Fresh strawberries

I picked enough strawberries today to make my first batch of jam. It was a half batch, but I’ll take it! With our wet weather, the strawberry patch has been doing OK, but I do have some fruit that has mildewed. When I pick berries, I also use it as an opportunity to clean out the beds a bit, pulling out any rotten fruit and disposing of any slugs I happen upon.

A little bear cub at the jam jar

Per usual, I used a the low sugar pectin to make the jam. This allows me to use as little sugar as possible to maintain as much of the true fruit flavor as possible. Jam made this way can be a little tart, but our family prefers it this way. Andrew was all over the jam as soon as it was ready. I usual keep one jar open for fresh eating and everyone had some. As you can see, there isn’t much left. Even Lily ate a bunch after she actually tried the jam on some bread (she’s a suspicious eater). I predict the open jar of jam will be gone by this evening.

Peaches

On to other harvests. The mini dwarf peach tree in the greenhouse dropped some fruit this week. I usually wait for the fruit to fall as a sign of ripeness. I tasted one peach. It was mostly ready, but I left the other to continue to ripen for another day or two.

Sugar snap peas

We have a bounty of peas this year. We’ve had them fresh, stir fried, and lightly cooked with a dab of butter. Next, I think I’ll add some to a bean and kale soup I’m planning to make tonight. We’re actually having a hard time keeping up with them! I might have to start freezing some soon as well.

Well, that’s about it for today. I hope your garden is growing well.

Sandy