A Busy Bee

 What a busy July it was for us here at Blueberry Barn! Our Russia trip, a big family reunion, two of my siblings staying with us for two whole weeks, and shows performed on cruise ships! I have been a busy little bee finding plenty of work to put my hands to - and lots of fun as well!

Not only had July been a busy month, but it was also the nicest on record in Juneau history. What an amazing blessing it was to be out in the sun so often, and the heat! - it certainly didn't feel like I was living in Alaska. I went swimming so many times I can't even remember them all - and I'm sure you can guess how cold the water is.

When its nice in Juneau, everyone goes a bit crazy and lets certain household chores slip by the way side...so instead of cleaning or tidying up the house one fine day, Quinn and I decided to go flower picking.

But this wasn't just for the beauty of the tall fireweed stalks, oh no! We were going to try our hands at making fireweed honey. You may remember two years ago when we made fireweed syrup - this turned out quite well (for you know I love floral tastes!) and I was excited to try something a little different.


The fireweed is the state flower of Alaska and is so named because it is the first plant to grow after a forest fire. It is also a telltale sign of the end of summer, as once it starts fluffing up with cotton you know autumn is coming along the bend. As I write this the warm sunny days seem to be behind us and have been replaced with colder, wet weather. I sure do hope there are a few sunny days left for us before autumn really sets in! But back to the flower picking...

The recipe we were following called for 50 fireweed flowers, 40 white clover, and 40 purple clover (along with five pounds of sugar - oh my!). With basket in hand we started picking, the wind blowing the tall stalks this way and that in the warm summer wind.

In most places the fireweed flowers are at the top of the stalk, signifying that summer is coming to an end, but there were still quite a few stalks with most of their flowers still blooming. I think they are the prettiest when the stalks are full of blooming pink flowers!

Even though its been sunny, I've tried to keep my skin from getting burnt and rosy (my sun hats have come in handy for this!). My poor fair skin can't take too much sun before I start looking almost as neon as the flowers! Haha!

Reaching towards the bluest sky
Watching ravens fly on by
Up we reach pink, purple, green
A sea of flowers to be seen.

Soon we'll be beat by winter snow
The rain that comes, the winds that blow
Or maybe fire burning bright
To burn the trees and split the night
Fear for us not, for after spring
We'll be here once more, our song to sing.

- Fireweed - 

{From my poetry journal}

Locals of Juneau seeing these photos will know exactly where Quinn and I went to pick our fireweed flowers (it's a favorite spot to photographers for obvious reasons). However, looking at these photos you may never know the truth about this spot - for Quinn is a good photographer. Would you ever guess that this lovely, tranquil spot is in fact not so tranquil? Because in fact, it is not in the middle of nowhere, it is in fact by a busy highway and the Juneau airport.

Even though this lovely field of flowers is sandwiched between the airport and the highway, it's still by far the prettiest fireweed field around so it was fun none the less (even if the honking cars and the loud sounds of planes taking off did take away from the overall mood...haha!). 

It was back to the Barn for us to find some clover and to start cooking!

It seems picking flowers on the side of the road is the theme for today, for we are lucky to have a big purple clover-patch right down the street from the Barn. I've asked Quinn several times if he feels at all embarrassed walking beside me when I'm wearing dresses or dirndls or anything considered peculiar. Thankfully, he's not! I certainly lucked out on marrying a man who likes to wear kilts and pink bunny costumes and therefore doesn't mind me dressing up like a Russian babushka! 

I was recently enchanted by a book of Melissa's called "Drawn From New England" which is about the life of Tasha Tudor (written by her daughter, Bethany Tudor). It had several pages detailing Tasha's early life along with pictures of her in her teens and twenties. I was quite struck by the fact that we had so much in common. In the photos Tasha wore dresses and outfits from centuries past - much as I enjoy doing! I think we would have been good friends. My favorite photo of Tasha showed her posing under a very large rhubarb leaf as a young girl. Our rhubarb has been moved to a new location, so it hasn't gotten quite this big yet, instead I chose a large skunk cabbage leaf so I could emulate the old photograph. What do you think? I think we make quite the pair.

With plenty of purple and white clover I think we were near to cooking up some honey! (I may have added in some rose petals as well, just for the fun of it...)

Cooking with flowers is such a joy - I really should do it more often! Do you, Dear Reader, have any favorite recipes that use edible flowers? Please share them with me below in the comment section - I would love to try them.

The fireweed looked so pretty mixed in with the clover and rose petals that I had Quinn take another picture. It reminds me of little kids making mud pies decorated with wild flowers and having tea parties under big spruce trees (did you ever do this? I know I did!).

My siblings Wesley and Valerie were visiting us and Wesley offered to help with the canning and the honey making. He sure looks fine in front of the stove, I'm sure he will make some lucky girl very happy someday.

And speaking of the honey making: five pounds of sugar doesn't look as scary when mixed with lots of flowers. Of course, you wouldn't want to eat all this honey at once, but a little drizzle on some toast? Why that sounds like heaven to me.

We added water and soon we had a bubbling pot of golden honey. After straining it we started the canning process - which is always a little stressful with so much boiling water in such a tiny kitchen.

Wesley got to take home the biggest jar of honey for all his help, and both he and Quinn got to lick the bowl after all the jars were filled. We'll keep a few jars for ourselves of course, but I think most will be given away as gifts this winter. Fireweed honey will certainly be a welcome memory of summer once the snow starts falling!


