It's an Apricot Fiesta!

 So June has been APRICOT month for me. They opened up the church apricot orchard for picking--and I picked!

 I haven't even counted up how many pints of jam, fruit leather, and dried apricots I've done, but by the time I got to the last few batches of jam, I had perfected my recipe!

 The Jalapeno--Apricots new best friend!

 Ingredients:
8 Cups cut up Apricots
1 Lemon, 1 Lime (about 1/4 cup juice)
3 Cups Organic Sugar (evaporated cane juice)
1 Cup Real Maple Syrup
1 Cup Honey
1 Cup Agave
1/2 Can Crushed Pineapple
1/2 JALAPENO--Don't be afraid to use this--it's the secret ingredient!

 That's right, you don't see pectin in the recipe. I suppose you could add it, but I like my jam a little fluid, not clumpy. You just add all the ingredients (I cut up the jalapeno and blender it up with the lemon/lime juice, so nobody gets a green chunk--you should see my first batch!) Use a very large pot because when you start to boil, it gets fluffy! Bring to a rolling boil, stirring frequently for 30 minutes.

 Before you fill your pints, add a couple of apricot nuts (shelled pits) to your jars. It enhances the flavor and they have a nice almondy kind of zing if you want to munch them later. You only need to process this for 10 minutes, then take from your canner and wait for the pings! Makes about 6 pints (more or less) of Fiesta Jam!