PREP: 45 minutes PROCESS: 30 minutes MAKES: 6 quarts
3½ lb. fresh rhubarb
2 qt. fresh strawberries
6 cups sugar
1½ cups regular Clear Jel (tip, page 213)
8 cups cold water
½ cup lemon juice
½ cup chopped fresh basil
1. Rinse rhubarb and strawberries. Cut rhubarb into 1-inch pieces. Hull strawberries and slice about ¼ inch thick; set aside.
2. In a 4-qt. pot combine sugar, Clear Jel, and the water. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens and bubbles. Add rhubarb and lemon juice. Boil 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Immediately fold in the strawberries and basil.
3. Pack hot filling into six hot sterilized quart canning jars, leaving a 1¼-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims; adjust lids and screw bands.
4. Process filled jars in a boiling-water canner 30 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling). Remove jars from canner; cool on wire racks. (Canning tips, pages 461–466.)
PER ½ CUP PIE FILLING: 170 cal., 0 g fat, 0 mg chol., 12 mg sodium, 43 g carb., 1 g fiber, 1 g pro.