The day we went blueberry picking ended with mugs of perhaps the best ice cream of my life, eaten in the cool of the evening.

And yes, I know. I told you that the cherry-chocolate chunk ice cream was the best we'd ever tasted.

It was.

Until we made raspberry-ginger ice cream, which promptly became the best I'd ever had after the first bite.

And then we made this.

Sweet, fresh, and a just a touch sour, it was heavenly.

And yes. The best. Ice cream. Ever.

And since we make a few pounds of butter each week, we always have more buttermilk than we can use.

Sorry, chickens. No more buttermilk for you.

Note: this recipe works beautifully with purchased or homemade buttermilk. Making your own is easier than you can imagine though, using store bought as a starter if you don't happen to have a gallon of raw cream in your kitchen each week. Here's how.

Blueberry Buttermilk Ice Cream

Ingredients

For custard

2 C cream

1/2 C honey

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp vanilla liquid stevia

1 C buttermilk

For blueberry compote

2 C blueberries

2 Tb water

1/3 C honey

Process

Combine cream and 1/2 C honey in small saucepan.

Heat, stirring often, until nearly simmering.

Remove from heat.

Chill until thoroughly cold.

Meanwhile, make your compote. Combine blueberries, water, and 1/3 C honey in a saucepan. Heat gently until it begins to boil, stirring occasionally. Allow to simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Chill until completely cold.

When you are ready to churn your ice cream, remove custard from refrigerator and add vanilla, stevia, and buttermilk. Stir to combine and churn.

When ice cream is ready transfer to a shallow dish, carefully layering with chilled blueberry compote.

Place in freezer and allow to set for 1-2 hours.

Holy yum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You want recipes, I'll give you recipes.

 

Two weeks ago my sister and I cooked up three small but glorious batches of fancy blueberry jam.

 

We could have made straight up blueberry, of course.

 

But why?

 

There was ginger in the kitchen and lemon balm and basil in the garden. So we had to get all fancy with it.

 

And we took notes! Just for you.

 

So here goes: blueberry jam, three ways.

 

And: please don't make us choose a favorite!

 

 

Blueberry-Ginger Jam

 

Ingredients

 

10 C whole blueberries or 8 C crushed

 

1/2 C lemon juice

 

1 1/2 Tb fresh ginger root, peeled and finely grated

 

2 tsp dry ginger

 

1 1/4 C honey

 

1 Tb plus 1 tsp calcium water (from pectin package)

 

1 Tb plus 1 tsp Pomona's pectin

 

Process

 

Combine berries with lemon juice, ginger root, dry ginger, and calcium water from your pectin package.

 

Heat berries over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Your berries will begin to break down.

 

Meanwhile, begin heating water in your water bath canner. Wash and drain your jars and sterilize your lids.

 

Crush berries with a potato masher and heat until they reach a full boil. Remove from heat.

 

Combine honey with 1 Tb + 1 tsp pectin powder. Stir well to combine.

 

Add pectin/honey mix to berries and stir well to combine.

 

Heat jam mixture until it returns to a full boil once more.

 

Fill your clean jars to within 1" of the top. Wipe jar rim with a clean, wet paper towel.

 

Screw lids into place and lower carefully into your hot water bath.

 

Return to a boil and simmer for ten minutes.

 

Remove to a towel on the counter. If using Tattler lids crank your canning jar bands on tightly now! It will make your Tattlers as fool-proof as metal lids!

 

Allow your jars to sit undisturbed for 12 hours. (Check after 1 hour for any failed lids by removing rings and testing lid. Transfer any fails to the fridge.)

 

Makes approximately 9 half-pints of jam.

 

 

Blueberry-Basil Jam 

 

Ingredients

 

10 C whole blueberries or 8 C crushed

1/2 C lemon juice

1/2 C finely chopped fresh basil leaves

1 C honey

 

1 Tb plus 1 tsp calcium water (from pectin package)

 

1 Tb plus 1 tsp Pomona's pectin

 

Process

 

Combine berries with lemon juice, basil, and calcium water from your pectin package.

 

Heat berries over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Your berries will begin to break down.

