RASPBERRY JAM

One of the best parts of living in Portland is the berries -- they all have their unique charm and place, blueberries for breakfast, cherries anytime, strawberries in tarts or atop cupcakes, but it's the raspberry that holds the biggest, sassiest spot in my heart. Berry-picking is something we do every other weekend during summer, and when the raspberries come out, D and I both go nuts. Literally, we stand in front of the raspberry bushes and smash as many as possible into our pie holes. We cannot get enough of this annual gluttony. The combination of flavor -- deep and outstanding-- and the deal -- they're so expensive usually, during this short window, we must eat at least until our bellies ache, think of the savings! The raspberries send us into our primal selves, revealing that at our core, D and I like bargains, sweets and can tolerate tummy issues when need be, maybe that's why we did so well in India?

Anyway, after gorging on berries, one must make the rest into jam -- that's my motto, at least. I use Clotilde's method for canning my jams, and have had success after success. The jist is a 2:1 ratio of fruit to sugar, cook for about 25 minutes, pour into sterilized jars and store for whenever.

My favorite ways of eating jam are:
- straight from the soon while scanning the fridge
- a dollop melted into a glass of chamomile tea
- stirred into yogurt
- smeared onto peanut butter toast
- as a topping for ice cream
- mixed into a nice butter, i call this "raspberry butter"
- a bit in a savory marinade or salad dressing
- swizzled into a cocktail.

IT'S ENDLESSLY YUMMY, THAT RASPBERRY JAM!