No, not THAT kind of jam session. We’re talking about berry jam. Fresh-picked, home-made, sticky summer jam. Today, we have an excerpt about jamming from Heather Lende’s Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs.

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No matter how many summers I’ve done this, every time I make a batch of raspberry or blueberry jam I’m astonished that I can produce something so practical, delicious, and beautiful. I leave the newly filled pint jars out for days, admiring my handiwork. (And reminding my family to, as well.) I do have some advice for you. Don’t take the dog berry picking. Or at least don’t take my big old retriever Forte. He eats berries like a hungry black bear right off the bushes, and if I am not paying attention will root them right out of my pail. Also, buy one of those wide plastic funnels for pouring the boiling goo into the jars. They keep it from running over onto the counter and oozing into, say, the silverware drawer. Don’t ask how I know that.

-Heather

Excerpt From Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs by Heather Lende