The joy of produce

There are many obstacles on a farm between desire and consumption. The drama of our corn, strawberries and beans have given us new appreciation for these food items, but not much for our bellies. So the wonder of having bushes full of raspberries and blackberries and vines over-flowing with grapes comes as a great relief from the struggle and the heat. Our blackberry bushes, planted and loved by those who came before us, are producing very well this year and have provided us with hand-fulls of sweet treats and blackberry juice for our kefir. They have also provided me with my first opportunity to tie my apron on and jump into the world of canning. I made my first experimental batch of jam last week, not really following a recipe (I probably should have since it was my first attempt) but more adding what I thought I should to make my ideal jam. The jam was met with such rave reviews by my hungry husband, that today I went back to the bushes and got some more to try again. When I had about a gallon of blackberries, I set to work.

We had some nice, plump show-offs as well as tasty, little modest ones.

After the berries had been cleaned and lightly washed they met the heat.

The masher - it's not just for potatoes anymore! At this stage I added the honey from my hard-working bees.

How pretty the jam is in its little jar! Homemade jam with our homegrown blackberries and with honey from our own beehive. What a treat!