Blueberry Jammin Part 1

Here's the recipe I'm using for my first batch of blueberry jam. I'm excited. When I saw all the sugar called for, I adjusted amounts. I used about 6 1/2 cups of berries to get the 4 1/2 cups of crushed berries. I crushed them with a potato masher. I used organic raw cane sugar, and organic lemon and lime peel, and fresh lime juice. I've never made this recipe before, but Valerie Bear, at Bear Hollow Blueberry Heritage Farm, where my blueberries came from, said it was a good one.

I got a dozen of these half-pint jars for $5.86 at Winco, cheapest price around I could find, and here they are washed and drying with their lids and rings.

Tools of the trade...get yourself some measuring spoons, a little juicer, measuring cup, couple big containers, couple big pots, and a half ton of organic evaporated cane sugar ($.97/lb. at Winco). It's unbelievable how much sugar you can use in jam. The OG raw sug is milder than the white refined crack grade. In jam, sugar does bring out the flavor of fruit, and it's a preservative. My next batch will be with a low-sugar pectin, and I'll use less than half the sugar I do with this one.

The mashed blueberries are measured and ready in the pot.

Heating up the jars in the canner with the rack in place.

The lids are heating too.

Blueberry Jammin Part 2

How beautiful is that? The pectin is in with the berries now and I'm heating it to a boil. See the recipe, Part 1.

Stirrin in the sugar, then it has to boil hard without sticking for one minute. A heavy pot is good, plus you gotta stir it. Burnt sugar tastes bitter, so this is crucial. Did I mention it's really hot tonight, not the best night for firin up the canner, but that's typical canning weather---that's what makes those fruits so yummy sweet.

The profound moment of jarring has arrived. If you want to can and make all this great food for winter, get a Ball Canning Book. It's only about $7., and it has all these important steps to make sure you will safely put up your food. It's easy, but there are rules to it, like heating your jars, and a bunch of other things, but once you learn the process, you can do amazing things, canning, freezing and drying. Also, there are a few tools that you'll need, like a canner with rack, jar funnel, tongs, and jars. I won't explain all these steps here, because this info is readily available, even online. I love this stuff, I learned it from my mother, and it's really in my blood, literally I think, from eating this way over the years. I give thanks that I'm here and able to pick my food again another year, this amazing organic food that we're so blessed to eat, and put it away for winter. I'm doing more canning this year than freezing because it's better storage for me. I don't even eat that much jam, but you can use this in smoothies, a spoon in fruit salad, in plain yogurt, on cereal and a little in any baked thing for brilliant color and pizazz. Layer a little with peaches and yogurt in a pretty glass.

As I fill each jar, it goes into the canner on the rack, then I'll lower them all at once, make sure there's water to cover them 1-2", turn up the heat and start counting 15 min. when it comes to a boil.

After the 15 min., I lift them out with big jar tongs, put em on a towel away from drafts, and leave them overnight. You hear the lids popping as they seal. Success!
I got 8 half pints done in 1-1/2 hr. time, including setup and cleanup. Today in the store, I saw some fancy blueberry jam that was selling 5 oz/ $4.95. Mine are 8 oz. and organic and with the lemon and lime. Mine probably cost $2. ea. I'm estimating. $40. vs. $16. makes it even sweeter!

U-Pick Blues

Yesterday I headed out to Bear Hollow Blueberry Heaven to pick high bush blueberries for the winter stash. Wow, what a place. These bushes were planted in 1948, they're unsprayed and grown with organic methods, but not certified (it's very costly). I love where these berries live!
At $1.75 per pound, I know I'll be savin some serious dough over Farmers' Market prices. I could get some deals at the market, but they're usually grown with chemicals. Plus, I love to pick. Try it, get out there and see where your food lives, it's pretty cool. Much more interesting than the supermarket.

Blues are a superfood, and these are so plentiful, it's like pickin clusters of grapes. I hope I brought enough money, 'cause it'll be hard to stop!

At the back where I like to pick is this old railroad trestle, usually you can hear some hawks around, songbirds, and there's hardly anyone else here. Guess the heat scared people off. Lucky for me, some of these bushes haven't even been touched.

In about 2 hours, I picked 14 1/2 pounds, these are gallon milk jugs filled to the top. All these cost me less than $24.00. I am so stoked! Home to jam!

Into the kitchen for a ginger beer break, assess the jam recipes and assemble the equipment. Wait till you see how quick and easy this is.

My First Tomato!

"Wake di town an tell di people!" My first tomato off the vine! Major payday with bonus for every gardener, that day when you pick the first one. Kissed by the sun moon and stars, and ripened to perfection! The first one traditionally goes on the best bread you can find, likkle salt & peppa, and that's all you need---make sure you give the spirits some too, give thanks for the harvest....an it's only the beginning.

June Done & Gone!

Was gone for a couple weeks in June---everything still lookin pretty good. Here's the garlic above before I left...

Came home and harvested the garlic, and some shallots. Pretty nice yield (20 bulbs) for that marginal land strip. Garlic is like a 'free' crop---plant one bulb (a dozen cloves) in the fall, and by next June you've got a bulb for every clove you planted, that's 12x return, not a bad investment return in these dire economic times. Plus, it's pretty pest resistant and care-free. And, besides being the essential ingredient in nearly everything I eat, it's got natural anti-biotic and anti-viral properties. And...if that weren't enough, it'll keep vampires away too. Try some. At $5.00/lb. I'm doin well with this harvest. I grow the 'hardneck' strains because they keep the longest, that matters if you grow a lot more.

Two weeks later, and check the squash tub, wow. I have baby crooknecks already.

Remember the tomatoes with beans on the left and cukes on the right? They're climbing up the poles and growing like mad. Pretty sight to come home too.

The front of the main box again. I don't know about those potato bins (left). Everything is growing huge except for them. Won't know how they worked till I dig for the taters, nothing yet.

A Look at June

In 2 weeks, my sign is almost overtaken by the tomatoes! Check the small green mater lower right.

These photos were all taken June 15 at the community garden---the big box with heirloom tomatoes above, you can still see the tops of the cages but they're growing so fast.

I needed one more tub for my fave, Yellow Crookneck Squash, and got this for $5 at Home Depot, it's around 20 gal. and took a full 2 cu. ft. bag o dirt. Yellow Crookneck is an heirloom squash--if you pick em small, you can keep up with them. Plus the male flowers are dee-lish too.

At the other end of the box, more tubs---on left, tomato with pole beans at the back so they can climb up onto that arbor which now has peas, and they've been feeding me for weeks. On the right, another heirloom tomato with cucumber at the back to climb up the arbor eventually or hang down. That's another potato in between.

The front of the big box, with more tubs of potatoes (black) and tomatoes (green), looks pretty wild!