Monday, May 17, 2010

for the love of strawberry jam

homemade strawberry jam
is definitely one of my most favorite treats
a freshly picked juicy strawberry
truly is heaven isn't it?

so this weekend we made our annual
visit to the strawberry patch
with my new rockin lens in hand

& for anyone who wants to throw
their advice my way
please
lay it on me...
is my white balance off?
should i not be shooting in aperture priority
when its this bright outside?
change my iso?
???

well
overprocessed photo or whatever you want to call it
we had a great morning















( insert smiley face here...
i've wanted to shoot this next shot
for like
ummm
forever
i am so happy with my new lens
thank you to all my buddies
who so cheerfully gave me their advice
i ended up going with this one
& love it!)



caroline's little bestie was along for the fun





i usually use sure-gel
freezer jam recipe
but this year
found the ball jar brand no-cook packets
easey peasey
messy
but super easy





seriously
its like 3 steps
wash

blend, mix, chop
whatever your preference
i prefer smooth
but you could just slice/crush them if you like
the little pieces in your jam

stir
loads of sugar
& your mix
with the berries


or have your child do that part
while you're preparing the next batch


& voila
no joke
so darn easy
& seriously
YUMMY!

& ps

you may still enter your name for the fun monogrammed tote

i'll announce the winner later this week

~

58 comments:

  1. How fun!! Nothing like being able to pick fresh fruit and make something yummy out of it!! Now I'm craving strawberries!! ;)

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  2. Oh yum! We have a little strawberry patch we are growing but we just had a frost so some of them died :( I wish I could go out and pick some of those beauties! I love your daughter's red boots!

    Stop on over I'm doing my 1st giveaway!

    Megan

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  3. Yummy!! Our local strawberry patch doesn't open until June!! *sigh* I am SO doing freezer jam this year! =) Looks yummy! Can not wait!

    Love the pics with the red boots!! Sweet darling pictures with those adorable boots! and the berries in the hand... love that one too!

    June just can't come fast enough!! =)

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  4. I have never done this before!! I want to try it!! :) I've never seen those little packets...where are they located in the store?? I love your new lens too. I have lens envy. You know I'm going to have to go get one now! lol

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  5. your pictures are wonderful paige!
    and the jam....oh my! it looks wonderful also~

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  6. Hi - it's lovely to 'see' summer in your photos. We are not really there yet. I always think making jam, much like planting bulbs, is like money in the bank. I love that stocked-larder feel. Except with me it's apple chutney as we have more apples than we know what too do with every Autumn! Louise x

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  7. I *love* how your photos look now..
    so bright and gorgeous.
    beautiful my friend.
    xo

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  8. Beautiful photos and your strawberry jam looks delicious! I've been wanting to make some and I think I just might now :/

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  9. YUMMM!!! Your jam looks delicious:)

    It looks like you girls had a fantastic morning picking strawberries....... I LOVE this photos.....and those red boots!!! I so want a pair:)

    Looks like you are doing a fantastic job with that new lens......my 1.4 is my best friend!!

    Have a wonderful week~

    xo,

    Lisa

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  10. Oh my word -- I hope the strawberry patches around here turn out that lovely when they open some day! Love your photos! So very cute and those girlies are beyond cute!

    Janet

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  11. Love, love, LOVE the pics!!! You're doin' a great job...I'm no pro but I like the apeture. I don't know what you can do about the over exposure on some...you can only go strawberry picking certain times of the day and if it's sunny, it's sunny...unless you're willing to take the professional shades out to the patch with you, I don't really know what you can do...surely some pros out there have an answer. I had 2 favoirtes...the bucket with red boots in the background and the one with your daughter holding the bucket of strawberries....soooo pretty!

