Bushel (or two) of Fun

A is for apple - at least that's what they teach in Preschool.  And it's apple season.  Gala apples are my favorite, but for this particular job, Granny Smith was our gal.  My friend, Sara, makes and cans apple pie filling every year.  This year I decided to give it a try.  And if you remember from my corny post I don't usually do these things alone.  My sister and my parents are forced love helping out! 

We used mostly Granny Smith, but mixed in a few Courtlands, or were they Fuji, or maybe they were Jonagolds.  Heck, I can't remember what they were! 

First we washed and peeled all the apples.

 Look how cute these naked little apples are...

Kerry sliced, diced and chopped.  Doesn't she look a little too happy to have a knife in her hand?  And the one that's she's holding is not even the big one!

Then we shoved as many apples as we could into the quart sized jars.

I didn't get a picture of the "filling" mixture, but here we are (and by we I mean everyone but me) pouring the filling over the apples.

I think we might have overstuffed our jars...but we're learning! We then processed the jars in a water bath canner and voila  -  the APPLE OF MY PIE EYE

Sara also gave my a delicious recipe for "Apple Pie Crumb."  I am feeling generous today and I think I will share it with my readers (all two of you!):

Pour apple pie filling into a 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle a dry yellow cake mix over filling mixture.  Drizzle 1 stick of melted butter over cake mix.  Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.  Best to eat warm and with vanilla ice cream.  YUM-O!!!

Wham! Bam! Strawberry Jam!

I love fresh strawberry jam.  I could eat it with a spoon.  Unfortunately strawberries are only in season for a short time each year. 

Lucky for me, my family has a rich history of preserving foods...including strawberry jam!  Each year my mom & dad, my sister Kerry and I get together to make jam.  We end up making a lot of it, but it's much more fun to do it together.

You can make jam with almost any fruit, and it is really not that hard.  I usually end up with at least two different types each year.  Strawberry is my favorite, but only if it's homemade... I guess you could call me a bit of a jam snob!

 

Isn't it beautiful?  Just like the memories we are making each year.  In a world where things are so easily bought, I hope I can pass on the value of creating traditions and memories.

Happiness is like jam.  You can't spread even a little without getting some on yourself.   ~anonmyous