Vintage photo and recipe swap with My Mom's Junk

I am going to try to get back into the groove of blogging. I'm not going to do a lot of explaining or excuses of why I don't blog every day, week or month. I just don't live to blog. That being said I am doing a little photo and recipe swap with my friend Tosha of

My Mom's Junk. She is an amazing mother of 6, a blogger, junker, DIY'-er, etc.. etc.. Yep, one of those. And she is funny too!

Here goes... The woman in the photo is my grandma Essie Mae. She was basically the one person that inspired me to be a thrift shopper, an up-cycle-er, up-fashion-er, fashionista, a seamstress, a dancer (not really) but she did dance a jig all of her life right up to time of her death at age 98! Now a cook she was not! She was a terrible cook! She didn't live to eat like some people I know... um hmmm. Anyway, she always told me to "just take a small tastes of every food offered but not make a pig out of myself or I would become fat. And I should want to stay slim like grandma"! In fact, when she would come visit she had me take cod liver pills to help me gain weight (I was a very skinny child). Well, who knew those blasted awful tasting oily pills were timed-released!! Yep, at around age 35 I began to gain weight and could not stop!!

Well now, I veered off the subject, didn't I?

 Grandma Essie loved and adored a good old jar of WATERMELON RIND PRESERVES. She did not leave me with her original recipe but I am pretty sure it was much like the one I am posting.

 

Essie Mae

 Watermelon Preserves

Ingredients :  2 lbs. watermelon rind       3 cups sugar

1. Remove the green rind of the melon, and dice the white part into small cubes, leaving the red flesh mostly intact. Remove seeds.
2. In a heavy stockpot, combine 4 cups of the prepared watermelon, and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and let the mixture boil slowly for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. The temperature of the mixture should be at 220 degrees F (105 degrees C) so the jam will set.
3. Sterilize the jars and lids in boiling water for at least 5 minutes. Pack the jam into the hot, sterilized jars, filling the jars to within 1/4 inch of the top. Run a knife or a thin spatula around the insides of the jars after they have been filled to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a moist paper towel to remove any food residue. Top with lids, and screw on rings.
4. Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then carefully lower the jars into the pot using a holder. Leave a 2 inch space between the jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary until the water level is at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a full boil, cover the pot, and process for 10 minutes.