I’ve been (not-so-patiently) waiting two years to make strawberry jam. The year I learned how to can I didn’t start until June or July, well after the last luscious red berries had been plucked. And last year, well, I’ve already lamented about missing strawberry season last year.

This year, we were lucky enough to catch the tail end of the Sweet Charlies and the beginnings of the Chandler strawberry crop; the Charlies are a super sweet, early berry, while the Chandlers are large, gorgeous, flavorful berries, each delicious in their own right. We picked a bucket of each, and didn’t waste any time turning them in to two batches of beautiful ruby red jam.

The strawberry vanilla jam might be my favorite. It is a traditional pectin-free jam, and so it’s cooked longer to bring out the natural pectin in the berries. The resulting flavor is sweet and sultry, and almost tastes like strawberry ice cream on it’s own, but when drizzled over ice cream becomes otherworldly. The strawberry balsamic is a quick pectin-based jam, so the flavor is brighter, more like freshly picked berries, with a hint of balsamic vinegar lingering just beneath the surface.

The strawberry season will likely last for a few more precious weeks; something I need to take advantage of. I’d love to explore more variations, I’m thinking a strawberry basil or a strawberry lavender jam could be life-changing. Strawberry peach? Meyer lemon? Chocolate? Black pepper? Red wine? So many possibilities, so little time.

If you’re interested in the strawberry balsamic jam recipe, I just added 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar to the basic strawberry jam recipe that came in the low-sugar pectin package. When I’m looking for a bare-bones basic jam recipe, that’s usually the first place I go. Although the basic non-pectin recipe below could easily be adapted, replacing the vanilla with a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.

©2012 Love and Olive Oil

Shades of red: marmalade edition.

Actually, I discovered, plain blood orange marmalade isn’t all that red; rather it’s a lovely shade of rich orange with the slightest pinkish hue. Like a sunset, really. But additions like extra ripe strawberries and deep red Chianti wine enhance the color, creating a marmalade gradient that is really quite stunning.

Blood oranges are at the very tail end of their season right now. And I mean the very end. Meaning, if you see some now, buy them ALL, because it will be a long, blood-orangeless summer if you don’t.

Granted, these recipes would work just fine with regular old oranges, too. I wouldn’t tease you like that.

This was my first time actually making marmalade. I used the process outlined at Food in Jars, which seemed a bit more straightforward that other sources requiring you to cut and slice apart the orange in all manner of ways. Apparently soaking the pieces overnight is supposed to tenderize them. This marmalade definitely has more tooth to it than some commercial versions, but I’m ok with that. No one wants a dainty marmalade anyway.

Now, about these jars. I started searching last year for alternatives to the ubiquitous mason jars and two-piece pain-in-the-you-know-what lids. I swear I’ve got buckets of those stupid rings that I can never seem to reach and/or find when I actually open a jar and need one. Indeed, one piece lids are not only much more aesthetically appealing (and you know that matters to me!) but also more practical. I also loved that these jars came in 4 and 6 ounce sizes; which, for infrequent jam-eaters like ourselves, meant less wasted jam. Plus the facets… the gorgeous, hexagonal facets and the dramatic black lids… I could stare at these jars all day.

I did my research, and everything I found said these lids would work just fine for water bath canning. I am not a canning expert, and I certainly invite anyone who is to chime in. Of course, the USDA only officially supports two-piece lids for home-canning use, so make of it what you will. If I offer you a jar of this beautiful marmalade, I’ll understand if you politely decline.

I will say that I had success getting the jars to properly seal, no more or less than regular jars, although it did take longer: the tell-tale “pop” didn’t occur for a few hours after the jars had finished their bath, unlike the mason jars which popped almost instantly. I had a few jars that didn’t seal, and those went in the fridge for immediate use.

The same company also sells smooth standard mason jars, without all the raised, tacky ‘decoration’ that the Ball jars have. You could use those with your trusty two-piece lids and they’d still be beautiful. Because, you know, as much of a fuss as I make about the jar, what really matters is what’s inside.

©2012 Love and Olive Oil

“It could solve all the problems of the world, that pie… it’s a thing of beauty — how each flavor opens itself one by one, like a chapter in a book. First the flavor of an exotic spice hits you, just the hint of it. And then you’re flooded with chocolate, dark and bittersweet, like an old love affair. And finally strawberry, the way strawberry was always supposed to taste but never knew how.”

This isn’t the first time I’ve mentioned the movie, Waitress, and it probably won’t be the last.

Out of all the pies in a movie about many pies, this one always stuck with me. Strawberry Oasis Pie. I’ve been waiting all year for strawberry season so I could finally recreate it.

Thanks to the super-warm weather, strawberry season came early this year.

Based on the description, this pie could have gone one of two ways: first, a strawberry pie, with some chocolate. Maybe a drizzle, maybe a chocolate crust or a base of semisweet chocolate. And I’m sure it would have been delicious. Or, (and it’s no surprise I went this direction instead) a decadent chocolate pie, laced with strawberries.

I wanted chocolate. Lots of rich, dark chocolate. And a recipe for a black-bottom chocolate pie turned out to be the perfect jumping-off point. The crust for this pie is one I’ll definitely be repeating; it has melted chocolate as the binder in the crust, and holds together beautifully.

I added a layer of whole strawberries in the bottom of the crust. Fresh, not cooked, so the bright and full strawberry flavor shines through. A perfect pairing for the decadent chocolate, complete with that little bit of exotic spice (courtesy of ginger and nutmeg).

I think this one would make old Joe proud, don’t you?

©2012 Love and Olive Oil

Yes, you read that right.

I just so happen to have two extra copies of my book.

Sitting in front of me.

And I’ve decided to give them away.

Not some ethereal concept of a book floating in cyberspace. Not an advance copy. An actual, physical copy.

Two lucky (very lucky!) folks will win them, over a month before the “official” publication date.

How do you win?

Just leave a comment on this post.

Before midnight on Tuesday, May 1st.

(Really? It’s May? Already? What happened to the rest of the year?)

I’ll randomly select the winners on Wednesday.

Anyone can enter. I’m even willing to ship them internationally.

How cool is that?

No bonus entries. No crazy rules or requirements. Everyone has an equal chance of winning. Just leave a comment. Simple as that.

Good luck!

***GIVEAWAY is now CLOSED***
Congratulations to the lucky winners, Katie (#268) and Alex (#552)!
Thanks to everyone for entering!

©2012 Love and Olive Oil

Pre-orders will be accepted through next Wednesday, with expected delivery around May 18th. I’m happy to ship these shirts worldwide, so if you’re outside the US and wanting to order, please email me for a shipping estimate.

Also coming soon to the shop: AUTOGRAPHED copies of The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook! Stay tuned!

Some folks have been asking if I’ll be doing a book tour. The short answer is, no, unfortunately. We will be planning a few events including a signing and demo here in Nashville (mark your calendars for June 16th!) as well as another tentative event in Aspen, Colorado the following week.

June 5th is rapidly approaching… 39 days and counting!

©2012 Love and Olive Oil