A couple of weeks ago, Guest Contributor Lisa Fulk taught a private canning class for a group of women in Sarasota. Between the mimosas, the yummy snacks and the chitchat, they managed to cover the ins and outs of boiling water bath canning and made a delightful jam of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries.

Last Thursday  gave me an opportunity to do two cool things:  Fulfill a pledge made two months ago to visit and report on one local open mic per month, then report back on its unique “flavor.” Answer a question I didn’t even know I had: What’s the difference between an “open mic” and a “jam”?  This opportunity arose via my friend Steve, who mentioned the other day in passing that a jam happens every Thursday in a park by his house near Bee Ridge. Having never heard of this, my [...]