Pie in a Jar

It's blueberry season, people. I've been waiting quite patiently for this time to come back around and it's finally here! The weather has finally warmed up enough to ripen those beautiful berries and the U-pick farms around Washington are open for business! I could not be more thrilled, which is why I went to Bryant Blueberry Farm in Arlington on Thursday and picked my first 28 pounds of blueberries.

Ok now, I know what you're thinking. 28 pounds of blueberries?! Quoting my bff, "What does one do with 28 pounds of blueberries?" That's a perfectly valid and logical question. So to start, I have to explain the oatmeal debacle. Last year's blueberries ruined us for plain oatmeal. Jake and I were going along just fine, eating plain old oatmeal everyday before work until I started putting blueberries in it. Later in the year, I'd make it with frozen blueberries that I'd preserved from my picking and it was equally delicious. And then, when we finally depleted our blueberry reserves and had to start eating plain oatmeal again, it was a total letdown. It's like this episode on Seinfeld when Elaine and Jerry are on the same flight, but Elaine is in the mundane, crowded coach seat and Jerry is in the decadent first class seat. He tells her he's been in first class and knows what it's like now and can't possibly go back! Having blueberries in your oatmeal is like flying first class; I can't go back to coach now! So, Jake, being the smarty mathematician that he is, dutifully calculated how many pounds of blueberries I'd have to pick in order for us to eat a 1/4 cup of blueberries in our oatmeal every weekday of the year until blueberry season comes again. According to his calculations, I'm going to have to pick around 51 pounds! I know, you probably think I am crazy to be actually contemplating picking 51 pounds of blueberries for oatmeal. Having blueberries in your oatmeal everyday is not a necessity – I realize this. However, if it means I get the day started off right with some antioxidants and a smile, plus have an amazing time picking each and every one of them (at only $2 a pound for organic, local berries), I think it might be worth it.

So, because I couldn't possibly store all of those berries without enjoying some of them while they're especially ripe and spectacular, I put some of them to immediate use this weekend. I made blueberry butter. And by making said blueberry butter, I officially became a canner! That's right – I made a canning recipe that I processed using the boiling water method and can proudly say that I'll be storing those goods on the shelf, thank you very much! And the result (because yes, I already opened one jar – can you blame me??) – toast never had it so good! Believe me, if you think apple butter is good, try this recipe ASAP. It is phenomenal!!

Blueberry Butter

Adapted from Slow Cooker Blueberry Butter, foodinjars.com

According to Ashley in Canning and Preserving with Ashley English, the book I've been reading before bed (yep, I'm just puttin' it all out there now), a fruit butter is "a fruit and sugar mixture where cooked fruit is pureed and then combined with sugar and heated until smooth and velvety."

I'm finding that a frying pan splatter screen is a valuable canning tool. This recipe makes a mess. Oh! And note to self - don't wear white while simmering this dark blue butter!

I highly recommend that you check out the original recipe for this butter, which uses a slow cooker. I will most definitely try it out some time. Naturally, I had ten million projects going on at once when I made this, so I just made it on the stove. But, it turned out delicious all the same – like pie in a jar without the crust!

Makes approximately 3 pints

8 cups of pureed blueberries (about 12 cups of fresh blueberries)*

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

Put the blueberry puree, sugar and spices in a stockpot and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about an hour, until the mixture has cooked down and is dark and smooth. Make sure to stir often so the mixture does not stick or burn.

Ladle the blueberry butter into your sterilized mason jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

*Blueberries puree beautifully in a blender, no added liquid necessary.

My First Batch of Jam

Ok, so I'm noticing another little pattern (didn't I just reveal a neurotic part of my personality last week?). Here's the thing: I get really excited and inspired about an idea and I want to do it all...right now. Then, when I'm in the midst of taking it all on at once and have way too much on my plate, I have a little stress breakdown and have to assess the situation. To my friends and family, this is old news. In fact, they're the ones that usually get to listen to me vent and talk through how I'm going to make it all work without going crazy. Luckily, because of my energy and enthusiasm, I always follow through. I may get a little stressed out in the process, but you'd better believe I'll finish what I started.

