It's a matter of.....feeling empty-handed!

In a previous post, I let you all know that Rooster Senior has been called to serve in a Bishopric of  Young Single Adult Ward...and I get to along with him!  We went visiting some of the apartments of this ward....and when we walked in I felt empty handed.  Not that this is necessary, but I just felt like we should have brought something with us as these young people are often far from home. When several of them came over to our home, they commented on how much they appreciated being in a home....with real parents!  This just made me laugh as there were plenty of times that my now adult children would tell me that they were looking forward to moving into an apartment and growing out of the family home.

Well, again, not that it is necessary, but I decided to have things prepared to take with us when we go visiting in the future.  Here is my first 'item', which is Jam.  I made this using Clear Jel instead of Pectin.  For recipes and more information, please see this link. 

I went to my local Club store and found berries for a really good price.  I bought a lot!  I made 36 jars of jam for just a few dollars as I had all the ingredients to make the jam in my Food Storage and Pantry.

Time is really of the essence for me....I don't have a lot.  I am very serious about that.  I have to plan my time in blocks so that I can get everything done.  So, I decided to puree my blueberries in my food processor to save time....and it literally only took a few minutes.

First I pulsed it and then let it run.

As usual, mix your sugar with your Clear Jel before adding to the puree.

Add the Clear Jel mixture slowly with a whisk to incorporate it without lumps. Notice the color before the Clear Jel sets up.

After the Clear Jel begins to thicken, the color also darkened.

Now, for time saving tip number two,  I have a Food Strainer.  My husband likes Raspberry Jam, but really dislikes the seeds.  So, I purchased a berry screen to use with my Food Strainer.  Here I put the berries in the hopper.

Then I turned the handle.  See the berry juice/pulp coming down the slide and the seeds etc going out the left side of the picture? I decided to put the 'waste' pulp through the strainer a couple of times to capture all the juice I could.  Isn't it a pretty color?

Process per the recipe instructions.

I made 4 different types of Jam in one evening.  I realize I am only showing 3, but 4 gives me a variety to give.  I plan to make bread dough in my Bread maker (again, time is the issue) and have it waiting for me when I come home from work,  Then I can bake it in mini-loaf pans, put the bread in a cellophane bag with a bow and also put something cute on top of the jar to go with it. Every gadget has parts that can be put into the dishwasher to clean while I am doing something else.   I am hoping that these young people can feel a bit of 'home' when we go visiting.  As much as they would probably hate to admit it, they do miss their parents and the sense of home.

My whole point in writing this post is not to show how 'fabulous' I am.  Quite the contrary....I really am not.  However, I am trying to use my gadgets and machines to make the processes faster and more efficient so that I can accomplish as much as I can in a short amount of time.

Consider it!