Strawberries

Because I have no self-control, and because I shop like I am feeding a family of 14, I bought a flat of strawberries at the farmer's market. So, a month or two ago, after dragging home said flat of strawberries, I was left to decide between letting them rot in the refrigerator and writing my thesis, or doing something much more fun and finding something interesting to do with the strawberries. The strawberries won.

After finding a recipe for sugar-free strawberry preserves in the Ball Book (I think), I went to work. I hulled and washed the strawberries, then boiled them half to death while mashing them a bit. It did feel the littlest bit tragic going from thisto this

Next I dissolved a bit of sweetener and gelatin (resuspended in lemon juice; have to do something if you're not using sugar...) in the hot strawberries, boiled that a bit longer, and spooned the mix into small 2 oz. or 4 oz. jelly jars. They cooled overnight at room temp., then went into the fridge. The book said they can be stored in the fridge for about a month, but so far they are still fine and taste mighty delicious. The gelatin does give the preserves a very bizarre texture, but it tastes very fresh (even with all the boiling), so it's hard to care too much.