So, when I finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and decided to go seasonaltarian, my first instinct was to dive into it full steam ahead – start going to the farmers' market, grow my own food, make my own bread, can my own tomato sauce, and so on. But, for some reason, I really took things one step at a time. I decided to start off by really learning to grow food year 'round. Then, I bought the no-knead bread cookbook and started to master making my own bread. Last summer, when my garden was bursting with seasonal bounty, I thought about learning to can, but felt unprepared (literally lacking all the necessary canning supplies) and preoccupied with all my summer harvesting and winter garden plans. So, I ate my fresh summer vegetables and froze the rest.

Until now. I decided that this would be my year for canning. And after my "mother in law" hooked me up with all things canning for Christmas this year (a bath canner, canning rack, jar lifter, jar funnel, mason jars and lids), there was no turning back. So, on Sunday night, I completed my first "canning" project: strawberry jam. I have to say though that this doesn't really count because I made freezer jam and I have yet to process a canning project using the hot water method...but it's only a matter of time.

I decided to call this freezer jam because it is super low in sugar and since sugar is a preservative, I wanted to make sure it would keep. That being said, I got this recipe and canning advice from a Master Gardener colleague, Greg, and he didn't say anything about freezing it, so I'm sure it would be fine. Being the germophobe and hypochondriac that I am, I like to be on the safe side.

Like I said, I was thrilled to hear about Greg's strawberry jam because it has hardly any sugar. Most of the recipes I find call for almost equal parts fruit to sugar, if not more sugar. I just didn't want that, and I hit the jackpot because this jam is amazing. I still have a lot to learn. It took me twice as long as he said it would, but it was worth every minute.

Greg's Strawberry Jam

I used organic whole cane sugar, which is what I think gave the jam it's rich, Merlot-like color and flavor. I also discovered that chardonnay tastes even better with a few strawberries floating in your glass and helps the work of prepping strawberries go by in a flash!

1/2 flat deliciously ripe, organic farmers' market strawberries (about 9 generous cups)

1 cup sugar

Wash, hull, and cut the strawberries in half. Put them into a large mixing bowl with the sugar and let them sit overnight.

Strain the fruit from their juices and put the juice into a heavy stockpot on the stove. Adding the berries later will help them keep their form. Bring the liquid to a soft boil, stirring frequently. The goal is to slowly boil the sugar/strawberry juice mixture, without burning, until it starts coating the spoon (this is called "sheeting," I'm told) and reaches 220 degrees, which you monitor with a thermometer. This takes about 30 minutes.

Then*, add the fruit to the pot, bring back to a boil for about 5 more minutes and you're done.

Yields 5 (and 1/2) half-pint mason jars.

*This is where things went awry for me. When I added the strawberries to the mix, it obviously changed the temperature and I guess because of the juices that were present in the berries, the gelled nature of the mixture I had just created changed. So, I continued to boil the mixture for another 30 minutes – the amount of time it took me to get the mixture back up to 220 degrees again and start sheeting.

If it wasn't clear before I started, I am new to this whole canning business and should probably talk to Greg about what he thinks about my 30 additional minute conundrum. That second 30 minutes of boiling probably wasn't even necessary, but it just didn't seem right. The beauty of the whole thing is that the result was delicious! And I am hooked and ready to can again. I can't imagine that this recipe, the way I've presented it at least, will be helpful to you, considering the fact that I can't actually tell you how long you should boil it. But I can tell you that the experimentation was worth it. I can foresee many canning posts in the months to come!

Jam it, pickle it, cure it

I first discovered this book in September while we were killing time in a little book store in Orcas Island. It was featured in a section all about canning and preserving food. But what's different about this book is that it's not really about canning. Jam it, Pickle it, Cure it by Karen Solomon does have some classic canning recipes, like strawberry jam, but it primarily features tons of recipes for typical processed foods. It also gives you storage information for each food. Since I've been avoiding buying processed foods, I was thrilled to find this book. I can't wait to try the recipes for DIY mustard and ketchup, graham crackers, and butter. Does anyone wonder what I'll be doing during my summer vacation this year?