Dhara and I recently went strawberry picking — most of these divine berries went into our mouths or a fruit juice or a strawberry jam. The last time I made strawberry jam was in college, so I thought it was about time for another batch! When searching for recipes, I knew I didn’t want to use loads of sugar or even pectin like most recipes call for. I wanted something simple, with whole real ingredients, but at the same time with the least amount of ingredients, so that the full taste of the berries would be experienced. I ended up choosing a recipe for Spicy Strawberry Jam from the Healthy Green Kitchen blog.
I would prefer to call it a strawberry preserve, because that’s just what comes to mind when I taste this jam. I love how the berries are kept whole, and not halved or quartered. Makes for a lovely presentation. After a while of simmering, the berries become a deep, dark, rich color and are speckled with chili seeds. It’s a beautiful jam, really it is. And it tastes even better. Sweet, with just the right amount of heat, or in my case heat — I ended up adding more chiles than what the recipe asked for. Sooo very yummy on homemade bread. This one’s a keeper.
fresh strawberries, right off the vine
organic sugar cane
dried new mexico hot chilies
lemon
mix
simmer
topped with a sprig of mint, here’s a taste test for the hubs
even baby liked it!
details to come!
my little strawberry picker 
halfway through our picking
the fields were chockfull of delicious red strawberries
these little guys were the sweetest strawberries — so good
too sweet that we often had a taste — and I mean often
sneaking more bites
strawberry stained faces
we came home with pounds of strawberries!