Blueberry Jam

We be jammin'!

10 lbs of low bush blueberries

 So, what am I to do with 10 lbs of low bush blueberries? Besides turn my fingers blue eating them? ;-)

Time for blueberry jam. I have made strawberry jam before- after picking the strawberries. It's a little easier to go to the farmers market and buy 10 lbs of blueberries! Especially these. Have you ever tried picking low bush blueberries? I had already purchased 4 pints of blueberries when I came across Kathy from Valley View Farm who lured me in with the 10 lb box. 

So, I put the 4 pints in my backpack and I carried the 10 lb box home. (Low bush blueberries do not do well in a backpack. I almost had blueberry sauce by the time I walked home. Those were the first into the pot!)

Rock got all my canning stuff out of the attic and away I went in search of my Ball Canning Jar cookbook. Alas, nowhere to be found. Ah, the internet is a wonderful invention. Came up with a lot of recipes, almost all using pectin, which I don't normally use. Finally found a good one using sugar and lemon juice.

12 cups of blueberries ready to boil.

The finished product- blueberry jam

I'm not giving a recipe for jam as everyone who jams has their own favorite way to do it. If you have the Ball Canning Jar cookbook, it's the best. I'm going to have to track another one down somewhere. The old one. Have fun!

White Cedar Inn 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

Lemon Tart

Lemon tart

The name says it all...'lemon' + 'tart'!

A wonderfully refreshing summer dessert. The first one I made was with 'regular' lemons and then I made another one over the weekend with Meyer lemons. A slight taste difference but both of them work well.

How to:

1 premade pie crust (I use the Pillsbury rolled up refrigerated pie crusts. Let sit at room temp until it is easy to unroll.)

3 eggs

3 lemons (for zest & juice)

1 1/2 c sugar (reduce sugar by 1/4-1/2 c for Meyer lemons)

1/2 c flour

Unroll pie crust into a tart or quiche pan. (A pie pan or large cake pan will also work.) Prick bottom and sides to keep from puffing up. Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned. (I found this works much better than the pie weights from the Kiwi Tart recipe.)

While the crust is baking, zest and juice the lemons. You should have at least 2 tbsp of zest and a 1/2 c of juice. If the lemons are cold, nuke them for 5-10 seconds before juicing to get more juice out of them. If 3 lemons aren't enough, juice another.

Whisk the eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and flour together.

Let pie shell cool a bit before pouring lemon mixture in. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Center should be well set, not wiggly at all. Let cool & refrigerate. Slice into wedges, dust with powdered sugar to serve.

Makes 12 servings. 

BIG TIP- don't forget to reduce the temp on the oven from 450 (baking pie shell) to 350 (baking tart). Yes, I learned that the hard way.

Printable recipe.

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

Wordless Wednesday- Fireworks

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032