Week 3 - Blueberry Bonanza
Tina
6/21/2010 8:58:00 AM
I know. It would be more helpful if I posted more regularly, but I get so busy cooking that I forget to write about all the yummy things I've made.
In our share for Week 3, we recieved assorted lettuces, onions, beets, summer squash, zucchini, cucumbers aaaand a bag of blueberries.
The blueberries are easy. We popped them into our mouths like candy and ate them before my husband even got home from work. (Shhhh.) It's not that there weren't a lot - there were. But my nearly 5yo and I were so happy to see them that we just couldn't stop ourselves. We gorged on them.
The following weekend we went blueberry picking at Bryant's. We went a little bit crazy and picked nineteen pounds of blueberries. The first thing I did when we got home was to make two beautiful Blueberry Cream Pies. I follow their recipe pretty much exactly, except I think I add more blueberries.
Then I made two batches of the most delicious blueberry lime jam. That recipe is why we picked so many blueberries. Last year, my family went through that jam so fast that I had to hide a jar in the vegetable drawer behind less popular produce so I could get some of it. I've done a fair amount of canning in the last 3 years and I've found that blueberries are one of the easiest things to can. There's pretty much no prep work. You don't have to peel and slice them. Since they don't spray at Bryant's I didn't even wash them (completely out of character for a germaphobe like myself). So trust me - if you've ever wanted to try canning, take the opportunity to start with this recipe. It's from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.
Blueberry Lime Jam
Makes about 6 8-ounce jars)
4 1/2 cup crushed blueberries
Grated Zest and juice of 1 large lime
1 pck regular powdered fruit pectin
5 cups granulated sugar
1 Prepare canner, jars, and lids.
2. In a large, deep stainless steel saucepan, combine berries, zest & juice. Whisk in pectin until dissolved. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Add sugar all at once and return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard, stirring constantly, for 1 minutes. Remove from heat and skim off foam.
3. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot jam. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.
4. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.
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