No-canning jam recipes

I tried Sunset's no-canning jam recipes today, strawberry raspberry and cherry rhubarb. Tons of fun in the 80 degree heat! What was I thinking? The recipe is below if you want to try yourself.

Cherry rhubarb jam

Strawberry raspberry jam

Strawberry raspberry jam

Makes 4 jars (8 oz.)

2 1/2 tbsp. Sure-Jell pectin labeled "for less or no sugar needed recipes"

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups coarsely mashed strawberries

1 1/4 cups coarsely mashed raspberries

1 1/4 cups unsweetened berry juice blend (Santa Cruz Organic Berry Nectar)

1 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. butter (prevents foaming)

1. Combine pectin and 1/4 cup sugar in a 5-6 qt. pot. Stir in berries, then berry and lemon juices and butter. Bring mixture to a brisk boil over high heat, stirring often.

2. Add remaining 1 cup sugar. Return jam to a brisk boil, stirring. Cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Remove from heat.

3. Ladle jam into heatproof jars and close with lids. Let cool to room temperature. Keeps, chilled, up to 1 month.

Alaska

I spent 10 days in Alaska visiting Jefferson & Adrienne. I had such a good time hiking, running the Mayor's half-marathon, seeing whales on a Kenai Fjords cruise, and just hanging out. Thank you both for such a great trip! Highlights are below although I didn't get pictures of many of the true Alaskan highlights, i.e. mullets and moose spottings.

Too cute! Emma wearing Grandma's Michaels find

Thunderbird Falls hike

Seward, AK

Pacific Humpback whale

Holgate glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park

glacial ice

bike ride with Adrienne's kids

Hatcher's Pass hike

Butte hike

Adelaide at Tball

Davis at Tball

Ainsley at the playground

Try, try, try . . .

A day on the farm at Zoe's Garden

I've worked two Saturday's in May at Zoe's Garden and I'll start working more now that school is out. Today we dug up red sunchokes; a lot of work for a small payoff. I hope to post about the work I do, the things I learn, and the good food I get to eat this summer.

Riding to pick up boxes and dig up sunchokes

Flowers that need to be planted next week

Digging up sunchokes

The weather was overcast and 60ish today, which is perfect for working outside. When the weather warms up I don't know that I'll look this happy.

CSA goodies

We got our first basket of fresh veggies this week from Zoe's Garden (http://zoegarden.com). I'm volunteering/interning this summer and I get their weekly basket as payment. The spinach was so good as were the radishes and microgreens! There were a couple things I didn't know what they were so I'll have to ask Farmer Dave next time I go out to the farm. We look forward to 15 more weeks of yummy, fresh, organic fruits and vegetables.

Ogden half-marathon 2011

I just finished the Ogden half-marathon this morning! It was a beautiful sunny day in Ogden, perfect running conditions. This is my 5th year running either the full or half and I hope to do it year after year.

I came in so fast that Yao could barely catch a photo!

finished!

We finished the morning off with breakfast at Jeremiah's-so good! Meg, I missed you today. We'll have to meet up and run it another year.

Double Graduation

WE DID IT! Yao and I both graduated last weekend. Yao with an MBA from the UofU and me with an MNM from Regis University in Denver, CO. We are so excited to be finished and hope to start our new lives with new jobs. (BTW: We're still looking so if you know of something let us know. We're willing to relocate to anywhere but Alaska . . . and West Virginia.) We spent 2.5 days in Denver soaking in the 85 degree sun. It was so nice and warm and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Yao: Masters of Business Administration

Arriving at the Denver airport

Emilie: Masters of Nonprofit Management

Happy Valentine's Day

I know it's not until tomorrow but Yao and I celebrated yesterday with a trip to Park City for dinner and a little shopping. It was nice to spend some actual time together and it didn't hurt that I got something new to wear. To top off the nice weekend it is sunny and 55 degrees today! The forecast is sunny and 55 for the next three days . . . before the snow storm moves in on Thursday. We're really hoping for an early spring.

Some pictures from the past: