Blackberry Extravaganza: Part 3 of 3

Summer is over, but hopefully this last blackberry recipe will last me through the next few seasons. This recipe was definitely out of my wheelhouse: jelly AND canning. PB&Js are still a lunchtime staple for me, so i thought I'd give it a whirl. I myself prefer jelly over jam. do you remember the difference? Jelly = no crunchy seeds! This recipe calls for the blackberries to be strained from through a cheesecloth or pillowcase, but I used an extra shirt. I wasn't supposed to press the blackberries, but instead let it drip until I had enough amount of liquid to boil. Well, this was definitely testing my patience. I waited a couple of hours and didn't have enough juice so I definitely ended up pressing those jerk berries.



Everything went fairly smooth after this; boiled the mixture, got it in the cans, and put them in the water bath. My jam tasted delicious, sweet and fruity. It ended up a tad on the runny side, not sure if I didn't use enough pectin or left my cans in the water bath too long. I'm using this to my advantage though, perfect for sandwiches, syrup on pancakes, or even drizzled on sundaes.

All in all, not too shabby for my first foray into canning. I'll be ready to try more next summer. Tuck this recipe away for next year if you want to try something new in the kitchen. On to Fall though, ready to break out the crockpot!

Blackberry Extravaganza: Part 1 of 3

I have risked thorn pricks, lumpy mosquito bites, and tick infestations to forage for the blackberries that grow wildly through our wooded backyard. I have collected quite the bounty! Luckily I've found plenty of recipes to use the copious amount of blackberries up.

First Up: Blackberry Crumb Bars by Shall We Cook

I made sure to whip up a batch of crumb bars before I ate all the blackberries. I liked that the berry layer in the bars had no added sugar so the flavor and tartness of the fruit stand out. The crumb layer adds the perfect amount of sweetness. Make sure not to over process the crumb. I know I did and it the top layer ended up being a tad soft. I think I would try adding a little almond to the top next time for an added crunch. Regardless, these are a really good treat for a leisurely summer breakfast with a cuppa tea, so pin away.

Banana Nutella Muffins

The kitchen in the new house is pretty great. Lots of counter space to make a mess on! Mike and I also went with a double oven so I can make dinner and dessert at the same time. I need my sweet treat right after I finish my meal! I've been putting the kitchen and oven to good use as the cold weather has been forcing me to spend so much time inside.

Pinterest led me to a recipe for Banana Nutella Muffins from the Novice Chef. Drool.

The hardest part of this recipe was waiting for the bananas to ripen! I must have bought extra green ones, because I had to wait about two weeks for the darn things to get even slightly spotty! It was pretty much smooth sailing after that. This is your basic banana muffin recipe spruced up with nutella and hazelnuts. These two ingredients however do not disappoint. They add at that smooth chocolate taste and a nice crunch, reminding me of a ferrero rocher. They only other bump I came across was swirling the nuttela into the muffins. I don’t know if my jar was just a little cold from sitting in the rather chilly pantry or what, but it didn’t mix as easily as I wanted. I reswirled the batter after the muffins had sat in the oven for a minute, which somewhat helped. I would try possibly microwaving the nutella in a cup next time before adding it into each muffin cup.

These were great with a cup of coffee in the morning, but also delicious enough for a sweet treat at night. Pin and bake for your next brunch!

Raspberry Nectarine Smoothie

A foot of snow hit New Hampshire less than two weeks ago, leaving me to work from the comfort of my home in my PJs with Macaroni snuggled up next to me. Well, it t hit 75°F here this week, leaving any remnants of snow days, soup, and hot chocolate behind! I'm over these New England Winters and warm oatmeal in the morning, and onto Spring. I thought the best way to kick off the new season was with the Baltic Maid's Strawberry Nectarine Smoothie I found on Pinterest last week. I've never had a smoothie that has oats in it before, and I thought this was a good way of keeping me fuller for longer so I don't need to grab a treat from my snack drawer the minute I get to work!

The Verdict: Let me start by saying I took a few creative liberties with this recipe (i.e. I did not have all the necessary ingredients on hand) I substituted raspberries for strawberries, and soymilk for buttermilk. This smoothie did keep my tummy from rumbling until lunch time, but I felt that the 1/2 cup of oats overwhelmed the flavor of the fruit. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the taste, but rather that I'd probably cut the portion back to a 1/4 cup next time so the taste of the nectarine really stands out. 

If you want to try something different, pin this one to your breakfast board and visit the Baltic Maid's blog for the full recipe!

P.S - This recipe does not include tequila as the bottom left picture may suggest, but go ahead and add if you have a bad case of the Mondays! 

Mock S'mores Bars

My boyfriend and I recently moved in together and it's been great. However, I forgot boys eat copious amounts of everything! It used to take me a week or so to go through a box of granola bars, but the boxes seemingly disappear in a matter of days now. Either Mike has started feeding Macaroni (my sweet pup) large amounts of snacks or he's eating a couple a day. Solution? Attempting to make a batch of Alaska from Scratch's Mock S'mores Bars to save a couple bucks and a few runs to the grocery store.

The Verdict: These were super easy to assemble and you're likely to have all the ingredients you need at home. I substituted mini marshmallows with Jet Puffed Mallow Bits because they reminded me more of what a store bought granola bar looks like. Did they taste exactly like Chewy Bars? No, but they were still tasty and a great addition to my morning coffee. The honey was slightly overpowering for me, so if I was to make them again I would substitute maple syrup. (This is simply my preference and not a fault of the recipe). The only real issue I had with these bars is they didn't quite stay together if they were left out of the refrigerator for long. This is likely a baker error, maybe I used too big of a pan and spread them too thin. Regardless, you can quickly cram these in your mouth before that becomes a problem or even crumble into a plain or vanilla yogurt.

Have you tried Maya's recipe? If so, did you have a similar problem? If you haven't made them, go ahead and pin these to your breakfast or snack board and let me know what you think!