 

Meanwhile, begin heating water in your water bath canner. Wash and drain your jars and sterilize your lids.

 

Crush berries with a potato masher and heat until they reach a full boil. Remove from heat.

 

Combine honey with 1 Tb + 1 tsp pectin powder. Stir well to combine.

 

Add pectin/honey mix to berries and stir well to combine.

 

Heat jam mixture until it returns to a full boil once more.

 

Fill your clean jars to within 1" of the top. Wipe jar rim with a clean, wet paper towel.

 

Screw lids into place and lower carefully into your hot water bath.

 

Return to a boil and simmer for ten minutes.

 

Remove
to a towel on the counter. If using Tattler lids crank your canning jar
bands on tightly now! It will make your Tattlers as fool-proof as metal
lids!

 

Allow
your jars to sit undisturbed for 12 hours. (Check after 1 hour for any
failed lids by removing rings and testing lid. Transfer any fails to the
fridge.)

 

Makes approximately 9 half-pints of jam.

 

 

 Blueberry-Lemon Balm Jam

 

Ingredients

 

10 C whole blueberries or 8 C crushed

1/2 C lemon juice

1/2 C finely chopped fresh lemon balm leaves

1 1/2 C honey

 

1 Tb plus 1 tsp calcium water (from pectin package)

 

1 Tb plus 1 tsp Pomona's pectin

 

Process

 

Combine berries with lemon juice, lemon balm, and calcium water from your pectin package.

 

Heat berries over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Your berries will begin to break down.

 

Meanwhile, begin heating water in your water bath canner. Wash and drain your jars and sterilize your lids.

 

Crush berries with a potato masher and heat until they reach a full boil. Remove from heat.

 

Combine honey with 1 Tb + 1 tsp pectin powder. Stir well to combine.

 

Add pectin/honey mix to berries and stir well to combine.

 

Heat jam mixture until it returns to a full boil once more.

 

Fill your clean jars to within 1" of the top. Wipe jar rim with a clean, wet paper towel.

 

Screw lids into place and lower carefully into your hot water bath.

 

Return to a boil and simmer for ten minutes.

 

Remove
to a towel on the counter. If using Tattler lids crank your canning jar
bands on tightly now! It will make your Tattlers as fool-proof as metal
lids!

 

Allow
your jars to sit undisturbed for 12 hours. (Check after 1 hour for any
failed lids by removing rings and testing lid. Transfer any fails to the
fridge.)

 

Makes approximately 9 half-pints of jam.

 

 

My very favorite sister came to visit this weekend. (Okay, okay. You're right. She's also my only sister. No need to nitpick.)

She drove up from Milwaukee and soon after she arrived we were on the road again, headed an hour and a half away to pick blueberries.

This is what we do together, my sister and I. We talk about our dogs, the kids, and our mom and dad. We talk about crafting and we make stuff. We talk about dreams and manifesting.

(See what I mean? She really is my favorite sister.)

And then we forage, we harvest, and we put food by.

Yes, for all of our city mouse – country mouse differences, the growing-or-finding-then-preserving-amazing-food gene is one that we share. And with passion.

We picked berries for a couple of hours and hauled home an impressive ten pounds each, with the kids adding a couple pounds to the mix themselves.

(And yes, if you must know, I did buy more. Not as crazy pants style as I went with the peaches, but still a few extra pounds. Or so. Ahem.)

It was fabulous picking, a gorgeous view, and the best possible company. 

A delicious day.

And then we drove back to our farm to relax for the evening and plot what we would do with all those berries in the morning.

And what did we do with them?

Oh. My.

So many marvelous things.

Blueberry-buttermilk ice cream. (Scream!)

Blueberry-ginger jam. (Classic.)

Blueberry-lemon balm jam. (Sublime.)

And blueberry-basil jam. (Yowza.)

So. Who wants recipes?

Because my sister and I – we also both love to share.

Love,
Rachel

P.S. Some notes about our shoes above, in case you're in the market for some new favorites. Both pairs shown are ethcially made in the US by small family companies. Lupine's (hand-me-downs from Sage) are Soft Star Shoes and mine are from the Aurora Shoe Company.

