Strawberries

                                                              I love strawberries.

My grandma had a big garden with a large strawberry patch. Every summer us kids would look for the reddest and biggest berries. We'd pick them, rinse them off and eat them.  They were so delicious. When I was pregnant with my oldest daughter I was graving strawberries like you wouldn't belief it. Fresh, frozen, canned. It didn't make any difference.
I wish I had a garden to grow some. But since I don't I patiently wait for strawberry season every year. Yes, I know, you can buy strawberries year round. But they just don't taste as good as fresh strawberries that are in season.
My favorite way to eat them is with a little bit of whipped cream.

A few years ago I found a recipe for strawberry-banana jam in a magazine. I have made it every year ever since.

Here is the recipe:

4-3/4 cups prepared fruit (about 2 quarts fully ripe strawberries and 3 fully ripe medium bananas)

3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 box SURE-JELL Fruit Pectin
1/2 tsp. butter or margarine
6-3/4 cups sugar

Stem and crush strawberries thoroughly. Measure 3-1/4 cups prepared strawberries into 6- or 8-quart sauce pot. Mash bananas thoroughly. Measure  1-1/2 cups  bananas. Add to pot. Stir in lemon juice. Stir pectin into fruit in sauce pot. Add butter. Bring mixture to full rolling boil  on high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in all the sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skin off foam.Ladle into hot, sterilized jars. Close and set upside down for 5 minutes, then turn upright. After jars are cooled, check seals.

Or, after cooling off a little, pour into freezer containers and freeze.That's what I did last time I made this, and the jam came out great.  

Recently I also  found this recipe here: strawberry-banana jam.

You may want to look at it if you prefer the water bath canning method.

I always buy extra strawberries during the summer and freeze them. I just wash, slice and freeze in containers or bags. And then  I can use them in winter for smoothies. Or I put some sugar on them, microwave for a few minutes and pour them over pancakes. Better than pancake syrup.

I don't think I could ever get tired of strawberries. And thank goodness the season is just starting.