quote for the week

        "Even when the war is over, we must never again be as wasteful as we have been, as the devastated countries will still be underfed. . .

 The abundance of our county is a great responsibility at the moment. No one with common sense and respect for the great art and science of 'cooperating with the earth' to make it yield it's crops in abundance, likes to see food wasted even in times of plenty. Now in a time of world hunger it becomes a crime."

                                                               ~Anne Pierce, Home Canning for Victory, 1942

We went strawberry picking this morning. For 23 dollars (and hours of slicing strawberries!) I ended up with:

4 - 8oz jars of low sugar strawberry jam
6- 8oz jars of low sugar strawberry, black raspberry, blueberry jam
1 quart jar and 1 pint jar of strawberry cordial
1 cup strawberry syrup
2 large baking sheets full of strawberries in the freezer
2 quarts of strawberries in the fridge for fresh snacking

I am exhausted. And it's hot today. I tried canning on the grill - no luck, took forever. So, we had ice cream for dinner. And my kids watched way too much t.v. And now the sink is full of my strawberry stuff. But, it's a pretty great feeling to have those jars cooling on the counter.