Violet Jelly

It is nice knowing creative people.  Creative people who know neat things.  Take Heather, for example, who not only knew about an amazing method for delicious, quick and easy homemade bread, but also knew that these pretty little weeds all over my lawn can be brewed up tea-style and made into a right-tasty jelly.

Wait...what?  Weed Jelly?  Yup.  Although the slightly more precise name "Violet Jelly" sounds a tad more appealing.  My husband looked at me as though I'd lost my mind when he caught me picking these blossoms and I informed him of my plan.  I wouldn't be surprised if you looked in the mirror now and had that same look on your face.

This jelly is a beautiful slighlty pink, slightly purple (dare I say...violet?) color.  It is intensely sweet and flowery tasting.  I'll be honest...it probably isn't the best jam/jelly that I've made.  But it is darn good.  And pretty.  And weirdly cool in an "I-used-to-be-completely-obsessed-with-Laura-Ingalls-Wilder-and-am-still-sorta-weird-and-"grandma-y"-when-it-comes-to-this-kind-of-stuff" kind of way.

Definately worth the time and effort, in my opinion.  Plus, it gives me something to do while the girls are running around the yard. 

In sort of a spin-off of "One man's trash is another man's treasure"... how about we now all say "One man's weed is another man's jelly"?

Violet Jelly

2-4 C. Violet blossoms
2 C. boiling water
1/4 C. bottled lemon juice
1 package fruit pectin
4 C. sugar

1.) Pour boiling water over violet blossoms and let steep for up to 24 hours.
2.) Strain out blossoms (I let it sit in the strainer for several more hours)
3.) In a very large sauce pan, mix the violet juice/tea, lemon juice, and pectin.  Bring to a rolling boil.
4.) Add the sugar all at once and stir.  Return to a rolling boil and let boil for one minute.
5.) Remove from heat and ladle into prepared jars.
6.) Process using the boiling-water method for 10 minutes.  (Or you can freeze whatever you aren't going to use right away).