I was asked to help teach a class about using fresh herbs and my assigned herb was oregano.  It is one of the herbs that I don't have growing in my garden, lol, but I thought that I could give this presentation a shot!  

     Most people equate oregano with Italian food, but my two Italian experts, Anita and Jessica tell me that Americans use a lot more oregano than Italians do in our pizza and pasta sauces.   Oregano can actually be found in the food of many cultures.  It is very versatile and has health benefits as well!  

      I did share a recipe for a homemade Italian pasta sauce to begin with in my segment of the herb class, but then I decided to do a couple of more unusual recipes as well!  I'll be sharing a few of those with you in the future, but today I thought I would give you the recipe that probably received the most positive comments of the night.  It is the Strawberry Oregano Jam! 

     You may think that the oregano would be too overpowering for a sweet jam, but the opposite is true.  The oregano is very much just a back of the palette earthy flavor that helps to cut through the sweetness of a regular strawberry jam.  
        I wanted to make this jam less sweet, so I broke the cardinal rule of jam making and messed with the recipe!  I used pectin, but I also used chia seeds that would help with the thickening process.  I added lime essential oil as well because I wanted the brightness to go with the earthiness of the oregano.  The jam is still a little thinner than normal, but so delicious! 

      This recipe made a lot of jam.  I canned these jars while still saving out about 2 cups of jam to in a container in the refrigerator to share at the class!  

     Remember when making your jam that you must follow the directions and add the ingredients in the order given.  It really does make a difference in the outcome of the jam.  But, if for some reason the jam doesn't set, this will be super delicious on pancakes or crepes! 

     It is a lot of fun to add variety to your normal recipes and people are always eager to try them.  At the end of the class, one of my friends grabbed a plastic cup and poured some of the jam in it to take home!  I felt so complimented and happy to share!  So, here is the recipe, don't forget to click on it for the printable version. 

     Disaster happened this past week!  In the midst of making this ice cream, my ice cream making bowl started leaking the freezing fluid out of a crack that was suddenly on the side of the bowl!  There may have been tears at the loss of my beloved ice cream bowl!   But, Amazon came to the rescue and I was able to get free same day delivery on a new bowl!  Whew!  What a relief.  
     I decided to go with the knock off brand Ice Cream Attachment for my Kitchen Aid this time because it was so much less expensive.  This one was on sale, plus had an additional percentage off coupon, so it was a great deal! If you prefer the Brand name of Kitchen Aid, it is also on sale right now, but just not as low as the one I bought this time.  We will see how it goes! I just knew that with summer coming and temperatures soaring here in Phoenix that my Ice Cream attachment would get a lot of use, so I had to replace it ASAP!  

    Those pictures, in the above collage, were taken at my mom's 98th socially distanced(sort of), outdoor birthday party.  You can tell just by looking at her in those photos that she is amazing.  
      Okay, 2 sentences and I am already tearing up, so wish me luck getting through this Mother's Day Post. 

     My mom married my dad at the age of 18 and shortly thereafter, my dad was drafted into WII.  She was young and had a lot to face in her life from that time on.  She worked hard, always stayed strong no matter what life threw at her, gave birth to 7 children and has certainly seen a lot of history in her lifetime. 

    To look at me, I take after my dad's side of the family in looks.  But, my mom has always told me that everyone says that I am more like her in personality.  That is an extreme compliment to me, although I know I have had my dad moments as well.  My goal was always to be as good of a mother as she was to her children.  I fell short in a lot of ways, but I am so grateful for the example she always set for me.  I thought that for this Mother's Day I would express to you some of the things that she taught me.
​

