Blueberry Lavender Freezer Jam

I absolutely adore blueberries. They are my favorite berry and lucky for me they are one of the healthiest foods there is. As with many other fruits, I went blueberry picking this summer. In total we picked about 20 pounds of blueberries and bought another fifteen.

(Random fact: while picking blueberries I picked a kitten as well. I had been wanting a kitten and there they were running around the blueberry patch! The owner said I could have one, so now I have more than just frozen blueberries from that trip, I also have Berry the cat!) 

In order to preserve some of the delicious blueberries I decided to make blueberry jam. But not just any blueberry jam, lavender blueberry jam (are you sick of my lavender posts yet?).

As with my lavender lemon bars I used lavender sugar to give this jam the faintest fragrance of lavender. At first I couldn't taste it, but as I swallowed it lingered on your tongue. I think it is an absolutely marvelous combination! 

I decided to make this a freezer jam so I didn't have to fuss with making real jam. But this combination can easily be made into canned jam (just make sure you follow a different blueberry jam recipe for the traditional canning process).

Since I am posting this quite a few weeks (ok, maybe months!) after I picked blueberries and made this jam, I would like to point out that this jam can be made just as deliciously with frozen blueberries. Just thaw them out and you're good to go!

Blueberry Lavender Freezer Jam

Adapted from the recipe inside Sure-Jell Pectin box

• 3 cups crushed blueberries
• 5 1/4 cups lavender sugar (recipe follows)
• 1 box pectin
• 3/4 cup water

1. Wash and rinse plastic containers with tight fitting lids. Use 1 to 2 cup size containers. 
2. Prepare blueberries by discarding stems and crushing (or blending in a food processor). 
3. Measure 3 cups crushed blueberries in a bowl and add 5 1/4 cups lavender sugar. Let stand 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
4. Stir 1 box pectin and 3/4 cup water in small saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat, sitting constantly. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. 
5. Stir pectin mixture into fruit or juice mixture. Stir constantly until sugar is completely dissolved and no longer grainy, about 3 minutes. 
6. Pour into prepared containers, leaving 1/2 inch space at the top for expansion during freezing, cover. 
7. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours until set. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks. Otherwise, store in freezer for up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator.

Lavender Sugar

•  1 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp dried lavender flowers.

Combine sugar and 2 tbsp dried lavender in an airtight container and let sit for at least two days, preferably more. Sift out lavender before using. Multiple this recipe as many times as necessary. 

I'm a Published Food Writer!

"With its motto 'Great Coffee is Public Domain,' this new coffeehouse in downtown Portland has set out to provide superior cups of coffee--not just something to drink every morning to wake up with, but rather a truly buzz-worthy experience."

This is an excerpt from my restaurant review of Public Domain coffeehouse that was published in the September/October issue of Northwest Palate.

Northwest Palate is a local magazine covering everything food, wine and travel-related in the Pacific Northwest. It is a great magazine and I had the wonderful opportunity to be their editorial intern this summer.

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that being an editorial intern would lead to my first real food-writing publication, but it did! 

You can find a copy of Northwest Palate at these locations. Pick one up this month or next and read my entire review of Public Domain.

Spicy Dill Pickles

My mother and I embarked on quite the adventure this summer. We made pickles. From scratch (well, from cucumbers)! It is something I have always wanted to do and have been talking about all summer, so we finally got up the guts to just go ahead and do it.

 
We devoted an entire day to Pickle Production. We woke up and purchased gherkin cucumbers and huge bunch of dill almost as tall as me from a local produce stand. We then went to the grocery store in search of all the supplies pickles require. We had to find pickling salt, a huge jug vinegar, and pickling spices.

We didn't have to worry about finding jars, rings, or lids because my parents had bought a couple boxes of wide mouth canning jars at a garage sale this summer! Score!

My mom did a lot of research online to find a dill pickle recipe that reminded her of the ones she would help her grandma make when she was young. She fondly recalls sneaking more peppers in the pickles jars before they were sealed--she loves a good spicy pickle!

Although my mom found a good recipe, we tweaked it a bit. We added a lot of garlic, more spices, and a lot of peppers. We also threw in some onions too, because when is a little onion a bad thing?

We got started by washing all the jars and then sterilizing them in a hot water bath. After they were sterilized we began eagerly filling them with the cucumbers and the spices. It felt just like we were packing a goodie bag or a gift basket! We knew when these jars were opened next they would be enjoyed by our eager mouths or by our lucky friends and family.

At this same time we were cooking the brine solution of water, vinegar, and pickling salt ( I looked at the ingredient list of pickling salt to see how it differs from any other salt, and it just said SALT! I went to several stores to find regular salt?!?). The whole house began smelling like pickles before we even poured the brine over the cucumbers. I am convinced I smelled like pickles for days too, although no one would admit it.

We then poured the brine into our fill jars and put on the lids. Next was the time consuming part. We had to boil each of the jars for fifteen minutes. We're lucky we had two canning pots but it still took about an hour to get all the jars processed.

Then came the very rewarding part (well, other than eating them)...we got to hear all the jars "pop!" as the lids sealed. This was proof that we had successfully canned pickles! They would stay perfectly fresh for up to year. Canning really is an amazing thing!

Now this particular recipe calls for the pickles to cure for eight weeks. This means eight whole weeks of torture and eating sub-par pickles from the grocery store. This was not going to fly with us so what did we do? We opened one jar not even 24 hours after making them. And believe it or not, it was REALLY GOOD! It looked like a pickle, smelled like a pickle and tasted like a pickle!

Of course I have opened several other jars since then (ya, it's still only been a few weeks) and they have only gotten better! The most recent jar was very flavorful and had a good amount of heat. I just served them two nights ago at my apartment warming party and am pleased to report that they were the first food to disappear. I would say our first pickling experience was a success and I definitely plan on doing it again next year!

Spicy Dill Pickles

25 lbs of Gherkins cucumbers
32 cups of water
2 cups pickling salt
12 cups white vinegar
Garlic, cut in half
Fresh Dill Weed
12 dried hot red peppers
Pickling spice
Peppercorns
Onion, sliced

Sterilize the jars and lids in a boiling water for 10-15 minutes. At this time have your cucumbers soaking in an ice bath to keep them crunchy.

Prep your pickles. If you want your pickles sliced, do so now, or leave them whole.

Make the Brine. Bring water, salt and vinegar to a rolling boil in a large pot.

Meanwhile, fill each jar. Put a layer of spices on the bottom: 2 cloves of garlic, 2 peppers, a few slices of onion, a sprig of dill, 1 teaspoon of pickling salt and 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns. Now, pack the jars with as many pickles as possible. Next put another layer of spices and flavoring agents on the top.

Fill each jar with brine, leaving a little room at the top.

Wipe off the top of each jar. Place a lid on each jar (these have just come out of the hot water) and seal with a ring.

Finally, process the jars in a boiling water bath from 15 minutes.

Pickles will be ready in 6 weeks if sliced and 8 weeks if whole. However, they are still delicious if opened sooner. Enjoy!