Yesterday, CMR and I were watching Jamie Oliver's delightful show Jamie at Home (companion book available on Amazon) and I was imagining us visiting Jamie and Jools and Daisy and Poppy and eating fabulous things that Jamie made for us in his outdoor oven, or in the little kitchen which looks like it's in a potting shed. Ah, the fun we would all have!
The show we saw yesterday was all about strawberries and it was lovely. Jamie picked strawberries from his strawberry patch and then made some terrific things with them, including a savory salad and a strawberry jam that I thought the kids would really love to make because you mush up all the strawberries by hand! It's so easy that it barely even counts as a recipe. The jam only lasts for a few days in the fridge, but the way we go through jam here, it won't even last that long. I call our middle child "Bread and Jam for Willa" because that's just about all she'll eat these days. Sadly, we don't have our own strawberry patch--or Jamie's great gardener, Brian, for that matter-- so we'll have to use store-bought, but I vow that next year we'll make it with our very own berries! Maybe Brian would like to visit the States?
Seeds of 1 vanilla pod
10 1/2 ounces (300 grams) sugar
2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) strawberries, washed
Run your knife down the vanilla pod scrape out the seeds and add with the pod to the strawberries and the sugar. Mush everything up with your hands, leaving some large chunks. Put on a medium heat to bring to a gentle simmer and leave to cook for about 4 minutes. Using a ladle remove the scum from the top and leave to cool. Place in sterilized jars and store in the refrigerator.
Couldn't be easier. I can just imagine Poppy Honey and Daisy Boo cooking up a big batch...
Just a quick fyi, you bring the jam to a boil then let simmer for 30 minutes. Watched it tonight and tried googling the recipe and found your blog.
Hello from a stuck canuck in Switzerland.:)
Posted by: olivia | July 27, 2008 at 03:11 PM
So sorry I didn't have internet access with me on our vacation - I had the perfect strawberries for this recipe. Check out the photo of the ones we picked in Canada on my blog.
Posted by: Amy | July 10, 2008 at 10:34 PM
Yum!! Can you please make some to share with your favorite sister?? Plus, why didn't our parents name us Poppy and Daisy?!
Posted by: auntie J | July 08, 2008 at 08:55 PM