•  Put worry to good use!  I confess that I am a worrier and I have seen my mom worry, too.  Our family had a lot of financial hardship, in spite of what a hard worker my dad was.  And after he died it was even more difficult for my mom.  ​Although she had a lot of worries, she also would formulate plans, work on those plans, pray about them and get through her struggles!  That was a great lesson that she taught her children. 
• Be a little bit of a romantic and incorporate it into your life!  I just kind of realized this about my mom recently, but she does have some romantic tendencies, even though she can be very practical as well.  She loves to read poetry and good fiction books and talk about them and how they made her feel and the things that we could take away from them.  She loves to do kind things for people and to see their reactions and the joy that she brings them.  I love seeing people's reactions to surprises, too.  My own family is all much more low key than I am when it comes to reacting to gifts, good news and simple surprises, but I try to bring those experiences into our lives as much as possible, just as my mom did.  Finding romance and joy in simple pleasures can soften hard times for adults and children alike. 
• Give selfless service!  My mother served her family tirelessly and selflessly.  She would do whatever she could to help us have what we needed and to achieve our goals, even though she often had to let us down easy when some things were just too expensive and impossible to do.  She always was considerate of our feelings and the feelings of others.  Our parents always taught us to be kind to others and to help who we could.  She took people into our home quite a few times when they had no where else to go.  And, even though we were poor, she sewed us clothing and kept us clean and fed us delicious meals that we all look back on with fondness.

                 One experience I remember in particular was when I was in Jr. High School Home Ec. Sewing                   class.  We had to purchase and bring to school our own fabric to make a dress in our class.  One
             of my friends was late with her fabric and complained to the teacher that her family couldn't                      afford to buy the material.  I went home and told my mom.  She took me to the fabric store and                   had me pick out some material for my friend, even though we didn't have much money either.                     The next day I went to my friend privately and tried to give it to her.  She was embarrassed and                   told that she had only said that to give the teacher a hard time and she had gotten the fabric.                       That was a little embarrassing for me, but the lesson of service my mom taught me has always                    stayed with me. 

• Have fun with your family!  Even if you can't afford big vacations, you can still have fun together as a family.  We usually visited relatives on our trips to anywhere,  or they came to visit us, because family is important!  We would play games, inside and outside.  There was always a lot of laughter.  My mom loved the holidays and always made them magical (another way she incorporated her romantic heart), and we children always had opportunities to give to each other.  Planning surprises and wrapping gifts for my parents and siblings from the "5 & Dime" are some of my favorite memories.  My husband and I tried to incorporate those ideas of giving to each other with our children by taking them to Walmart or you could go to the Dollar Store to get each other small but meaningful gifts.  Or, handmade gifts have always been a part of our holidays as well.  This taught us that selfless service can be fun! 
• Go to Church with your children!  When my mom married my dad, his family were member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  She was not, but my grandmother invited her to attend and she consented.  My father didn't attend very often because he was always working mostly, but he did want my mom to take their children to church, so she did.  As she attended, she began to learn the teachings and beliefs of the church.  She was actually made a Primary teacher before she was even baptized!  But, one day someone found out that she wasn't even a member and asked her if she wanted to join.  She readily agreed!  Ha Ha Ha! Since that time, she took her kids to church faithfully and then, when she was a grandmother, she served a proselyting mission herself! (The church doesn't send out grandmothers to proselyte anymore, she was one of the last!)  Her strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been a wonderful example for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.   My church membership and the blessing of having the Gospel in my life is absolutely the main thing that I attribute my life's happiness to.  I can never thank my mother enough for taking 7 children to church all by herself, dressed in Sunday clothes, often sewn my her own hands.  I can't imagine what my life would be like without that opportunity. 
• Always let your children know that you love them and that they are important to you!  I have never heard my mother wonder why she ever had so many kids or what she might have done if she hadn't had to raise us all. Do you know what she always does say?  "I have the greatest kids!"  She is proud of all of us.  At 98, she still worries about us and tries to help us, if only with her words of comfort and advice.  She looks at her children as the jewels in her eternal crown.  She always tried to help us succeed and cheered us on.  She is the reason I was able to go to a college I never thought I would be able to go to.  Her children do truly call her blessed.  

      Because of my mother's example, I know that being a mother is truly the most important job that I have ever done.  I know it because of the impact her mothering has had on me and my brothers and sisters.  By impacting 1 life (or 7) one woman can absolutely change the world.  I am so thankful for my mom.  I am so thankful that I am a mom, and a grandmother.  And, by the way Mom,    I have the greatest kids! 

​Happy Mother's Day 

​This post contains affiliate links and we will be compensated for any purchases you make at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!

Many years ago, when I was in elementary school, we made a Mother’s Day gift one year based on the book I Love You the Purplest by Barbara M. Joosse. Despite the simplicity of it, my mother loved it and even now, roughly 15 years later, still has it. Whether this is to make for your child’s own mother or you are making it with a class of students, it is sure to be a gift that will be remembered and treasured for years to come.