KAES: Adventures in Jam making

Thursday was a raspberry picking day. My husband and I stumbled out of bed early so that we could make it to Harvold's farm in Carnation before they closed. The rumor was that the field opened early and closed when the majority of berries for picked for the day. Usually before noon. We also had to return the car we had borrowed from my parents so we had two reasons for the journey out to the Snoqualmie Valley.

Within an hour Paul and I picked 14.5 pounds for raspberries. On the way home we stopped at Fredmeyer's and picked up the necessary canning supplies. Paul and I have been gradually making changes to our diet. Eliminating processed foods like sugar and replacing them with unprocessed alternatives like honey, increasing the amount whole fruits and vegetables in our daily food intake with green smoothies each morning packed with fruits, flax seed, fish oil and a green vegetables...With these changes came a new adventure in cooking....Honey sweetened jam.

One of the two flats of raspberries that we picked with my jug of honey sitting along side. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the honey came from Moses Lake, Washington and I didn't have to pay an arm and a leg from the local farmer's market for 1/2 gallon jug.

Don't mind my messy kitchen I'm in full jam making mode with the hot water bath going. Someday my dream kitchen will have a ton of counter space. Until then I'll make of the most of counter space.

Almost time to ladle this delicious red sauce into hot jars. I'm sure you'll find it odd that I don't eat jam after it has been canned. I only like it fresh out of the pan.