These two brands are crafted to last, foot healthy, and sweat-shop free. They feel-good in every possible way. Now you know!

 

This ice cream habit it getting a little out of control.

But I can't possibly complain about it. Because goodness. We're having ice cream. Twice a week at least. And it's some of the best we've ever tasted.

This batch was inspired by a morning spent picking berries at our friend's farm across the road. After I took my first bite I called that friend up and told him that he really should come over to have some.

Of course he did. And he was glad.

Because come on. Raspberries on the plants in the morning and decadent ice cream by sundown, just a few yards away? What could be better?

That's right. Not much.

The only challenge was having any left to photograph for you the next morning. You barely got this recipe, folks. Because I tiptoed downstairs in my pajamas and almost, almost ate it all before bed.

It's that good.

But enough chatter. Here's what you're after – the recipe.

First, some notes. As with my Farmstead Cherry Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream recipe: 

• Feel free to replace all of the cream and milk with coconut milk for
  a dairy-free variety. You may  also replace the honey with 3/4 C of coconut sugar if you are vegan.

• The milk I used was raw when we started, the cream was not (because that was what I had).

This recipe was half-heartedly inspired by Molly Moon's Blackberry Sage Ice cream recipe. But not really.

Raspberry-Ginger Ice Cream

4 C raspberries, divided

1 1/2 Tb peeled and finely grated ginger root

1/4 C fresh lemon juice

2/3 C raw honey, divided

2 C heavy cream

1 C whole milk

1/2 tsp liquid stevia extract

Process

Combine 3 C raspberries with ginger, 1/3 C honey and lemon juice. Cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes unitl bubbly and thick and berries are well broken down. 

Remove from heat, cover, and allow to sit for 20 minutes.

In another saucepan combine cream, milk, and remaining honey. Stir to combine as you heat over medium heat. Stir frequently as you bring the mixture to just below a boil.

Remove from heat.

Strain seeds out of raspberry mixture by pressing through a fine mesh strainer.

Stir in strained raspberry mixture.

Transfer to a mason jar and move to the
fridge. (To save my fridge from doing so much work I let mine sit out
for 1 hour before transferring to the fridge. You can also stand the jar
in a basin of cool water and slowly add ice to the water until cold if
you are in a hurry.)

When mixture is chilled add vanilla extract.

Transfer to your ice cream maker and freeze.

When you start churning, spread your reserved raspberries on a cookie sheet
and transfer to the freezer. (If your berries are room temperature they
will melt your ice cream when you add them.) Also freeze a shallow, wide dish (like a Pyrex or tupperware container) large enough to hold 1 1/2 quarts of ice cream.

When churned, transfer to your chilled container. Layer ice cream with chilled raspberries. (Do not press down your ice cream or you'll work out the air you just worked so hard to put in.)

Place in freezer to set for one hour, or if you are impatient just eat it all while standing at the counter. Because yes, it's that good.

I'ts been a very long time since I shared this reacipe with you.

And with summer in full swing, many of us are hitting the road on adventures of all kinds.

Make a batch of these before your next road trip, hike, or outing and you'll be so glad you did.

They are GAPS legal, Paleo, vegan, and raw. And they're also insanely good. 

Call
them Date Balls. Peanut Butter Balls.
I-don't-want-to-pay-for-a-lara-bar-Balls.
Toddler-Meltdown-Prevention-Insurance.

Whatever you nickname them, this
simple combination of dried fruit and nuts is protein packed, sweet,
portable, and yummy.

And so easy to make, you'll never buy a packaged
snack bar again.

So here is a basic recipe for you. Make this batch once, then tweak the ingredients to make new combinations. (Variations are at the bottom of the post.)

This recipe works with raw nuts or soaked/sprouted/deyhdrated nuts. It's up to you!

Homemade Energy Ball Recipe

Ingredients

1/3 C nuts or seeds – any type (I used Brazil nuts here but normally use soaked, dehydrated almonds, pecans, or cashews)

1/2 C pitted dates

1/3 C nut or seed butter – any type

1/4 C dried coconut flakes

pinch of celtic sea salt

How-to

Place nuts in food processor and turn on. (It's painfully loud. Your daughter will cover her ears. Mine does anyway. So will your son.)

