Go Local Challenge: Jammin'

The plan started out simple enough. A friend and I were going to take advantage of my new big kitchen to do a little jamming. We planned. We researched. We emailed and dolled out tasks. We were just going to do three jams: raspberry, black berry and orange marmalade.

But when my dear friend showed up at my place after picking up the fruit, it quickly became obvious we were in for an adventure of sticky proportions! She bought: raspberries, black berries (enough for two batches each), oranges, plums, peaches, pluots and cherries.

So we quickly got to work. And we washed, stirred, chopped, pureed, boiled and stirred some more. The final product: 85 jars of delicious jams and marmalade of various shapes and sizes.

Turns out, when you plan a jammin' session with a friend who grew up on a working farm in rural Oregon, a day of jammin' means something else altogether. Next up, we plan more jammin' this fall with pizza and pasta sauces. I can't wait!