Strawberry Picking at Stades

As we do every June, we headed to Stades for strawberry picking. This year, my Aunt Joan was able to join us.  It was a perfect day for picking and we had a blast!

Austin loved his heart-shaped strawberry!

 There is nothing better than freshly picked strawberries. They were delicious! In addition to just popping them like candy, we made freezer jam and tweaked the recipe so that the kids actually like it this year. We also made a strawberry cheesecake pie that was quite delicious.

Strawberry Freezer Jam
Ingredients
2 cups pureed strawberries (about 2 pints worth of berries)
4 cups sugar
1 (1.75 ounce) package Sure Jell 100% Natural Premium Fruit Pectin (dry)
3/4 cup water
1 - 2 tsp lemon zest (this is needed to cut the sugary taste)

Directions
Prewash all your jars and lids.
Cut the tops off the strawberries and mash them in a large bowl, then puree them with an immersion blender. This is a necessary step if your kids don't like "chunks" in their jam.
Mix pureed strawberries with 4 cups of sugar and 2 tsp lemon zest and let stand for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, stir the pectin into the water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 1 minute. Stir the boiling water/pectin into the strawberry mixture. Mix well for 3 minutes.
Yield - 3 pints.