Blackberry Freezer Jam

So you all know how I'm avoiding sugar and flour.  Which, by the way, I haven't been doing that great at it for the past week.  It started with a batch of irresistible almond cookie dough and continued with a fun-filled road trip to Michigan, and is currently being maintained by a spoonful of blackberry freezer jam.

The jam happened like this.  Giant Eagle had a grand opening for their new store down the road.  Grand opening = rock bottom loss leaders, no?  Of course.  Case in point: 6 oz. package of blackberries only $1.  Ben ran in for a couple things while the girls and I snoozed in the car.  I said, "Can you pick up a couple containers of blackberries?" Amazing man, he picked up 5. Isn't that sweet? I love him.

Last night after church, I popped in a DVD from the library called "Hoarders: Season 1".  I thought, "Oh, this sounds interesting.  I've heard people say it's a bit addicting."  OH MY WORD.  Let me just say, I have done nothing but clean all. day. long. today.  Disgusting show. The basic premise is they go into the homes of people who have a hoarding disorder and help them address their condition and clean up the symptoms of said condition in two days.  Perhaps I need to purchase this series whenever I lack cleaning motivation.

*shudder*

The first show highlighted Jill, a woman who has a food hoarding disorder.  I choked back my gag reflex a number of times in horrified amazement at the hideous conditions this troubled woman was living under.  Literally under.

So...why am I talking about blackberries and the Hoarders show in the same post?  Well, that trip to the grand opening was 2 weeks ago, and those blackberries were starting to shrivel. Shriveling is the closest I want to come to the conditions Jill was living in.  It was the last thought on my mind before I fell asleep and the first one when I woke up.  Blackberry freezer jam made it on my MIT (most important task) list today.  And judging by the spoon I licked unabashedly, it is delish.  I couldn't find a recipe for the exact proportion of blackberries I had, so I adjusted and winged it.  The one thing I really like about it is that the jam was thick, an absolute anomaly with freezer jam, which is notoriously soft-setting.

Blackberry Freezer Jam
Ingredients:
4 - 6 oz. clamshells blackberries (approximately 2 cups crushed)
3-1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1 box fruit pectin (Sure-Jell, Ball, Certo)
2 Tbsp. lime juice

Directions:
Crush the blackberries with a potato masher, about 1/2 cup at a time.  In a large bowl, combine the blackberries and sugar, and stir until well combined.  In a separate saucepan, dissolve the pectin in the water.  Bring to a boil.  Allow it to boil hard for one minute, stirring constantly.  Add lime juice.  Pour pectin water over the blackberries/sugar and mix well.  Stir for about 3 minutes or until the sugar crystals are pretty much dissolved.  Immediately pour jam into freezer jars or jam jars.  If putting in the freezer, leave headspace for expansion.  Makes about 5-1/2 cups.