Recipes

Spiced Blueberries
This delicious sweet and spicy blueberry relish can be used as a condiment with roasts or as a sweet treat on toast or vanilla ice cream. A wide range, I know, but delicious.
  • 3 Cups Sugar
  • 1 1/2 Cups Water
  • 4 lbs blueberries (about 9 cups)
  • Zest of 2 lemons, in strips
  • Two 3-inch cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
  • 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
  • 1 1/2 cups cider vinegar 
- Bring the sugar and water to a boil.  Boil the syrup for 1 minute. Add blueberries and simmer for about 5 minutes until the berries are soft and shriveled.

- Drain the berries and set over a bowl. Return the syrup to the pot.  Put lemon zest and spices in a spice bag or cheesecloth and add this to the pot with vinegar. *We did not have a spice bag or cheesecloth so we just strained the spices out later on in the process.

-Bring the mixture (spices, syrup, vinegar) to a boil.  Boil it over medium, high heat until the syrup reaches 220 degrees - about 30 minutes.

-Remove the spice bag from the syrup and add berries. Bring the mixture to a gently boil again until the thermometer reaches 220 degrees.

-Ladle the hot relish into mason jars leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Close the jars and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

-Store the jars in a cool, dry, dark place.

Recipe from The Joy of Pickling by Ziedrich


Raspberry Jam
This is a basic raspberry jam, nothing fancy but oh so delicious.
  • 3 Cups Sugar
  • 4 cups raspberries
-Run berries through food mill to remove excessive seeds.

-Boil sugar and berry juice over low heat in a heavy-bottomed pot. Simmer for desired consistency, roughly 15-20 minutes for standard "jam."

-Boil half-pint jars for 10 minutes to sterilize, then ladle jam into jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headroom.

-Scald jar tops and seals then tighten securely. Store in a cool dry place.

Recipe from Kathi Bradt/Joy of Cooking



Dilled Green Beans
These make great condiments and appetizers and pack some zing for a good way to save green beans if you've got a surplus. Use beans that are fully formed (plenty long), but which don't yet have the excessively bulbous shape where you can see big individual bean pods forming.
  • 3 pounds whole green beans
  • 2 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 10 garlic cloves
  • 10 dill heads (flower heads)
  • 3 1/4 cups distilled white vinegar
  • 3 1/4 cups water
  • 6 TB salt
- Wash beans & cut off ends, assuring all beans fit in a pint mason jar with at least 1 inch clearance below top of jar.

-Combine the water, vinegar and salt and boil the mixture until all the salt dissolves.

-Boil jars very briefly in hot water, then place two dill heads, two garlic cloves, and 1/2 tsp. of red pepper flakes in each jar before filling them as tightly as possible with standing dilly beans.

-Scald the jar tops and seals (ideally new seals), then fill each jar with the water/vinegar/salt mixture to within 1/2 inch of the top. Then secure jar tops to finger tightness.

-Place jars in boiling water bath (if you have a nice wire rack that fits on the bottom of your boiling container, put your jars on the rack, but it doesn't matter if you don't). Make sure there is at least 1.5 inches of clearance above all jar tops.

-Over high heat boil water for 10 minutes, assuring at least 5 minutes of a rolling boil, before removing the jars and placing them aside to dry. Listen for telltale "pop" to know that the seal has formed. Let beans sit for at least 2 weeks for flavor to form, then enjoy!



Recipe from Putting Food By by Janet Greene


Christiane and Horst's Kurbiseintopf ('Pumpkin One Pot')
This pumpkin stew is a delicious winter meal. 
  • 1 kg pork belly (cubed)
  • 2 onions
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1.5 kg pumpkin (cubed)
  • 1.2 kg potatoes (cubed)
  • 3 leeks (chopped)
  • 6 small apples (chopped)
  • 3 Liters vegetable stock
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • good bunch fresh marjoram
  • 9 bay leaves
  • 3 cans white beans
- Chop onions and pork belly. Fry together.

- Chop garlic, pumpkin, potatoes, leeks, apples and add to meat. Simmer a few minutes. 

- Add spices and herbs and cook for 20 minutes. 

- Rinse and drain beans. Add at end and heat through. 

- Serve with crusty bread. 



Easy Hamburger Rolls
You can also make these smaller and just serve them as dinner rolls. 

  • 2 TB active dry yeast
  • 1 cup + 2 TB warm water
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 to 3.5 cups of flower

- Preheat oven to 475 F

- Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes.

- Add egg, salt and enough flower to form a soft dough. 

- Turn dough onto flowered surface. Knead until smooth and elastic. About 3-5 minutes. 

- Do not let rise, divide into 10 event balls. 

- Place on greased and flowered cookie sheets 3 inches apart. Cover and let rise for 10 minutes. 

- Add cross hatch stitches or desirable pattern. 

- Bake 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. 

- Place on wire rack to cool and enjoy!