the jam into sterile jars and put on the lids. Place jars into boiling water bath with the jars submerged by about 1cm in the water. Bring to a boil and set the timer for 5 min. for 250 mL jars, 10 min for 500 mL jars. When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and let it cool about 20 min before removing the jars. Enjoy!

Cherries, cherries, cherries

Today is all about cherries! I have another box coming today from a local organic grower so I will be canning and drying for the winter. I try to can 52 jars of everything that I make. This gives us one per week for a year. Here is how I go about it. Canning cherries is very easy. You can pit the cherries or you don't have to. If you are canning for toddlers or the elderly I recommend pitting.

I wash the cherries and pack them raw into clean jars. I don't worry about sterilizing jars that are going to be in the canner for 20 minutes or more. I usually use 500 mL jars. If you have a large family and want to use 1L jars, just increase the time in the boiling water bath by about 10 min.


I then prepare a very light syrup of 5 parts water to 1 part evaporated organic cane syrup OR 3/4 cups local honey. Bring this to the boil. Pour over the cherries in the jar leaving about an generous inch or 3cm of space at the top. Put on the lids and place the jars in the canner. Fill with water so that the lids are covered with about 1 cm of water. Bring to a good rolling boil and set your timer for 20 mins. Turn the pot off when the timer goes and let it cool for about 20 minutes before removing the jars. Check the jars for a seal and store until you are ready to enjoy them. I love these on top of a bit of yoghurt for breakfast!











In addition to canning, I dry cherries to enjoy as a snack or make fruit cake out of. I love Christmas fruit cake when it is made with real dried fruit and not the awful candied stuff!














And a final note on the 'use everything' front. I take all of the pits that I have removed from the cherries and wash and dry them well. The clean dried pits can then be sewn into a 'magic bag' for those sore muscles or to warm your bed on a cold winter night. They also make an excellent low cost homemade gift!

Very old fashioned strawberry jam

I have not been keeping up with this at all but have decided I need to turn over a new leaf. I'm starting with a strawberry leaf. :-) Strawberry season is almost over here so after freezing 70 medium freezer bags of berries I decided it is time to do jam. I should explain that I try to eat local foods as much as possible. A few years back, I read a story in the local paper about peach trees being ripped out on the Nigara Penninsula. There are no commercial canneries left in Canada that I am aware of which means that all of our canned peaches, etc. come from overseas. I find this unacceptable so I decided to do something about it. By October, I will have a year's supply of local (mostly organic) food squirreled away in my coldroom and two freezers. This is my fourth year of this mission and it gets a bit bigger each year.

Back to strawberry jam. I have had many people ask me how to make strawberry jam using no commercial pectin. All jams were originally made this way but these days people have become dependant on the pectin purchased in grocery stores. I don't like to use these products because I am nervouus about the pesticide content in a product often made from citrus skins.

Here is a very simple recipie for strawberry jam. It works for raspberries as well.
The product is usually a bit runnier than the store bought kind but much tastier! If you want a thicker jam, you can add the juice of one lemon or a couple of teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to increase the acidity as well as cook the jam a bit longer. The longer you cook the jam, the more carmalized it will become.

9 cups of ripe hulled strawberries
3 cups of hulled unripe (white to pink coloured) berries
8 cups of organic evaporated cane juice
OR 6 cups of local honey (for true 100 milers)

Place the berries in a pot with a thick base and crush with a potato masher. Add the sugar. Cook on medium low until the mixture comes to a boil. Let the mixture simmer for about 15 minutes stirring regularly. Skim the foam off the top of the pot
as needed. At 15 minutes test the jam for set using the method of choice. I usually put a small plate in the freezer for 10 minutes. Draw a streak through a bit of jam placed on the plate and tip the plate sideways. The jam should not run into the streak.

Place the hot jam into sterile jars. I sterilize mine in the dishwasher with the Sani wash and rinse cycle on. Put the lids on and place in a hot water bath. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Enjoy your jam all year!

Handsupn Hat and Scarf

I have been having too much fun spinning this winter. I carded up three different blue dyed wools I had and added some dyed purple mohair locks while I spun. I ended up with some really funky and fun singles that I loved the colour of.

I made them into a tam and scarf for my neice. Here is my lovely model June showing them off.

Sharon's Bag

Here is my most recent felted bag. I made this one for my friend Sharon who has moved away to France. I miss her terribly. It is so special to have a good friend that lives just a few houses away. We were always dropping in on each other for tea or picking up something at the store for each other. Our kids enjoyed each other's company as well. If I can get the money I'll have to go see her in France. In thie mean time this one's for you Sharon.

A Pile of Foof

Here is one German angora worth of carded fiber. The whole pile weighs about 4 oz and is softer than you can imagine. If you open your hand and close your eyes I can place a large piece in your hand and you won't even know it is there. Totally wonderful! Do I ever love my bunnies.

Baby Shower

Here is a recent project I made for a neighbour's baby shower. It used up a bunch of odds and ends I had in my basket. I like the top four colours on the hat together. They remind me of mountains and sky. I think that I will make my next landscape knitting project with this as a theme.