The flavour of summer

When I was a child we used to spend summers at my gran's little house in the country. Her neighbour was a strawberry farmer and there were Strawberry Fields Forever (sorry, couldn't resist that ...), and we got to stuff ourselves on juicy red berries all summer. As soon as the sun got out, so did the pickers. There were full baskets of the stuff everywhere, and even the air we breathed seemed to taste of strawberries. Somehow sunshine and strawberries have become intermingled in my mind, so that when I breathe in the smell of these lovely berries I imagine it is the smell of sunshine itself.
Imagine my delight when a friend of mine phoned yesterday evening saying "I have five kilos of strawberries with your name on them!" She had passed through my childhood paradise and stopped to buy some for herself, and decided to get some for me as well.

Not only did she bring berries, but she also brought sugar and pectin and the berries were without husks so I could start making jam right away. What a great friend!
In less than an hour all the berries had been through the food processor, mixed with sugar and pectin, poured in containers and put in the freezer. How great is that! I just love this kind of jam, because you don't have to use so much sugar, and you get the lovely summery taste of fresh berries all winter.
Mmmmm - lovely!