Spiced Blueberry Jam

At the farmers market I am a part of here in Acton, we have a fabulous fruit vendor, Monadnock Berries. Without fail, every week I buy their blueberries. They are sweet, juicy, and most weeks don't even make it to be canned. Well this week I bought 2 quarts, and these lovely berries made their way into my Spiced Blueberry Jam, which is an altered version of Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard's found in The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups of fresh, local blueberries


• 2 cups of granulated sugar


• 1/2 cup of local honey


• 1 tsp of ground nutmeg (grate fresh nutmeg if available!)


• 1 tsp of cinnamon


• 1 tbsp of lemon juice


• 1 cup of water


• 2 pouches of Ball No Sugar pectin

For this batch, I was lucky to have whole cinnamon that I picked up at a market in Nevis, where I just recently enjoyed my honeymoon! The smell when grated was heavenly!!

Directions:

1. Grate your nutmeg (and cinnamon if you have some!)


2. Place the cleaned blueberries, sugar, honey, lemon juice, water, nutmeg and cinnamon in a non-reactive saucepan


3. Bring the mixture to a full boil and boil for a couple minutes


4. Add the pectin and let it boil for another 3 minutes


5. Ladle into your hot, sterile jars


6. Process them for 10 minutes


7. Enjoy!

Peach Lavender Honey Jam

Well summer is officially here. The blueberries are out, the corn is being picked, and the peaches are finally starting to ripen. This weekend I grabbed my first stash of utility peaches from Carlson Orchards in Harvard, MA. I also noticed the lavender in my garden was in full bloom, so what to do besides make some Peach Lavender Honey Jam?!!?

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs of local, fresh, sweet, juicy peaches (aka 1/2 peck or so, or 12 medium peaches)


• 1 cup of water


• 2 large handfuls, or 3/4 cup of fresh lavender (or less if you want less of a lavender taste)


• 3 Tbsp lemon juice


• Zest of one lemon


• 3/4 cup of local honey


• 1 pack of Ball No Sugar Pectin

Directions:

1. Boil some water, and blanch the peaches for a minute or so till the peel starts to come up at the X you cut into the peach.

2. Remove the peaches from the boiling water and let them cool!


3. While the peaches are cooling, boil a cup of water in a kettle. Take the lavender and put it in a cheese cloth bag (I use the same ones I use to make jellies). Put the lavender bag into a small bowl, and pour the cup of boiling water over the bag and allow it to steep for at least 15 minutes.




4. After the peaches have cooled, peel and chop them up
5. Combine the peaches, lavender water, lemon juice, and zest in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, and allow it to simmer for 15 minutes. The peaches should break down, and the mixture should thicken.
6. Add the No Sugar Pectin, and return to a boil, stirring constantly
7. Add the honey, and allow the mixture to simmer for another 15 minutes
8. Ladle into sterile jars and process for 10 minutes
9. Enjoy!!