When they look like the photo below they are plenty chopped. Transfer to a bowl.

(If
you choose cashews or peanuts your nut powder will be oilier than the
Brazil nuts shown below. That's okay. Just go for finely chopped, just
this side of becoming nut butter.)

Repeat
ear covering noisy chopping with dates.

Do pit them before you chop or
it will be regrettable.

Process until they look at least this chopped. More chopped is great as well and will yield a big smooth sticky ball of dates.

Return
the nuts to the food processor with the dates and continue chopping
until the mixture is uniform.

Add nut or seed butter.

Turn on machine and
process for a minute until it is well combined.

If it sticks to the side
of the food processor turn it off, open and move it around a bit with a
spoon. Then have at it again. It should look similar to the photo
below.

Add dried coconut, and briefly run food processor to combine. (You can toast the coconut first for even more flavor, or just add it raw.)

This
is the best part for my kids (perhaps because I have finally shut off
that painfully loud food processor, but likely because it is so
tactile.) Take approximately 1 Tb. pinches of the "dough", roll into
balls with clean hands.

Alternatively you can make "cookies" by pressing
the balls flat between your balms, or make bars by pressing into a small rectangular glass
pan and cutting with a spatula.

Balls are quick, easy, and portable, so that's our method of choice.

We drop these into a mason jar or bento box and away we go!

 

It is hard for me to fully express how I feel about this jam.

Heaven in a jar?

Happiness in a spoon?

Something like that.

We don't even eat bread and yet still we need a pantry full of this. amazing. jam.

Our new farm is blessed with an established (albeit overgrown) cherry tree.

Last year we arrived too late to enjoy the cherries, but this year the tree was absolutely brimming with fruit.

And so we picked.

And picked.

And picked.

And before we knew it we have baskets upon baskets of juicy tart cherries.

So we busted out the cherry pitter and set to work.

And all of those cherries were transformed into dozens of glowing jars of goodness.

And I swoon every time I look at this jam.

I swoon.

Right out loud.

I really do.

The flavor of this jam is so far beyond what went into the jars.

From these humble, simple ingredients comes one of the finest things I've ever tasted.

Ever.

In my entire life.

But maybe that's the point after all. If we start with good, simple ingredients and old-fashioned techniques we'll end up with the best food around.

Just fresh cherries.

Honey.

Almond extract.

And pectin.

And a little time spent sitting at the table and standing at the stove, preparing the fruit.

Make this jam and I suspect you'll be rationing it for the coming year as it it were more precious than gold.

Which, of course, it is.

Sour Cherry Preserves

Ingredients

6 C pitted cherries & their juices

1 1/3 C raw local honey

1 TB Pomona's Pectin powder

1 TB Pomona's calcium water (included with Pomona's Pectin)

2 1/2 tsp almond extract

Process

Prepare Jars, Lids and Canner

Sterilize 7 half-pint or 14 quarter-pint canning jars and their lids in boiling water.

Fill your canner with water and set on high heat to bring to a boil.

Turn off heat when it reaches a boil.

Prepare Cherry Preserves

Combine cherries and their juices with calcium water in a medium sized cooking pot. (Mix calcium water according to package directions.)

Bring cherries to a low boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, combine room temperature honey with pectin powder and stir well until fully combined and free of lumps.

When cherries begin to boil, add honey-pectin mix and stir well until honey is completely dissolved.

Bring to a boil again, then remove from heat.

Add almond extract and stir well.

Jar that Jam!

Fill sterilized jars to 1/4" from top. (I find that this works out perfectly to be just beyond the bottom of my canning funnel.)

Wipe jar rims with a damp towel.

Lid jars with sterilized lids (I use BPA-free Tattler lids, but I saw that some new canning jars are now for sale with single-use BPA-free lids! Score!)

Lower jars carefully into your almost boiling water in your canner and set over medium-high heat.

