Raspberry Freezer Jam

Due to popular demand by family members whose names I will not mention (Alex, Michael), my autumn stash of freezer jam gets pretty depleted by the end of spring. I am fortunate to have a "source" for frozen raspberries, who trades me gallons of them for salsa. So I always have berries for jam in the freezer. Note that berries can easily be frozen when the harvest season is upon you and later turned into jam, jelly and syrup. I would not recommend trying to do that with apples, peaches and apricots, unless you are just going to grind them and turn them into a fruit butter. (I will make a mental note to share my recipe for apple butter with you this fall.)

Defrost the raspberries overnight. You want them to be room temperature, as the secret to good freezer jam is that there is no grittiness to it. This recipe takes 3 cups of mashed berries and juice. The beauty of this particular recipe is that it can be doubled (I always make 2 double batches).

This is what you do:

In a large stainless or glass bowl, mix 3 cups of raspberries with 5 1/4 cups sugar and the juice of one lime. Stir well and set aside for a few hours, stirring every half hour or so to incorporate the sugar. In the meantime, wash 4 pint jars and lids for every single batch; 7 pints and a half pint for every double batch. You will need one box of Sure Jell for every 3 cups of berries.

Assemble your jars, funnel and utensils. In a saucepan, pour 3/4 cup cold water and the powdered Sure Jell, stir out the lumps and bring to a boil. Boil ONE minute. Remove from heat and pour immediately into your berries and sugar. Stir THREE minutes, incorporating well with the berries. Immediately, ladle into your clean jars. Put lids on the jars and set on the counter for 24 hours. Then put into your

freezer, for as long as it lasts! Yumm!

"Bocaditos" (Little Snacks)

These little bites of goodness have become one of my grandchildren's favorite appetizers. And they are so very easy to make! I like to use the round tortilla chips, as they fit perfectly into your mouth. Using a spoon, I dish on just a bit of beans (either refried out of the can, or leftover black beans. Then I add a thin slice of cheese and top it with a strip of pickled jalapeno or spicy carrot. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees, cool a bit and enjoy! A fast and easy Bocadito!

My Butterfly Collection - Part 3

This is a map of Chiapas, Mexico. San Cristobal de las Casas was the nearest town to the Mission Compound where we lived from 1968-1973. This vintage photo is very reminiscent of what the local life looked like back then.

Our compound was a bit more "modern"--we had an electric generator that ran for 3 hours in the mornings and 3 hours after dark....unless it broke down or the compound ran out of propane or gasoline during rainy season (May through October). So we learned to live without many of the things we take for granted in the United States.

We had very little entertainment. VERY LITTLE....

I read books--lots of books. We went to church--lots of church. And I had my butterfly collection...

In the bedroom that I shared with my little sister, we had a set of bunk beds, two dressers, a closet, and a bookcase that we shared. I had a growing stack of flat boxes that held my butterfly collection, in all its wonder and glory...I had these boxes stacked on the highest shelf of the bookcase, to keep them from being knocked off or from small people getting into them...

One day, I heard some unusual noises coming from our bedroom. Imagine my utter and total dismay, when, upon opening the door, I cam upon my sisters STUPID CAT!!! up on the top shelf of our bookcase knocking down my boxes of perfectly dried, pressed, and preserved butterflies, and EATING THEM!! I was so immediately horrified and livid, I grabbed that STUPID CAT!!! and threw it will all my might--out the bedroom window. Fortunately for the cat, the window was open (I honestly had not even looked or cared!)

And so ended my career as a Butterfly Collector....and my long-time dislike of cats.

It wasn't until the next year, during a vacation on the Yucatan Peninsula, that I started collecting something new... Sea Shells! But that is another story...