Blueberry Jam

Ingredients:

• about 4 pints of fresh blueberries - local if at all possible
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 pouches of liquid pectin (I use Bernardin)
• 7 cups granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Sterilize about eight 250ml glass jars and lids in preparation for canning
2. Wash the blueberries and ensure all the stems have been removed, then pulse them quickly in a food processor. You don't want to over-process them - leave plenty of chunks. You need a total of 4 1/2 cups of chopped blueberries in total
3. In a large pot, mix together the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, and butter
4. Bring the pot to a boil, hot enough that when you stir the mixture the boil does not die down
5. Add the two pouches of liquid pectin and stir well - allow to boil for 1 additional minute while stirring constantly, then remove from the heat
6. Allow jam to sit for a couple of minutes to bring the foam to the top, then skim it off with a sterilized spoon
7. Ladle jam into the sterilized jars leaving about 1/4" at the top of the jar
8. Wipe the jar's rim with a clean, damp cloth to remove any jam residue from the inner lip
9. If sealing using a canner, put the lids on the jars and boil in the canner and follow canning instructions to complete. If sealing with wax, apply wax to the top of the jam once it forms a slight skin from cooling, then put the lids on the jars
10. Enjoy the sweetness of fresh blueberries all year round!

Strawberry Jam

Ingredients:

• about 2 quarts of fresh strawberries - local if at all possible
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 pouch liquid pectin (I use Bernardin)
• 7 cups granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp butter

Directions:

1. Sterilize about seven 250ml glass jars and lids in preparation for canning
2. Wash and hull the strawberries, then pulse them quickly in a food processor. You don't want to over-process them - leave plenty of chunks. You need a total of 3 3/4 cups of chopped berries in total
3. In a large pot, mix together the strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and butter
4. Bring the pot to a boil, hot enough that when you stir the mixture the boil does not die down
5. Add the pouch of liquid pectin and stir well - allow to boil for 1 additional minute while stirring constantly, then remove from the heat
6. Allow jam to sit for a couple of minutes to bring the foam to the top, then skim it off with a sterilized spoon
7. Ladle jam into the sterilized jars leaving about 1/4" at the top of the jar
8. Wipe the jar's rim with a clean, damp cloth to remove any jam residue from the inner lip
9. If sealing using a canner, put the lids on the jars and boil in the canner and follow canning instructions to complete. If sealing with wax, apply wax to the top of the jam once it forms a slight skin from cooling, then put the lids on the jars
10. Enjoy the sweetness of fresh berries all year round!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°F
2. Line your muffin pan with paper muffin cups
3. Mix the egg, milk and melted butter together in a bowl
4. In a separate larger bowl mix the flour, baking powder, brown sugar and salt until well blended
5. Stir the chocolate chips into the dry mixture
6. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry gradually, stirring only as much as needed to wet most of the flour mixture - the batter should still have lumps
7. Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full
8. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown