Being Domestic

My sophomore year of college, I remember going to Aural Skills one morning and telling my friend Dillon, (and I think Josh was there, too), how excited I was because the previous night I was domestic. I proceeded to tell them that I boiled a chicken, took the meat off the bone, and then made King Ranch Casserole, which I love. I doubt that they remember that conversation, but I remember it; I remember being excited about being domestic.

Now that I'm in a different stage of life, where cheese quesadillas or mac & cheese just don't cut it for dinner on a weekly basis, I feel that I certainly AM more domestic. But sometimes I get in the mood to take it a little step further. - Especially if it's easy to be even more domestic.

Blueberries are abundant and cheap in Baton Rouge! One pint of blueberries is one dollar, so Claire and I have been enjoying lots and lots of blueberries. They are delicious!

Yesterday I received my July issue of Real Simple in the mail. I am usually very systematic about how I read a magazine. If I'm going to read the entire thing, I like to start at the beginning and read each page until I get to the end. But the cover story of the July issue was too exciting for me, so I just jumped to the story on 3-ingredient recipes. Then, I continued to look at the rest of the recipes in the issue. I'm planning on making the no-cook meal for dinner tonight, and I'm hoping to make some of the 3-ingredient recipes next week. But the recipe that I've already completed - because it sounds wonderfully yummy, it's right up my alley, it has blueberries in it, and it was, as the magazine said, secretly simple - is blueberry jam.

I have never made any type of jam or jelly before in my life. I have not been that domestic. But today I have crossed over the easy, simple boundary of making jam. And, once again, I enjoyed being domestic!

So here it is, straight from page 183 of the July issue of Real Simple, secretly simple blueberry jam.

Start with 5 cups of blueberries.

Add 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Mash the berries until they release their juices.

Cook them over medium-high heat, and stir occasionally. Cook until the mixture thickens - about 18-25 minutes.

Put the already-finished-because-it-was -so-easy blueberry jam in containers. Refrigerate for up to a month or freeze for up to a year.

That was fun! I did it while Claire was napping. (Well, she was supposed to be napping; she was awake for much of that half hour, but she was in her crib). It was easy, and I am super excited about the product. I love homemade jams and jellies! Once again, it was fun being domestic!