I’m making the first jam of the summer! One of my favorite farmers had a TON of strawberries for me to make jam. I’m thankful for this, because I didn’t think I’d manage to make strawberry jam this year – this is the end of the season.

The berries are seconds, which I am still learning how to use, so it’s been an adventure. But the canner’s heating up, and the berries are smooshed and the sugar’s measured, and I’m ready. And I have so many seconds leftover, I might manage to make a second batch. (I’ll need more jars, though.) I’m not holding my breath on that one, though.

The catch, though, is that I get kind of frenzied in making jam each summer. Bill’s forbidden to buy jam, generally, because I can make it and we have a lot. Always. So we have a bit more from last year, and I’d like to share with you!

So, if you’re interested in two jars of jam, made by me & Bill (yep, he helped in all batches!) in our home kitchen, just leave a comment telling us what you’ll do with it! Especially if you do something other than make peanut butter & jam sandwiches, or put it on toast. (That’s what this family does, and we could use some more ideas.)

I’m not sure how to ship it safely (and through customs) internationally, so let’s keep it to the United States, for this first giveaway. If you’re in Chicago, I’ll even hand-deliver it to you, if you’d like.

We’ll end the contest about 24 hours from now, at 6:30pm (CDT) Friday the 8th of July, 2011. I’ll pick a number randomly from the comments, and post a winner Saturday the 9th of July, 2011!