Harbingers

The mother robin outside (or rather, above) my office door has hatched her eggs. Every year, a family of robins returns to this successful nesting spot, in a ladder suspended under the overhang. It’s a sure sign of summer for our family.

Another harbinger of the change to the warm season is the strawberries; the ones we now have are the tiny alpine strawberries, sweet as candy. There are never more than a few at a time, little treasures to be savored in passing, or to garnish the morning oatmeal.

And every year, on the last day of school, we eat ice cream, topped with strawberries prepared by the kids. This year, we had an excess of berries, and not just a pint or two. Nope, we had more than ten pounds of hulled, cut berries (and only a spoonful of strawberry ice cream) left over after the kids headed home for summer break.

But I am a jammer, and the appearance of strawberries in the market and in the fields marks the beginning of the jam season. By putting up the excess now, we can enjoy a bit of sunshine on our toast in the dark days of February.

Because the school kids have done most of the work, many of the jars will be destined for our school auction in the fall. I know there is one woman in particular who will bid up her favorite all-fruit, so I measure out the ingredients for three batches.

But there are still more berries. I crack open some books for inspiration: my Larousse suggests a nice dessert of softly whipped cream and mint. I put a good portion of berries and sugar in a pot with a couple of sprigs of mint, and juice a lemon for pectin. A few cups slide into a freezer bag, awaiting some rhubarb that I know I will find at the market my next visit.

I stop to think a bit. At this point, Darling Husband nonchalantly drifts through the kitchen, and a large handful of berries disappear into a bowl of ice cream. Since he is a wine lover, I find my inspiration. The remaining berries are unceremoniously dumped into yet another pot with a large dose of a Napa Valley Pinot Noir and a bouquet garni of wintery-type spices (cinnamon, anise, cloves and nutmeg). A chopped apple will gel this batch.

While I cook up the all-fruit at the end of a long day, I am grateful for the preserving power of sugar. The other batches can macerate until I have an few moments during this busy weekend.

The season is officially open!