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Blueberry salsa

At the veggie drop-off last week my meat farmer Dwight was having a hard time selling his ground meats because people were going blueberry crazy. You see, this was the first year Dwight was taking over the blueberry table and it was quite overwhelming. As I road back home I started to think of how I might help out. It wasn’t until a few days later when I started thinking about tacos that an idea came to me. So today, before I packed up my bike trailer to head for the drop-off, I threw a cutting board, knife, apple cider vinegar and salt & pepper into my bins. On my way, I picked up a bag of corn chips at Coop la Maison Verte. Once at the drop-off, I started chopping up a pint of blueberries, a green onion and some basil. The blueberry salsa recipe was born! As other members came to get their veggie boxes I invited them to taste the salsa which they could all make with what was available that day and hinted that it could go well with Dwight’s meats for tacos.

So here it is, blueberry salsa!

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Currants

Master Jam Recipe

Last summer, I was on the hunt to make jam without store bought pectin or white sugar. As I scoured  the net for answers I came upon surprisingly simple solutions. The first was to make pectin from scratch using crab apples (recipe to come). The second was to use honey as the sweetener.  This has now become my base recipe for all the jams I make. Continue reading

Crab apple pectin

Jam: from pectin to jar

I have been making jam for about three years now. When I first started, I was using store bought pectin, white sugar and jars with one time use lids.

Now, three years later, I’ve switched to making my own pectin from foraged crab apples here in the city. I’ve also replaced the sugar with locally made honey. Lastly, I’ve opted for Tattler Reusable Canning Lids to keep the jams in their jars.

All this has lead me to thinking. Why not host a workshop and show others how to make jam from pectin to jar?

So, in July of this year, I will be hosting a 4 part jam making workshop.

Part 1: Urban foraging for crab apples to make pectin.
Part 2: Visit to an urban apiary and honey harvesting.
Part 3: More Urban foraging, but this time for some good “jamming” fruit.
Part 4: Jam time!

Stay tuned!

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