Spring!!

I thought I would write a ridiculously long post of all the things we've been doing since we last posted half a year ago, but it would be more entertaining broken into chunks. But lately life has been very relaxing. We are both off from school and just working, which is a very nice change of pace. We also just moved in the last month which means I now have a kitchen that is an actual room rather than a hallway with an oven in it. Today I made a couple pints of blackberry jam we got this week with our bountiful basket and a quart of dulce de leche ice cream. Yum. Luckily there is also daily (and sometimes two or three times a day) yoga classes to keep all the food at bay. 
Todd is enjoying my cooking spree immensely, though he is getting tired of doing dishes and scraping bread dough off the counters. He is also getting back into fencing and goes to fencing club a couple nights a week. And we've actually began social dancing again! Now that dancing has cooled off and is no longer at the center of everything we do.  So far spring has treated us well!

Blackberry Jam (Adapted from Food in Jars)

makes approximate 3 pints

6 cups blackberry pulp (8-9 cups of berries- I mash them in the pot-- I prefer chunky jam)

3-4 cups sugar

a pinch of salt
2 limes, juiced and zested
1 box pectin

Prepare your jars, start your lids to simmering and bring your canning pot to a boil.

In a large, non-reactive pot (stainless steel or enameled cast iron), combine the sugar, salt, and fruit pulp and bring to a simmer. Add lime zest/juice and stir to combine. Let the mixture reach a boil, stirring frequently to prevent it from boiling over. When the mixture appears to be thickening a bit, bring it back to a roiling boil and add the pectin. Let it boil vigorously for at least five minutes to activate the pectin.

Fill your jars with the hot jam, wipe rims, apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water canner for fifteen minutes.

Remove from canner and allow the jars to completely cool on a dishtowel-lined counter top.

Once the jars are cool, check the seals, label them and eat jam on toast!