So we are quickly approaching fall here in Fairbanks (yeah, I know, don’t remind me. I don’t really want to think about it either) and so that means the fall veggies/berries are in FULL blast. I have been making loads of jam/jelly (for the first time ever!), and shredded zucchini like it is nobody’s business. Seriously. I have one in the fridge right now that needs to be shredded and frozen in fact. I have made zucchini bread like four times in the last three weeks.
The zucchini thing is a little bit ridiculous. One we week had sauteed zucchini with dinner three times. Last night we had zucchini boats for dinner. And like I said, the zucchini bread. And here is the craziest part: I didn’t even plant any zucchini at my house. There are three plants in the planter at my work, and my mom has two or three plants in her garden. And they are HUGE zucchini.
I went to bake the other night and brought out a zucchini and Bret goes “Zucchini bread?? Have you forgotten how to make anything else???”
But then I had a jam making lesson with my mom…and I am TOTALLY hooked. We went blueberry picking a while back (and we need to go again!) and between Bret and myself, we had almost 5 lbs of blueberries (maybe it was more?) that were picked in about 2, maybe 3, hours of picking. So I knew jam was in my future. So we had a jam lesson. And it was way, way WAY easier than I thought it would be! thus the insane amount of canning that has been going on at my house lately. I made low sugar blueberry jam, high bush cranberry jelly, and tonight I made raspberry jam. I am planning on making a batch of regular blueberry and a batch of spice blueberry as well. I have probably lost my mind. That is not news though.
I have been baking as well, but all the pictures turn out awful or I just don’t take any at all! I’m making biscuits tomorrow and hope to blog about them..
So, I say that jam making is easy but truthfully, my mom and I totally screwed up our very first batch!! We added the sugar and let the berries and sugar cook forever before adding the pectin. So we have some jars of really thick, chunky blueberry syrup that tastes great on pancakes.
in my parents big, beautiful, and so well lit kitchen.
blueberry fingers..
big, beautiful alaska blueberries! ugh I love them!!
and of course…
our kitty helper. aka, my cat soul mate Gabby. Sadly, she lives at my parents house and not with me:(
I promise a more baking related blog post soon…And perhaps some gratuitous jelly and jam on bread shots…
From Scratch: Baking 