Blueberry jam . . .

It seems like a million years since I last made jams or jellies, or did any kind of canning for that matter.  It used to be a fairly regular thing . . . peaches, pears, apricots, cherries, tomatoes--you name it, I canned it.  But I always loved making jams especially.

When I went to the The Little Red Barn last month, Jennifer and Claire brought a plate with watermelon and fresh, beautiful blueberries.  I later read Jennifer's blog and found out where she got her blueberries--she later helped me order some from Blueberry Hill Farms and I picked them up one day last week.  Rowan was with me when I picked them up and held them in her lap while we drove home.  Although I warned her about eating unwashed berries, her little lips were blue with them by the time we got home.  I had to agree that they were fantastic--so fresh, crisp, and organic to boot! 

After eating blueberry pancakes for nearly a week, munching on handfuls of them for snacks, and offering them up to visitors every chance I got, yesterday was the day that the abundance had to be made up into blueberry jam.  Rowan was here to help--she did a good job of mooshing up the berries with the potato masher and put the labels on beautifully!  What a great helper she is!!

The finished product is fantastic!  I'm so glad I preserved some of this flavor to remember in December or January when the winter snow makes fresh blueberries only a distant memory.