Blueberry Jams and Blueberry Basil Vinegar

BLUEBERRIES! It was a fun hour of picking and Mark and I ended up with about 20 cups of blueberries for $18. We brought them home, rinsed and found only 2 green berries, not bad.

After canning today, I still have about six cups of blueberries left.

The first thing I did was to start some blueberry basil vinegar. Doesn't that sound dreamy? After four weeks of a swirl every day or two, I'll strain off the fruit and we'll have blueberry goodness to mix with oil and sprinkle on our salads. Is your mouth watering too?

The next recipe I did was Blueberry Citrus Conserve. I thought of how much daddy loves blueberries and how much he and momma both love orange marmalade. What a wonderful combo! I ended up with six half-pints.

Finally, I made some Mixed Berry Jam. I increased the recipe to use six cups of blueberries and two cups of strawberries that I had purchased at the height of Plant City Strawberry season and sugared, then froze. I didn't want it too sweet, so I reduced the sugar to 4 cups instead of 6. Running short of smaller jars, I canned three pints and about 2/3 of a quart jar that will go right into the fridge once it has cooled. The sweetness is perfect and the flavor of the strawberries and blueberries is 50/50, only a mild disappointment as I wanted more blueberry flavor, but a taste test on a slice of toasted buttered farm bread confirmed absolute deliciousness!

Easter's a Hopping Time!

The Easter Bunny came!

More on the jars in my other blog, There's A Cricket In The Corner. I made six.

Brownie Mania!

The Chocolate Chip Cookie/Double Stuff Oreo/Fudge Brownie thing is cooked and our house smells like heaven! I think David will love this!

Sangria in the fridge! I followed this recipe and it tasted amazing. I can't imagine how much better it will be after resting in the fridge overnight!

Easter Dinner

Turkey in the Crock Pot

Mashed Potatoes

Ginger Ale Carrots

Collard Greens

Deviled Eggs

Dinner Rolls

Strawberry Trifle

Cookie Dough/Oreo/Brownie Bars

TURKEY - I am cooking an 11-pound bird in the crock pot. Aunt Louise and Uncle RP told me years ago that it worked great, which it does. I miss Uncle RP, and so in his honor and to honor my sweet Aunt Weezy, the turkey's gonna hit the crock pot! I'll cook mine in my big crock with the lid on and I cover that with folded up beach towel. I'll use an old dark colored one, because the last towel I used discolored. If your bird is a little too big for the pot, just cover with heavy duty foil and then the towel. The turkey goes on at 6AM and my job is to ignore it all day. Dinner will be ready at 2PM. I have done it before, but found these directions online and, sans the celery and carrots, it looks like it'll be pretty tasty.

MASHED POTATOES - No brainer. Peel, boil, mash Yukon Gold Potatoes with cream and butter, sea salt and white pepper. We have an ancient potato masher that belonged to my mother in law. It is special to me.

GINGER ALE CARROTS - I love ginger. I do all kinds of acrobatics in the kitchen, but grating ginger is at the bottom of my list. When I saw this recipe, I knew it would taste great!

COLLARD GREENS - Grown in my organic community garden. Clean and cut it up, add a pound of raw smoked apple wood bacon (cut up), onion, salt, seasonings. It'll just be a simple reheat on Easter Sunday.

DEVILED EGGS - Paula Deen has my recipe! I sometimes add a slice of stuffed olive for pretty, or a shake of paprika or parsley.

ANGEL FOOD/STRAWBERRY TRIFLE - I love trifles...it's the best of all sweets: vanilla pudding, strawberries, whipped cream and angel food cake.

COOKIE DOUGH/OREO/BROWNIE BAR - My sister Kat says this is amazing. I might have to make it for the kids. Who am I kidding? It's for me!!

I'll probably skip the cookie dough thing on Sunday, but posted it here for future reference. If I can get off of work for our family reunion, I may make it for this, but not for the contest as this isn't from scratch.