Raspberries!

One of my summer joys-- so far-- is making tiny batches of raspberry jam from the raspberries growing in our own yard.

Last week I started picking and then looked at what I'd gathered and thought: "This might even be enough to make some jam!" When I checked the recipe and realized that I needed 3 1/4 cups (I had a little more than 2 cups) I was not to be deterred.  I would just make a half batch!  Then I realized that it was supposed to be 3 1/4 cups of crushed berries, which was a bit of a problem. By that time Ella was on my little mission with me and she headed back out to the bushes and picked anything remotely ripe so that we could make our half-batch of raspberry jam.  And we did.  I think it resulted in only three very small jars of jam, but those three jars made me happier than any other jam I've ever made- because we didn't even have to drive to the U-Pick raspberry fields! 

We came home from camping over the weekend and I realized that:
a) No one had picked our bushes for two days, and
b) My kids hadn't been out to pick (eat) the berries since we'd been back.

So I had enough for a full batch.

Then yesterday Ella picked a bunch of berries again and when she showed me her bowlful, I happily exclaimed that we could make another full batch.  And we did. 

I'm pretty happy that my kids are free to graze on our raspberries and I can get some jam made, too.

[Our camera is broken, hence the no-photo post.]