No-Sweat Fresh Blueberry Jam July 6, 2010

 

Doesn't get any better than this....and no sweat...

Let me say up front….I’m not a jam or jelly maker. Sure, I enjoy cooking and occasionally baking, but the standing and stirring and pectin and water baths and  boiling of  jars…just, no, ok? So this recipe I can present to you as something that is guaranteed easy, guaranteed no-sweat and even the pickiest jam lover will think you’re a genius. 

Two ingredients...that's it...

The ingredients: 

1. one pint of fresh, washed blueberries  

2. one jar Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry Preserves. That’s it.  

Mix the preserves with the berries, stir, put it in a pretty bowl, Grab the butter the biscuitsand hey, it’s time for breakfast on the back porch….you’re done.  

Add a warm biscuit...it's blueberry heaven....

 

You’re now in blueberry heaven. Seriously, this is so good, with a few variations it could even be a gourmet fruit topping for ice cream…almost like a compote. Add a little brandy or liquer that you like, maybe a squeeze of lemon, warm slightly(not too much or you’ll pop the berries and the freshness is gone), top with a few more blueberries and a sprig of fresh green mint….gourmet dessert. Enjoy, my fellow shortcut lovers. And let me know if you have other simple things you do to make something special out of a couple of simple ingredients….I’ll share with everyone. 

 

Fresh Blueberries are like the Economy…. September 24, 2008

Blueberries and the Economy

It’s all coming to an end…my inexpensive supply of fresh blueberries in the grocery store. And easy credit. And sky high home values. And the good times, good times, good times. Sad, isn’t it?  Oh sure, you can still get the blueberries…if you don’t mind paying 3, 4 5 bucks (or more), for what is basically a two day supply. See, I put antioxident rich blueberries on my cereal every day, along with some plain yogurt and cinnamon and walnuts(also not cheap these days-yikes-oh and I see a new report that says walnuts slow cancer tumor growth-more tomorrow on 11 News at Five)…but blueberries are key to the success of my breakfast. And the lovely, luxurious days of two pints for $4 or $5, are just gone with the summer heat.

Unfortunately we didn’t realize that same thing, kinda, was going on with the economy….that the winter would be coming….we all happily danced along thinking the cheap fresh delicious blueberries would always be on store shelves, won’t they? And now we’re shocked, shocked at what has happened. People losing their houses, stock market in a state, bailouts that our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be paying for…but it has to be done, I get that.

Now it’s to pay up or go frozen. And I will probably use frozen blueberries, but I have to remember to get them out of the freezer in the morning, in time to thaw…which I rarely do and so you either eat icy blue globules, or nuc them. Just a darn inconvenience really. But maybe that’s what makes them so fabulous in the summer….the fact that you know you probably won’t have them this winter. We didn’t really appreciate just how  great everything was, did we?  Perhaps we will find a gratefulness for what we do have….though perhaps it is less than yesterday. And know that summer will return, maybe not exactly the same…maybe the bluberries won’t be quite as big or sweet next summer, but they will come around. I will buy them, and eat them, and be happy for them, however they come. And come they will.