Blackberries, Jam, and Sunrises . . . All Sponsored by August

Cloudier skies, cooler temperatures, but the sunrises are still stunning, if moodier.

I’m nursing the hint of a cold — sore throat, general fatigue, slight temp — but besides lying around reading, I did muster up the energy to turn my blackberry pickings from earlier this week into another batch of jam (my second batch from this year’s crop with at least one more ahead).

So my morning’s reading has been punctuated by that delightful sound of success: ping! and then a bit later, ping! and then again, Ping! — so far, seven jars have chimed in with their vaccuum-sealed results, and there’s only one left as a possible candidate for immediate consumption.

Jam-making, a perfect August-to-Autumn transitional chore. . .

5 Comments

  1. hostess of the humble bungalow
    22 August 2010 / 8:26 pm

    I love homemade jam and delight in receiving it as a gift. What a great transitional activity for a cool day.

  2. Tiffany
    23 August 2010 / 2:21 am

    I love making jam. When I lived in North Yorkshire I used to go 'brambling' (as they call wild blackberry picking) every autumn and do huge batches of jam and make lots of crumbles too.

  3. materfamilias
    23 August 2010 / 5:03 am

    HHR/Tiffany: Jam-making is sooo satisfying, to me, especially with the blackberries I've picked myself. All I'm paying for is the sugar and pectin, and we've got jam for the year and lots to give away. I also like to fill the fridge so I can make b-berry pies throughout the year — they're my favourite! (altho' I'd love your crumble recipe, T)

  4. indigo16
    23 August 2010 / 1:27 pm

    OMG homemade bread AND jam thank God I'm not there because I would be the size of a buffalo after a week, how do you resist?

  5. materfamilias
    24 August 2010 / 3:41 pm

    Alison: It's tough! Warm out of the oven?!! And as you know, Pater's got no worries about his weight — not sure what his metabolic secret is, but he can eat all the fresh bread he wants . . . so not fair!

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