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  12. you just know i love your photos, always. on those bright sunny days, i always turn my iso all the way down. try it and take a look at your display screen and see if it is making a difference. : )

    okay now, this jam looks good. i am going to give canning jam a go, for the first time, next week. do you boil the jars and all that stuff? : )
    xoxo

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  13. i can't wait for the strawberries to come in here!! my hubby helped me make it last time and we had so much fun with the jam... you've got me hankering for some strawberries ~

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  14. Love this post! Wow! those photos and coloring are amazing! I keep meaning to put some time into learning more about photography. I shamefully use my nice camera as a point and shoot. I've got to take the time! These are so super great paige! seriously!

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  15. The pictures are gorgeous and the jam looks delicious!
    Heidi

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  16. YUM! Strawberry jam on Belgian Waffles....oh yea! I make Peach jam and syrup, maybe we should swap a jar or two huh?
    Thanks for all the well wishes during my illness.
    Love Caroline's rockin' red boots. Dingos?

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  17. yum!
    i'll be by tomorrow for my can ;)

    xo
    HH

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  18. AWESOME pics Paige. Where are you in any of them though??? I love me some strawberry jam. What a fun day:)

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  19. I'll be right over for toast and jam :) Love homemade jam, it's on my list to do this summer!!!
    your pictures are always gorgeous!!!
    xo,
    LuLu

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  20. oh sweet Paige! Your photos are ALWAYS gorgeous!!! always...I think they look perfect...and that jam....YUMMY!!!

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  21. So fun! How do you take such beautiful photos? Loving all the natural light.

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  22. WOW! I can't believe you were at Washington Farms!! I live like 5 miles from there!! Small world! Enjoy your jam!!

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  23. Yum!! I miss picking strawberries. We don't have that luxury in the desert. We are at the mercy of the produce dept @ our grocery store.

    And I love your pink blender. :)

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  24. beautiful...you can shoot on aperture priority just decrease the amount of time that your shutter is open..iso as low as you can go....you did great!!! you CAN shoot in manual!! beautiful!!!!! you are so talented at capturing an entire story in pictures as i feel as though i was there...and wish i was..no strawberries in "the ham"...xoxoxo

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  25. yeah paige!!!! glad you love the lens. your photos look gorgeous. so colorful and sharp. great job. aperture priority is great to use!! you did an awesome job!!!!

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  26. Wow! What beautiful photos...makes my mouth water! Your photos were a beautiful story!

    Love your blog. I pop in every once in awhile since I saw you in Artful Blogger.

    Getting inspiriation for my own.
    ~jodi shaw
    jodeneshaw.blogspot.com

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  27. did those babies in chocolate and call me a happy woman =)

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  28. Yummy....my mouth is officially watering! Love love love all the reds of the berries, the boots and the jam....I will have to pick up some of those little packets to try the no-cook jam. Thanks!

    Alison

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  29. oh these pics are beautiful! and i was head over heels with your bracelet wearing girl (have one of my own!)... and then the red boots almost brought me to tears- good, silly memories of our own red boots. looks like quite a day!

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  30. Iam finally just now learning to use my camera outside of "auto" mode so I don't have any good advice - but your photographs are BEAUTIFUL! Strawberry jam is my all time favorite preserve : )

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  31. For me it's the purity of the strawberries, popped in the mouth and mouth-watering. I'm not big on jams & jellies, but oh, those fruits. It takes me back to my first job picking berries at an orchard when I was twelve. As I go out to my own strawberry patch I'm amazed at how my hands work--efficiently, effortlessly, like I've been doing it my whole life, even though it's been years.

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  32. love trips to the strawberry patch....beautiful pictures....I'm not a professional...so I have no advice...I am taking a class this summer so that I can know what to do with the expensive camera that lives at our house.

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  33. Well, I know absolutely nada about photography, but I do know that I *love* those "overprocessed" shots. Let the light in!! It looks so dreamy. Happy accident? Beauty on purpose? Regardless, I need some strawberry jam! Grow, babies, GROW!

    ps - That's the same packet I always use. :)

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  34. This has gotten me SO in the mood to make jam this summer! My mouth is actually watering at the very thought! No strawberries in this neck of the woods for another month, but the ANTICIPATION will make that jam all the SWEETER. Your shot of the berry bucket was the bomb ~ congratulations on capturing the essence of summer! xx P&H

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  35. We have a tonne of wild blackberry bushes around our neighborhood and last fall my father took it upon himself to try and pick every.single.berry. What to do with many buckets of berries? Make jam! You're right, so stinkin easy! I can't wait for our strawberries to ripen!

