Strawberry Apple Jam

I'm not what one might call a patient person. When I want something, I want it NOW, thank you very much. When I decide I need a haircut, tomorrow is not soon enough. Waiting is agony. Maybe it's because I am the youngest child of 4 and I got sick of waiting for things. Or maybe it's just my personality (likely). Whichever it is, I like things right away. Delayed gratification? Not for me.

I have never made jam before, but a few weeks ago I decided I would like to make my own. My hubby is a sucker for jam, and I thought he might like some fresh. Of course once I got this in my head, I wasn't about to wait until the next day to go pick up some pectin, now was I? Of course not.

This is me, remember?

So I did a little research and found out that apples are full of natural pectin. And I just had some sitting in my fruit bowl. Ha. Now, granny smith's would probably be a little better because strawberries, especially once cooked down are really sweet. But Fuji is what I had, and the jam was fab. So if you're impatient like me and don't have any pectin in your house, this is your jam. If you do have pectin, congratulations on being more organized (and probably more patient) than me, but I'd make this anyway because it's pretty yummy.

Strawberry Apple Jam

• 3 cups (or so) or sliced, hulled strawberries
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (possibly more if you're using a granny smith apple)
• 1 large apple, peeled, cored, and grated
• 2 1/2 tsp lemon juice

In a large, heavy duty pot, dump in your apple, berries, and sugar. Cook over medium/low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes and breaking up the berries as they soften.

Once the jam has thickened, grab a hand held blender (they are pretty amazing for things like this) and blend until most of the chunks are gone, unless of course you like really chunky jam.

Stir in your lemon juice and transfer into jars. I got one regular and one teeny mason jar full, you could probably get 2 medium out of this. Let chill for about 2 hours before eating.

-Jessica