That's My Jam!

I'm a gal with a schedule.  I always have a plan.  Week to week, day to day, I plan things out as best as I can.  Days with my girls, recipes and outfits and such on my blog, date nights with my husband, time with my girlfriends...
But sometimes, life will throw us a curveball. 
This weekend was one of those times.  Our little dog, Pixie, started having some health problems over the weekend.  What they had originally thought was an allergic reaction has turned into a concern for an auto-immune disease for our poor little Pixie.  She has been absolutely MISERABLE for 3-4 full days now, and my energetic little ball of fur (she will be two in August) has turned into a depressed pup in pain.  My heart is just so sad for her.  My days have been spent on the phone with vets, at pet hospitals and managing her different medications.  My nights have been spent snuggling with her and trying to make her comfortable.
Play dates have been cancelled, our planned dance schedule has been changed and my blogging and household chores have all taken a backseat.  I'm trying to stick around the house as much as possible to keep a close eye on her.


However, I have managed to sneak in a few moments here and there to work on some new recipes.  One thing I made this week that was simple and so delicious was strawberry rhubarb jam.  Our strawberry patch (which we started last year and MAYBE got a handful of strawberries from) has been producing like crazy, which makes me smile... because fresh strawberries are the best. My rhubarb came from a super sweet friend of mine who felt sorry for me that the rhubarb I planted this year, died.  (I'm still hopeful it will come back next year! Fingers crossed!)
This was my first year making strawberry rhubarb jam, but I can say with confidence that it certainly won't be the last year!  My only regret is that I only had enough ingredients for a small batch.  Feel free to double, triple, or quadruple this delicious recipe.
 

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

*3 cups chopped rhubarb (I chop it up pretty small)

*4.5 cups of white sugar

*6 cups of strawberries, chopped in half

*1/2 cup of lemon juice

Put a  spoon from your silverware drawer into the freezer... you'll need this in a bit!

Mix chopped rhubarb and sugar up in a large pot and let sit for about 2 hours.  Then add strawberries and lemon juice.  Bring to a boil and stir often to avoid burning. 

I use a potato masher and mash it all up as I stir it because I'm not a big fan of chunky jam.  Let it boil rapidly for about 20-25 minutes. Stir. Mash. Stir. Mash.  Lower the heat and grab your spoon from the freezer.  Dip it into the jam, and watch the liquid fall off the spoon.  It won't have a jam consistency until it cools, but it should look like it's thickened up a bit.

Process with jars, lids and rims that have been sterilized in boiling water.  This works best if everything is still hot.  Pour your hot jam into sterilized jars and process according to manufacturers instructions.  I personally process mine for about 10 minutes, remove and let cool on a towel on the countertop. When its cooled, I put the jars into the fridge to let them thicken up a bit before I use or gift them.  I put it on toast, over ice cream, in desserts and frostings, etc.  So sweet and delicious!

Prayers for my sweet pup are so appreciated.

xoxo, friends!


*you can follow me on IG or Pinterest @sarawuchko, and  on FB at Haute Dish Housewife https://www.facebook.com/hautedishhousewife for more recipe ideas, crafts/DIY, my style and giveaways.