Bring to a boil again, then simmer for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes lift jars out and allow to cool, undisturbed on a towel for at least 2 hours.

After 2 hours check each lid for a good seal, then allow to rest for 24 hours.

After 24 hours check lids again and move your preserves to your pantry.

A word about pitting cherries:

(Okay, many words.)

I knew there must be an easier way than pitting cherry after cherry, one by one.

So I Googled. And asked around. And Googled some more.

And then?

And then I pitted those cherries, one by one.

Becasue some things we just have to do the slow way.

I thought a food mill might work, but read that it breaks the pits up and spoils the jam.

We don't want that.

I've tried the paper clip method and it makes me want to pound my head on the table. Because I'm cheap/frugal/don't like to buy new stuff from China, I never invested in a pitter until I found this one at the second hand store.

Score!

And you know, it isn't perfect. But still I love it. It worked great, even with these small homegrown cherries. We still had to pick each pit off of the cherry one-by-one when we were done (the kids and I decided we have "clingstone cherries"), but it did the job punching the pit to the outside to make that work easier.

Looking for another great summer preserve? My friend Heather has shared a delicious lemon balm jam recipe over on Beauty That Moves which Lupine can hardly wait to try.

Also my neighbor Sofya just shared Russian Apricot Preserves on her blog The Girl's Guide to Guns and Butter this morning. You can find her recipe here.

Happy summer, friends!

Love,

Rachel

 

 

Hello sweet people. Below is one of my favorite recipes of all time. A re-post from summers gone by.

I make it every year. And now that I'm not drinking alcohol, tonic is my non-alcoholic cocktail of choice for my evening drink.

It's crazy good.

This recipe does require one small piece of pre-planning wich is ordering the one random ingredient required. Order some now and you'll be ready when inspiration strikes! (Details below.)

Tonic water is bitter and sweet and great with gin if you are so inclined (of course).

But a decent tonic can stand on its own as well. (Really. It can.) But store bought tonic water? Blech. Have you read the ingredients list on a bottle ever? Yeah. It's enough to make you stay away from the stuff. Like forever.

Corn syrup and preservatives… not the health tonic you might wish it were.

A couple of summers ago Pete and I got a taste for tonic so I asked out local food coop to carry a natural (corn syrup- and preservative-free) brand. He said he would order some but it would probably take weeks to come in. In true Rachel form I decided to have a go at making my own. I found a great recipe on-line, ordered the one random ingredient  (a bark that smells a tiny bit like incense) and made a batch. Whoa. I finally understood why it was called a "tonic". So amazingly delicious in a whole ingredients sort of way – rather than that synthetic (anti)tonic that you buy at the grocery.

Take a look at what went into my cooking pot~

I have since modified the original recipe a bit to suit how we eat. Here is my version.

Homemade Tonic Water Recipe    

Ingredients

4 C water

1 orange, zest and juice

1 lemon, zest and juice

1 lime, zest and juice

1 chopped lemongrass stalk

1 tsp allspice berries

1/4 c cinchona bark (natural quinine I guess?)

two pinches celtic sea salt (or what ever salt you prefer)

juice of 1 lemon, reserved

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 C raw local honey (or sweetener of your choice – if you are off sweets, try liquid or powdered green stevia to taste)

Process

1. Simmer everything (except the reserved lemon juice and the honey) for 20 minutes covered.
2. Remove from heat and allow to steep for 5 minutes.
3. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, a thin cloth, or your french press.
4. Add honey and stir to dissolve.
5. Add reserved lemon juice.
6. Cool.

This is a concentrated tonic syrup. All you need is fizzy water (and perhaps gin) and you'll be set.

When all is said and done you'll have close to 5 cups of tonic concentrate.

That is a lot. And since it has no preservatives in it you'd have to have a serious G&T habit to charge through the bottle before it went bad.

Freeze in ice cube trays, then bag for use throughout the summer. And label those cubes, okay? Otherwise you might mistake them for beef broth or something and make a regrettable stew.

To use dilute 1 part tonic concentrate with 2 to 3 parts fizzy water.

