So, I have sad news. I am not at [...]]]> Wait, are you wondering about the birthday treat giveaway? Well, I’m still taking ideas, as I have 2 more weeks to go before the big day! And remember, it doesn’t have to be cake. Cookies, brownies, pies… the options are endless! So keep ‘em coming!

So, I have sad news. I am not at Vida Con this weekend as originally planned. Life came up and I just had to go with it. I’m truly bummed, but hopefully will be able to go next year. I hope everyone is living it up!

How to soothe the sadness? With the Treat of the Week, of course!

Blackberries grow like weeds in Oregon. Any bit of uncultivated land that exists is rife with blackberry bramble, from the side of the highway to the edges of lawn to the middle of the woods. This time of year you can’t go anywhere without coming across a patch (or two or twenty). They are an invasive species, so while they are bothersome to the conservationists for most folks they are just plain awesome. I have a major section of jogging trail near my house that is bursting with ripe berries, so I braved the Oregon heat (which is nothing, but deterred my berry picking competitors) last weekend to gather my bounty.

I am a berry purest and aside from canning rarely do much to alter them from their natural form. This time around I used them as the icing on the shortcake, topped with a lovely peaches and cream sauce I canned a couple of weeks ago.

Peaches & Cream Sauce

This sauce would be perfect topping some creamy coconut ice cream, over cake, stirred into oatmeal… under pretty much any flavorful circumstance. I canned my sauce but if you don’t want to can it, you can put it in jars and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. I imagine frozen peaches would work just fine, but you may need to add a little more sugar to perk them up.

2 1/2 lbs of peaches, peeled and pitted (about 6 cups, chopped)
1 1/2– 2 cups organic sugar (dependent on taste)
2 tbsp. lemon juice
3 tbsp. vanilla paste (or 2 vanilla beans, soak in peach syrup for 10 minutes before pureeing and then scrape seeds into pureed sauce or 3 tbsp. vanilla extract)

If canning, prepare canning accessories. In a large stockpot combine the peaches, sugar and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until peaches release juices, about 15 minutes. Stirring often, raise temp to medium high and cook until bubbling and sugar is dissolved, about 10 minutes. Using an immersion blender or a regular blender, process peaches until mostly smooth, but a little chunky. Return to pot and add vanilla. Cook for 5 more minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened.

Remove from heat. If canning, fill jars and process according to manufacturers directions. Yields 5 1/2 pint jars.

Horray! Yesterday was the first day of spring. Here in Oregon the cherry blossom trees have been blooming for a couple of weeks and all of their other [...]]]>

Interested in participating in a bake sale to benefit Japan? Check out this thread to see if there’s one near you or to start one yourself!

Horray! Yesterday was the first day of spring. Here in Oregon the cherry blossom trees have been blooming for a couple of weeks and all of their other friends in arbor are sporting little green buds of promise. Warmer days will soon be ours!

In the meantime, this bright little number does just the trick to perk up your senses and please your tastebuds. This curd is perfect for folks who love tang, but perhaps not the sharpness of marmalade. Later this week I’ll post an accompanying recipe that pairs beautifully with this tasty vegan curd.

In the meantime, get segementing!

Sunny Grapefruit Curd

1/4–1/3 cup sugar (depending on desired sweetness)
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 1/4 cup grapefruit juice (approximately 2 medium sized grapefruit)
1/4 cup grapefruit segments, roughly chopped

In a small pot, combine the sugar and cornstarch and mix until cornstarch has no clumps. Add the grapefruit juice and mix to combine. Stirring often, bring mixture to a boil and add the grapefruit segments. Lower heat to medium-low and stir in grapefruit segments, stirring continuously. Cook until mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon, about 5–10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Store curd in covered jars in the fridge for up to 1 month. It will become very thick when cold, so stir well before using.

Yields: 1 1/2 cups

I promise this post will be more productive than sad attempts at swearing and the effects better than that of biting your tongue. Ouch.

Apple Pie Butter, baby!

Sadly, the USDA does not recommend home canning of pumpkin butter. This is because pumpkin is low in acidity [...]]]> After my canning frenzy this summer I took a break, but now I’m back in the swing of it with a fall line up of fruit butters in tow. First up, pumpkin butter.

Sadly, the USDA does not recommend home canning of pumpkin butter. This is because pumpkin is low in acidity and has unpredictable water content, neither of which was optimal when canning. I did can my butter, to sterilize and seal it, but am keeping it in the fridge.

I started with four medium sugar pie pumpkins. Halved and seeded, I placed them cut-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment and baked them at 350 for a little over an hour.

After roasting them in the oven the flesh shrank, making the skin easy to peel.

So colorful and juicy looking! Once peeled, I chopped the flesh into chunks and put it in my pot. I chose to cook it down a little more before just pureeing it, because some spots were harder than others. In went 2 cups of dark brown sugar, 3 tbsp of molasses, the juice of one lemon, 2 tbsp of pumpkin pie spice and one tbsp of cinnamon.

Once all of the flesh was uniformly soft, I pureed the batch in my Vita-Mix then poured it back in the pot and adjusted sweetness/spices to taste. My goal was to get pumpkin pie filling flavor, but because the spices will really bloom as the butter sits, I didn’t want to go overboard and end up with spreadable potpourri.

Once the butter was ready, I laddled it into jars and processed it in the hot water bath for 10 minutes. This made 4 pints of pumpkin butter.

It’s so delicious– spiced, creamy and rich. I love the taste of fall.