The strawberry season came late this year, so I was able to experiment a little more with making jam. When it comes to jam I'm a strictly follow the rules gal as I've made many jars of thick syrup in my time. But back to the jam. I have never made strawberry rhubarb jam before, but I found a recipe that looked plausible, and amid fear and trepidation prepared all the ingredients. Even though it didn't follow THE PRINTED INSTRUCTIONS, it still turned out! And here's the neat thing. As I was making this jam, the smell transported me back to my Grandmother's kitchen. Now Grandma was a little mean and gruff, and I was half afraid of her most of the time. But she was a great cook and loved rhubarb, and the strawberry rhubarb smell didn't remind me of her grumpiness but only of her in her kitchen, support hose, hair bun and dimpled elbows floating over the pot as she stirred the strawberry rhubarb jam, scooping a little jam on some homemade bread for me to try. I'm glad to say the two batches I made turned out marvelously thick, and I guess Gran wasn't AS grumpy as I remember, besides now that I just kept a tradition going, I have to find someone to taste this jam!
Here's the link to the recipe:http://www.kitchenlane.com/2010/04/strawberry-rhubarb-freezer-jam-spring.html.
