Blueberries!

We are up to $1447 in our Kickstarter to publish our cookbook, with only 15 days to go!  PLEASE tell your friends, donate $10, support local food!  Oh, look, a doe and two fawns just ran through my yard...I've seen the tops chewed off my hostas, or "deer magnets", which to be honest, I planted as a decoy to my crops if we ever got deer.  They are beautiful!  O.k., digression over.  Link to donate here.

  

We did our annual blueberry pick at Rocky Point Farm this week.  The new owners are very friendly and prices are still low (although higher than last year).  We picked 25 pounds, at $1.80 a pound.  (Prices drop the more you pick.)  We did a little measuring later and determined a pound to be about 3 cups of blueberries.  There are 2 cups in a pint, which can run $4-$5 in the supermarket.  Do a little math, and we paid $1.19 a pint.  Yesterday, I used 6 cups to make blueberry jam with Grand Marnier.  Along with the sugar ($3.80), new canning lids (66¢), Certo ($4), Grand Marnier ($5) and organic lemon (99¢), I spent $18.05 (reusing last year's jars) making almost ten half-pints of jam.  Can you buy that in the store for $1.81 each?  No, no you can't.  Now I have plenty for my family and some to give away, not the mention a freezer full of blueberries to use throughout the year.  I double-wash the berries, filling a sink with water and carefully scooping them out in layers into a colander, a large bowl, another bowl...to pick out stems and squished ones.  Then I clean out the remaining stems from the sink, rinse, and repeat.  

I also made blueberry lemon poppy seed muffins at the bequest of my step-son.  The only splurge item for that was the poppy seeds, at $5.34 for a spice jar.  Here's the recipe (variation with blueberries and lemon poppy seeds at bottom) and another variation on the jam:

Vegetarian/Wild Option*

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Rhubarb Goldberg Machine 

Taste of Earth

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1/4 cup butter, melted

2 eggs

1 cup strawberry yogurt*

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cup unbleached flour

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup rhubarb stalks, sliced 1/4” thick*

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)

This muffin has it all, but bakes light and fluffy.  Melt butter.  In a small bowl, whisk in eggs, then yogurt and buttermilk.  Sift dry ingredients in large bowl.  Mix  rhubarb, oatmeal, and nuts into dry mix.  Stir wet ingredients into dry until just moistened.  Fill 12 greased muffin tins.  Bake at 400ºF 20-25 minutes.

* Substitute plain or other yogurt flavors depending on fruit selected.  Try adding a teaspoon of vanilla or orange extract with autumn olives, blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, or strawberries, peeled apple or pear with cinnamon or ground ginger, or cherry with chocolate chips.  Make lemon poppy with 2 tbs. lemon juice, zest from organic lemon, and 1 tsp. poppy seeds.

Vegetarian

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Blueberry Chambord Jam

Taste of France

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6 cups washed and stemmed blueberries

1/2 cup water

2 tbs. lemon juice

zest of one organic lemon*

7 cups sugar

2 pouches liquid pectin (such as Certo)

1/4 cup Chambord black raspberry liqueur (one nip)

New England summers would not be the same without blueberries.  This jam is punched up by the French raspberry liqueur and lemon zest.  Combine berries, water, lemon juice, and zest in large sauté pan and let sit ten minutes.  Add sugar and mix well, until sugar completely dissolves.  Bring mixture to boil and boil hard one minute, stirring constantly and skimming off any foam.  Remove from heat and stir in pectin and Chambord.  Using a measuring cup, pour into sterilized pint jars, leaving 1/2” head-space.  Wipe rims if necessary and attach lids securely.  Process in pressure canner according to manufacturer’s instructions, for 10 minutes at 10 psi.  Makes 9 pints.  (Process 8 and keep one in fridge.)

Try these in the winter, or any time:

1. Mix blueberry preserves with ricotta or other soft cheese (such as yogurt cheese, page 180).  Use as spread or crêpe filling.

2. Warm preserves and spoon over ice cream.

3. Mix with yogurt.

4. Spread on toast.

5. Serve with pork.