Strawberries

In an effort to eat locally, organically, and as natural as possible, we occasionally go to great lengths to acquire our food. Spring means strawberries, and we LOVE strawberries.

Last weekend, we made the hour-long trek to a tiny, family farm north of Cincinnati to pick delicious (un-sprayed) strawberries. I planned to pick 10 pounds, but we just found so many beautiful berries that this quickly turned into 20!!

After several hours of picking, a picnic lunch, and a stop by the store for supplies we were ready for the second part of this adventure. Preservation. My list of canning ideas is endless and I couldn't wait to get started on these berries.

First up, Strawberry Lemon Marmalade! Hubby and S get to work cutting up the berries and slicing lemons, while I prep the canner and jars.

For the jam, I decided to make my own pectin from tart apples. This made for the most delicious strawberry jam I have ever tasted!

After 2 days of back-breaking work (seriously, I am now seeing a chiropractor!) we finished our strawberry project!! We ended up with Strawberry Jam, Strawberry Lemon Marmalade, Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate, Maple Strawberry Smooch, chocolate dipped strawberries, and a huge 2 gallon freezer bag full of berries. YUM!!