Oh, my my!

I seem to have a love affair with berries as of late. At this point, summer is in full swing and the local berry scene is raging! I tend to hoard berries and make any kind of jam, jelly or sauce I can think of. These have a million uses, and if you process them the good times will last well into the winter. I love opening jars of jam and remembering picking the fruit, the weather on that day, sometimes even the smells. You know, real next level shit. About two weeks ago we had the last flat of berries from Sam Mazza's farm here in Vermont. They were delicious! I could have sat there in the walk-in eating berries for hours. Let's savor the flavor and make strawberry jam! Jamming is very easy. It's surprising to me that people buy that junk at the supermarket, or worse spending a fortune on a small jar of berries from who knows where.

Start off by either picking your own berries, or buy high quality local berries. Support your local farmer! You definitely want to stay away from those nasty Driscolls spray painted berries. To make great jam you need great berries! You want about three quarts of strawberries without the stem and rough chopped. Next add one package of pectin to eight cups of sugar and toss to incorporate. Add this to the chopped berries. Put the whole mess in a heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat. You want to stir this frequently, the strawberries can scorch and ruin your project. You will see the strawberries releasing their liquid and a bright red sauce forming.

During the cooking process, there will be a bright pink foam forming on the top of the bubbling berries. Using a ladle skim as much of this off as you can.

At this point you want to have a couple of quart size jars clean and sterilized. For good measure I preheat the oven to 200 degrees and place the jars inside. this ensures that you have eliminated any possible critters lurking inside the jars. Have a tall stock pot with water on the stove over high heat until boiling. When the water is boiling take the jars out of the oven and begin to fill each jar 1/4 " from the top. Wipe the rims of the jars clean and close until finger tight. If it's too tight the jars may crack. Place the jars in the boiling water bath and process for eleven minutes.

Be sure that the water covers the tops of the jars. After the processing time passes, carefully remove the jars from the water and let stand until room temperature. Don't be surprised if you hear a hiss and a ping a few minutes later. That's the jars sealing! When they are at room temp tighten the lids and store it until you need it! It's a very rewarding experience to produce such high quality jam. It's even more fun if you make a day of it with friends. Everyone leaves with some jam and a smile!

So now that the jam is done, it is snack time! Everyone was working so hard in the kitchen that day. You can tell that this is our halfway point of the season. Everyone seemed to be on autopilot. This is when I like to surprise them. Downstairs in our dry goods room there were two cases of peaches! I love peaches!! How about grilled peaches, creme fraiche and honey! This was so easy. Have a hot grill ready. Cut your peaches in half and remove the pit.

Brush the insides of the peaches with a little butter and place on the grill.

This won't take long at all so be careful! I think it took about two minutes to heat and mark the peaches.

Ideally, you want to use mascarpone or ricotta but creme fraiche works too. Put a spoonful in each half and drizzle with some warm honey.

This has so many different possibilities! That peach is screaming for ice cream. Who knows, maybe next week! I think the next surprise snack will be grilled flatbread with bleu cheese, red grapes, rosemary and honey!