Chartreuse (Mint) Jelly

I suddenly realized this spring that I do have a lot of mint in my back yard - mountain mint, spearmint, and fuzzy mint.  And that I also have organic local lamb in the freezer.  Mint jelly is the classic accompaniment for roast lamb, so I made mint jelly.  I've had the eerily green commercial mint jelly before  - tasted like I was eating gum - but I really liked the spoon-licks of my homemade spearmint jelly.

I followed the directions on a box of Sure-Jell, essentially making a strong sweetened mint tea and thickening it with pectin.  Not too hard, even for a cook like me who prefers to make and eat freezer jam.

Apparently I am a canning newbie, however, because I had to dash down to the basement, scattering children, for more supplies not once, not twice, but three times with hot jelly on the stove.  Surprisingly, all the jars sealed!

I made this jelly now before the rush of summer produce.  And I'll probably wait for the fall apples to can applesauce, even though some of the summer apples make gorgeous sauce.  I'm trying to make canning manageable even with a part time job.