Blueberry Jam without added Pectin and a Blueberry Jam Crumb Cake

When Life Gives You Berries!

Blueberry Jam without added pectin Recipe
4 cups wild blueberries
4 cups sugar

Place berries in a medium nonreactive saucepan and crush to release their juices. Add sugar and bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Continue to boil (and stir) until mixture thickens. Use a candy thermometer and heat to exactly 220F (about 5 minutes).

Remove jam from heat and skim off foam. Ladle into desired storage container (small canning jars are ideal), leaving about 1/4" head space. Jam will continue to thicken and set at it cools.

The temperature method works every time, but if you don't have a thermometer or would just like to be extra certain you can test the jam by dipping a cool metal spoon into the boiling jam mixture. Raise the spoon about 8 inches above the pan (out of the steam). Turn the spoon so the liquid runs off the side. The jam is done when the syrup forms two separate drops that flow together and hang off the edge of the spoon. If that doesn't make sense, there's a diagram here from the National Center for Home Preservation.

Blueberry Jam Crumb Cake Recipe
For cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

6 Tbsp butter or coconut oil, softened
1/2 cup whole milk or buttermilk
1 large egg
1/2 cup blueberry jam

For crumb topping
6 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
3/4 tsp freshly ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

For the cake:
Preheat oven to 400F. Butter an 8-inch square or round cake pan if it's not silicone.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, beat together butter, milk, and egg, then stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter into cake pan. Dollop jam all over surface, then swirl into batter with spoon.

For the crumb topping:
Cream together butter, sugar, cinnamon, and salt until smooth. Stir in flour, then pinch with fingertips until incorporated. Sprinkle crumbs in large clumps over top of cake.

Bake about 25 minutes, until bamboo skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes.

Pecan Blondies

Crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. This is one awesome giant cookie!!

Pecan Blondie Recipe

1 cup pecans
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp molassas
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 egg
1 cup unbleached a-p flour
t tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips (to make your own, freeze a good quality chocolate bar and break into pieces with a sharp knife)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Toast pecans for 5 minutes, until quite fragrant. Remove from oven and cool.

In a medium bowl cream together butter and sugar; stir it remaining ingredients in the order listed until just blended. Lastly fold in cooled pecans.

Turn batter into a 10" tart pan. Cover with a piece of parchment and use hands to spread dough to evenly cover bottom of pan. Remove parchment and bake for 30 minutes until it starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove from oven and cool.

Serve slightly warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Berry Good Granola Bars

Berry Granola Bars Recipe

2 cups thick cut rolled oats
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup sucanat
1/4 tsp molasses
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups dried berries (i.e. gogi berries, cherries, blueberries)

Butter an 8x8 baking dish if it isn't silicone. Preheat oven to 350 F.

Spread oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ onto a baking sheet. Place in the oven for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, combine the honey, sucanat, molasses, butter, vanilla and salt in a medium saucepan and warm over medium heat until butter has melted and the sucanat has completely dissolved.

Once the oat mixture is done, remove from oven and reduce heat to 300 F. Add oat mixture to the pan with the syrup mixture, add dried fruit; stir to combine. Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish and press down to evenly distribute; bake for 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool completely. They fall apart if you get impatient and cut them too soon. Cut into desired sized portions and store in an airtight container.

Basil Pineapple Carpaccio for Two

Basil Pineapple Carpaccio with Kiwis Coulis Recipe

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup (packed) basil sprigs
1 pineapple, peeled, cut crosswise into 1/8 to 1/4 thick slices
3 kiwis, peeled
1 pint mango sorbet
1/4 cup thinly sliced basil leaves

Heat water and sugar until all the sugar is dissolved. Turn off heat; add basil sprigs. Let stand until cool. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours. Remove basil sprigs.

Meanwhile, ararnge pineapple slices in a large shallow dish. Pour basil syrup over pineapple, covering completely. Let stand at room temperature 4 hours, turning pineapple occasionally. Puree kiwis in blender. Cover and chill until ready to use.

To serve, arrange desired amount of pineapple slices on a plate. Top with sorbet. Garnish with kiwi puree and chopped basil.

Homemade Baking Powder

How many times when baking do you reach in the cabinet and think, "OK, was I looking for baking powder, soda or both? Ever wonder why it's one or the other or a combination?

Baking powders use an acid and base, which, when combined with a liquid, form bubbles that cause baked goods to rise. If there is already an acid in the recipe such as buttermilk or yogurt, you only need to add the base (baking soda) to get the bubbles. Simple enough.

Why do some recipes call for aluminum free baking powder? Because some commercial powders use an aluminum salt for the acid and it can give an unpleasant metallic taste to the finished product.

Is baking powder perishable? Yes. It can react with ambient moisture in the container and, therefore, have no bubbles to your fluff up your baking. Some commercial powders add cornstarch in an attempt to slow this process. To test your baking powder add 1 tsp to ½ cup hot water. If it doesn't bubble, it won't work to leaven your baked goods so it's time for a fresh batch. It's super simple to make your own.

Homemade Baking Powder Recipe
(makes about 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup cream of tartar
2 Tbsp baking soda

Sift together and store in an airtight container for up to a month. If it clumps, simply re-sift prior to use.
If you prefer not to make a whole batch, use 5/8 tsp cream of tartar and 1/4 tsp baking soda for each tsp of baking powder called for in a recipe. You could alternatively replace 1 tsp of commercial baking powder with 1/4 tsp baking soda in the dry ingredients and 1/2 cup buttermilk, yogurt or soured milk in the wet ingredients; decrease another liquid in the recipe by 1/2 cup. Or add 1/4 tsp baking soda to the dry ingredients and 1/4 cup molasses in the wet ingredients; decrease another liquid in the recipe by 2 Tbsp.

For more about baking powder, see the related How Stuff Works article.