You can also add 1 part gin if that's your style. Your drink will be amber colored, unusual for "modern" tonic but really pretty natural when you think about it. So fill your cup, go outside, and take dorky pictures of yourselves.

Stay cool and be nerdy, you all.

Love,
Rachel

Hello, friends. 

Below is a repost from berry-seasons gone by.

Enjoy!

Rachel

Somehow this weekend I temporarily lost my mind and pressure canned up all of the food that's been hanging out in our downstairs freezer since last fall.

Okay. That's not entirely true. I left some food behind (Along with a deer hide that is crammed into our freezer on top of the last few chickens. Don't ask.), but I did go gangbusters pressure canning chicken soup, venison chili, taco meat, cumin black beans, and red lentil dal.

Lots of meals. Cooked. Canned. Ready to eat.

That's a crazy good feeling I've never known before. It's like I just became my own take-out restaurant.

While I have loved hot water bath canning for ages, I've not done much pressure canning, well, ever.

Okay, a little, but not enough to brag about.

When my Grandma died when I was in my early 20's my Grandpa gave me her pressure canner, but I've mostly just used it as a backup hot water bath canner excepting when Pete and I lived off-grid and we canned up dozens of chickens with my mom because our propane freezer was the size of a loaf of bread.

But I digress.

The point is that last weekend I made and canned a wicked crazy amount of food that is now stashed in my basement and yes, on my kitchen floor along with the big batch of gluten-free granola we just made.

I know. I'm a mess. But I'm to busy canning to bother with cleaning! It's rather addictive you see. 

So why the canning mania?

It's road trip time. We are planning a cross-country adventure akin to the one we took a couple of years ago.

But this time we're gluten-free and we rarely eat processed grains like pasta, crackers, or other easy-to-pack foods. We eat mostly meat and veggies. Everyday.

How the heck do you do that out of a cooler and a food pack while car camping?

I had no idea. Plus thawed meat in a cooler makes me uncomfortable. One food poisoning incident and you're off ground turkey for life. You know? So how do we eat without a cooler full of questionable meat in tow as we cross seven state lines?

Canned meals. That's how.

Yes, it will increase our packing weight. Significantly. (This is not a solution for the Paleo backpacker I'm afraid.) And yes, I'll be toting canning jars cross-country. But I think it's worth it.

Really I'm just thrilled to have real food that we can eat on this trip without worrying about where to find it.

I've never felt so at ease about the food situation for a trip before.

We did add legumes to our diet for this plan. (We're mostly Paleo so legumes and grains have not been everyday fare for us.) Lupine and Sage do great with them, so it's a concession I'm willing to make.

We'll be away for 3-4 weeks so I planned five breakfasts, five lunches, and five dinners that we'll repeat a few times per meal. There will be holes in our meal plan for eating out and visiting friends, but it will be the core of what we eat while we're gone.

And many of our normal food favorites are on the list. All we'll need to find is a source for fresh veggies to fill in the gaps.

Rad? Completely.

How hard is it to pressure can?

Not very.

You need a pressure canner (obviously) and then you just need to determine the safe canning time and weight for your recipe. Easy-peasy.

I used the instructions found through the links here and then created my favorite recipes but for canning instead of eating right away.

There are my regular recipes! My tried and true! That's maybe the best part of pressure canning. You don't have to tinker with your recipe to make it shelf-safe. The pressure canning does that for you.

And how do they taste?

We snitched a couple of jars over the weekend (failed lids on taco meat and black beans) and you know, it was almost as if they hadn't been pressure canned, though not quite. The flavor is very close to how we normally cook, and the texture is just a bit different (thought not unpleasant).

I thought they were delicious and there were no leftovers, so I think the rest of my crew agreed.

Oh, my. We're almost ready for our road trip!

(Can you tell I'm stoked?)

And one more (mostly unrelated) thing.

I realized while putting these photos together that I am raising children who think it is utterly normal to photograph canning jars and other minutia of daily life.

It's just what we do. Like other people ride the school bus or have pizza on Saturday.

It's normalcy.

I find this reality simultaneously amusing, brilliant, and utterly ridiculous.

Carry on.