Give me a spring filled with sassy stalks of puckery-sweet rhubarb. A harbinger of the season, to be sure, but preserved for heartier meals of colder months, it never feels out of place. Now, my rhubarb jam is enjoyed with homemade yogurt and the first blush of the most fragrant and juiciest of strawberries. Come fall and winter, this jam, with the softest note of toasted Szechuan and black peppercorn, will be just as comfortable snuggling on the savory plate with roasted pork, duck and turkey, and always, slathered on warm, buttery toast and biscuits. Shaken into a cocktail? I’ll further investigate.

A Saturday shop at North Union Farmer’s Market scored me 4lbs. of Muddy Fork Farm’s finest, hued a ragingly hot pink tourmaline. Armed with my copy of trustworthy The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook and well-honed intuition, this year’s 10 pint batch heralds the onset of the 2012 canning kitchen.

My name is Heidi. I am an Instagramoholic and a Hipstamatic devotee´. All but the first photo were taken with the Hipstamatic Foodie Pak; Loftus lens, DC film. Follow me @ hrobb