It’s summertime in Woodstock! There are so many fun “small town” things to do in Oxford County – I just love it! And since the dance studio is on part-time hours – that means Sean and I have a lot more time get up to cute and fun small town things – like pick our own blueberries and make blueberry jam!
Something that has been on our summer bucket list, year after year is berry picking. While we were living in Toronto, the weekends we planned in Woodstock never seemed to fall within berry picking season – or we were just too darn busy seeing family and friends that we never made it out to a patch. But this year we did it! We finally conquered the Berry Picking Quest!!
On Friday evening at about 5:30pm we decided we wanted to go berry picking. After a quick Google search (of course!) we decided that Thames River Melons was the patch for us. Small problem though… they closed at 6:00pm!
We hopped in the car. Turned up Ed Sheeran and drove quickly.
We made it just in time.
The picking process had to be done efficiently. Except, Sean and I had never really picked blueberries before so we weren’t quite sure what we were looking for. Why were some of the redish? And what is that silvery stuff on the berries?
Well here is a little blueberry lesson for you:
You don’t want the redish berries. Blueberries should be a deep purple-blue when picked. If they are showing tinges of red in them they are not ripe and will not continue to ripen once picked! And that silvery stuff is a natural protectant that the berry produces. There you go. Fun fact for today!
Okay so now Sean and I had a huge bag of blue berries.
Miss Lainy & Sean got their blueberries!
What do you do with so many blue berries?
You make jam!!!!
Breakfast is by far one of my most favourite meals of the day and a little Homemade Blueberry Jam would certainly brighten up my mornings! It’s also delicious to spread on some crackers before class starts at the studio. A nice little way to get some natural sugar and energy moving through your body!
Here’s what you need for this Delicious Blueberry Jam!
Ingredients:
2 Cups of Freshly Picked Blueberries (okay, they don’t have to be freshly picked – but they are yummier!)
2 tbsp of Honey
2 tbsp of Lemon Juice
2 tbsp of Chia Seeds
2 tbsp of Maple Extract
Instructions:
1) In a large pot, coat the blueberries with the honey.
mmmm… the kids will like doing this part! Sweet and sticky!
2) Add lemon juice.
3) Heat over low/medium heat until blueberries are soft and bubbley!
4) Smash up the blueberries and reduce the heat.
5) Add chia seeds and maple extract. Mix.
6) Bring heat back up to medium and let the mixture bubble until thick. Be careful to keep stirring so that it doesn’t burn!
7) Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool for 5-10 minutes before jarring.
8) Pour into cute little jars and tie up with a ribbon!
This delicious jam can be kept in the fridge for up to two weeks!
Yum! Blueberry Jam!
Happy berry picking dancers!
Dancingly Yours,
Miss Lainy
