Ode to the Food Processor

So, somehow I've never owned a food processor before. I know, I know, how can you be domestic at all and not have a food processor, right? Well, I did things old school. I mashed. I grated. But apparently my family got tired of seeing me spend an insanely long time each summer grating zucchini for zucchini bread, so my mom had the keen sense to purchase a food processor for me for Christmas. I hadn't used it until today (shame on me). However, after spending many a hot summer day mashing strawberries for jam, this was amazing.
I made apricot/peach jam first today. Why the mix? Because apricots are small. Really small. And supposedly you have to peel them, and cut them, and mash them, and then cook them. I did a few of those things, but after peeling two plus a finger, I figured people could just deal with it. I was right, you can't tell. But anyway, after chopping all the apricots, I realized apricot pits must weigh a ton, because I was short on fruit. So instead of picking more (it's hot in Missouri, come on), or buying apricots, I bought peaches. Because (follow me here) peaches taste similar to apricots, only they're way bigger. So, I have to do less work. Ta-da!
I've never canned jam where you don't use pectin, and I tried very hard to follow the instructions to cook it enough to get to a "jelly" consistency. However, it still looks a little runny. Eh, for my first try, it tastes good, that's what matters, right?
I also canned strawberry jam using the food processor. I've done strawberry jam for years, and this was the first time I didn't have to mush up all the berries. It isn't nearly as chunky, which is something I always equated with homemade, but it tastes great and looks very pretty and uniform. Unfortunately, my never-ending battle with pectin and jam did not stop this season. I'm hoping my strawberry jam sets up a bit more. It has, quite a bit, but without the big chunks, it's going to be more runny than I'd like. We shall see. Like I said, I'm not awesome at any of this, but I'm okay at it. All my jars sealed (a record for me, considering I've got over 20 jars of canned goodness in there). I didn't get any jam in my hair. The kitchen doesn't look like a battle zone. Small victories, people.