Jam

Start off your Independence Day celebration with homemade Strawberry-Blueberry Jam. Serve with cream cheese, a muffin or toast.All American Jam1 1/2 cups strawberries (about 1 1/2 pints), washed, stemmed and crushed1 cup blueberries (about 1 pint), washed, stemmed and crushed4 3/4 cups sugar1 1 3/4 -ounce size package powdered fruit pectin3/4 cup waterMix fruits and sugar thoroughly in a large bowl; set aside 10 minutes.Stir pectin and water in saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring 'u constantly.

With hits like "Alive" and "Jeremy," Pearl Jam quickly shot to the forefront of the alternative-rock music scene and became one of the most popular rock bands of the '90s. The band members have been selling out stadiums and arenas for almost two decades, all the while maintaining their organic Seattle roots. The band is on a 12-stop tour of the Eastern United States this summer, its first American tour since 2006. They play at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Verizon Center, 601 F St. N.W., Washington.

The lowdown -- Comedian Mike Epps, known for his Def Comedy Jam broadcasts and appearances in both Friday sequels, brings his no-holds-barred act to the Lyric Opera House tomorrow. Epps began his comedic act as a teenager, rising to fame after he moved to Atlanta and worked at the Comedy Act Theater. If you go -- The show is at 8 p.m. tomorrow at the Lyric Opera House, 140 W. Mount Royal Ave. Tickets are $42.75- $55.75. Call 410-547-7328 or go to ticket master.com. Rock bands The lowdown -- Don't miss Mayday Parade, Powerspace, We The Kings and Madina Lake at the Ottobar on Sunday.

Children will help conduct the worship service at St. John Baptist Church on Sunday as the west Columbia congregation holds a Children's Day service recognizing young people in its Sunday school classes, those graduating from high school and others."

Transferring to Lake Clifton from DeMatha for his senior basketball season, guard Josh Selby kept Baltimore basketball fans on the edge of their seats with rim-rattling dunks, helping him earn All-Metro Player of the Year honors. On Tuesday night, Selby won the 2010 Powerade Jam Fest in Columbus, Ohio. The dunk contest, which featured eight top high school players, was part of the McDonald's All-American Game festivities and was broadcast on ESPN. Selby was one of four to advance to the championship round.

Pimlico racecourse chose cheap-and-dirty over environmentally-responsible when it came time to "clean up" after the Preakness ("Preakness crowd big, but cleanup goes fast," May 17). I would bet at least 50 percent of the 100 tons of refuse carted off to the incinerator was recyclable. They wanted to get their hourly workers out of there as quickly as possible rather than do the right thing for the environment. As the worker interviewed in the piece said, she wished it had been possible to separate out recyclables.

It's one of the more crackpot civic katzenjammers in recent years: How come the so-called cash-strapped city can find the $5.5 million needed to prepare streets for the Grand Prix next August, while officials resort to tambourine rattling to keep public swimming pools from closing? The three-day Grand Prix event to be held on a 2.4-mile course around the Inner Harbor and Camden Yards promises, the mayor and other officials say, to bring more than 100,000 people to the city and keep cash registers ringing.

Transferring to Lake Clifton from DeMatha for his senior basketball season, standout guard Josh Selby kept Baltimore City basketball fans on the edge of their seats with rim-rattling dunks, helping him earn All-Metro Player of the Year honors. On Tuesday night, Selby took his high-flying act to the national stage when he won the 2010 Powerade Jam Fest in Columbus, Ohio. The dunk contest, which featured eight of the top high school players, was part of the McDonald's All-American Game festivities and was broadcasted on ESPN.

The pain is still fresh, but Mary Ida Vandross has to find a way to face the music. A year after burying the last of her four children, the great song stylist Luther Vandross, the Philadelphia resident can hardly bear to hear recordings of her son's famed champagne tenor. "I'm getting a little adjusted to listening," she says. "Before, I just couldn't do it. It's one day at a time." She's promoting The Ultimate Luther Vandross, a posthumous best-of collection with two previously unreleased songs.

Mrs. Eugene Rose from Haviland, Kan., was looking for a recipe for making strawberry freezer jam. Catherine Wanniski of Boothwyn, Pa., sent in a very easy recipe for making the jam. Her recipe calls for using Simple Creations freezer jam fruit pectin by Ball. The key to making any successful no-cook jam is using the correct type of fruit pectin and the best fruit available. While this recipe is for making strawberry jam, the package of fruit pectin provides helpful instructions and proportions for making the jam with other fruits and berries.