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  36. your photos looks great! you could use your exposure compensation that might help :)

    i can't wait til we can go pick, not until June here :) i bought some vintage canning jars for my freezer jam. have a super week! susan

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  37. I think your shots are beautiful. Just beautiful. For the more wider shots, you could try shooting in Program mode and maybe bumping your ISO down since it was so bright outside. 200 or 400? Or even 100. Still, I think the shots are lovely.

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  38. i love strawberries! this sounds wonderful! and i love the pictures! congrats on your new lens! have fun! come visit! i just posted a yummy bruschetta recipe! xo

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  39. I like how you match the strawberry patch.
    PInk shirt.
    Girls in pink boots.
    Awesome!

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  40. Yummy Paige! Oh, and the pics are fab, too!

    xo,
    Adrienne

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  41. if i could eat through the screen i would... the jam looks so yummy and strawberry is my favorite...
    we sent your umbrella and dress today... only a gillion weeks late... don't laugh at the package job it is g*etto for sure!!! miss you friend... take care!:)

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  42. Looks so yummy! Lovin' the photos...and LOVIN' your pink blender!!

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  43. I want one of those same lenses! Thank God for Traci and all of her fabulous advice on what to buy! I am a big fan of bright, almost over exposed pictures, so I think your photos are absolutely, positively perfect {not that they ARE over exposed}! Simply gorgeous photos Paige, so crisp and clear and lovely!!!! Photography is so much fun :)

    Big hugs ~

    :) T

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  44. I just found your blog through the artful blogging magazine... and what a surprise to see photos of Washington Farms! I live in Athens and was just there myself on Saturday, picking berries with my 2-yr-old daughter and 6-mos-old twin boys! Small world.

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  45. Lovely photos of your day together. I am jealous...we can't pick berries until late August. I knew you would love that lens:-)

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  46. Not sure how I found you, but glad I did. Love these photos! They remind me of some I've taken while my girls picked blueberries. So fun!

    Blessings!
    Linsey

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  47. Well yum! I think I see my name written in tiny little letters on one of those little cute jars.

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  48. Oh my....it all looks positively heavenly! (So lovin' them boots!!)

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  49. Nothing better than homemade jam....love this post!! All the best,Chrissy

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  50. I had no idea it was that simple. I am doing it this summer!

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  51. awesome pictures! love the red cowgirl boots!

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  52. You're awesome! Not "stalkerish" at all! I'm happy to have a few followers! :)

    Thanks for the camera talk. Can't wait to get back into that hobby-o-mine...and with a new camera! Makes me giddy just thinking about it!

    Happy Friday!
    Linsey

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  53. Yummy ~ can't wait till our berries are season. I'm planning to make jam but I think I may need a pair of those red boots to make it just a tad sweeter :)

    Jo

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  54. Simple Goodness!

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  55. Goodness Gracious!

    Look at your photography!!! WOW!!!

    Such beautiful pictures and the love you demonstrate for your family is reflected in their faces...wow. wow. wow. Really beautiful Paige!

    Maybe you could write a post sharing some photography tips! I have lots to learn about all that fancy lingo!

    We finally were able to go strawberry picking here (haven't been able to because of all of the rain!) and my little ones had the best time.

    I have never made strawberry jam but we are going to give it a try today! We are also going to make strawberry muffins and a homemade pie! Pray for me. I'm planning on making a huge mess in the kitchen!!

    Miss you sweet friend and would love to catch up soon!

    Love and Strawberry Jam to you....

    Sibi

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  56. We went a few weeks ago and seriously there is something about eating strawberries right out of the dirt. YUMMMO:)

    We might have to go back just so I can make your jam!

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  57. can you tell me the name of the farm? I would love to take my 2, they would love it

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