Thank you so much Dear Friend for reading along on our adventure. I hope you're having a wonderful week and I look forward to chatting with you again soon!

P.S. - Below you'll see just how big the fireweed stalks can get compared to my height!

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A Wave of Windswept Roses

One of my favorite stories that I've ever shared with you, Dear Reader, was the Roses blog post posted two years ago. This blog functions almost like a scrapbook for me - its so fun and interesting to look back through the last couple of years and see the changes that have taken place, and the things that still remain the same. One thing that will always stand the test of time is my love for wildflowers, and this last week the Sitka roses were in bloom...

Oh, but to tell the story that happened just several days ago I must start all the way back in January. Yes: Cold, miserable, dark and snowy January - when there's nothing better to do (for Christmas is now past) than to sit inside and wait for Spring to come...and maybe do some sewing. 

A new pattern had come out that I was very excited to try, an apron pattern with big, cozy pockets. Several years before hand I had found an old, stained table cloth for a bargain at a second-hand store and this would be the perfect project to let that amazing floral pattern shine! There was only one problem...Greta didn't like the idea of me being on the floor and not giving her attention (the attention she so rightly deserves - I might add!). 

 ...So of course the most appropriate spot for her was to sit on the nice linen fabric that was so taking all my attention! Oh well, perhaps I could do both? Love on Greta and pin those pockets down at the same time?

That would be a definite no!

(Small note: My goodness! I am so happy I don't have to wear layers and hats like that right now! Oh summer, you have been so terribly missed!)

By some miracle I was eventually able to get the apron all sewed up - despite Greta's 'help'. What do you think of the floral tablecloth pockets? Didn't they turn out fantastic! Well, back to the present day, and it seems like the perfect occasion to wear my treasured apron! Before we traveled off to Russia I wanted to make Rose Water from my favorite wild roses for baking. One of my favorite recipes calls for it, and it's so easy to make!

With my trusty trug in hand, and Greta (now a bit bigger than she was in January) quick on my heels, we went for a walk in the summer sunshine. Over our heads, a bald eagle watched us as we skipped on by, with the calls of the salmon fisherman echoing off of the trees.

Here in this photo you can see the back of the apron. It can tie in the back or in the front - if you don't have need of the pockets. 

This is the same spot we picked rose petals two years ago, and Greta's favorite place to take long walks. Unfortunately for us, the Indian Rhubarb has really taken off this year - making it quite perilous to walk the trails. Indian Rhubarb causes burns on your skin if the juices from the plant get on you and then are exposed to sunlight. I had never experienced it till last week, when Quinn and I went on one of our normal trails only to find it overrun with the stuff! We both got several small burns on our legs, not fun at all! We didn't want a similar experience, so we stayed as far away from the plants as we could, making it even harder to harvest the rose petals.

The wind off of the summer sea whipped about us, and my hair (which I had worn down that day) was flying everywhere! The only one who seemed unbothered by the mighty gusts was Greta, who was often hidden among the dense foliage, no doubt finding fairies and gnomes!

The wind may have been howling, but the sun felt nice on our skin and the view simply took our breath away...

Dodging the windblown Indian Rhubarb and rose thorns, Quinn and I gathered as many rose petals as we could reach.

I had grabbed a dish towel for the bottom of the basket before leaving the Barn and I'm so glad I did! It helped to keep the rose petals in the trug while the wind was blowing - wanting to send all my hard work to hither and yon! 

Thankfully we didn't need too many rose petals for the recipe I was hoping to make, which left time for picking other flowers as well! After all, you can never have too many bouquets in your home, right? 

The lupin is almost all bloomed out now, and because of the harsh gails had been mostly blown away. I was still able to find a few flowers still holding on to all their buds, though. They would make the perfect centerpiece for my bouquet! Irises, sweet pea, and yarrow also made it in, and a pocket full of buttercups should never be passed by.

 The deep blues and purples made this the loveliest bouquet of the summer in my book. I now have it sitting upstairs in the Barn, perfectly placed in my Blue Willow tea pot.

It was time to hurry home, but not before the wind caused more laughter with hair flying all over the place! Quinn can now sympathize with me for he has been growing out his hair as well, and he's now able to put in into a bun (you've heard of 'man buns' right? Haha!).  As I'm sure you can imagine, he is very proud of this (the only unfortunate occurrence so far has been a friend's young child asking him why his voice was so low and then remarking that they thought he was a girl! We were all rather surprised...).

Sorry for the bunny trail - lets move forward!

Upon arriving home I spent quite a long time on the porch sorting through the petals and getting rid of bugs (there were so many!) and other bits that weren't supposed to be there. Then after a quick rinse, I put the petals in a pot, covered them with water and set it on the stove to bubble away.

After the pot had been boiling for a bit (and the petals had turned from bright pink to a very light shade of peach) I turned off the heat and let the water cool for a while. Once it was only slightly warm I lined a sieve with paper towels and poured the rose water through, squeezing every last drop out of the paper towel once that had been done.

What was left was a lovely pink rose water, ready to be used in baking! Since we'll be leaving for Russia, I wanted to make sure it lasted, so I tried something I hadn't done before: freezing! I poured a teaspoon of the rose water into ice cube trays and put them in the freezer for an hour. What came out were perfect little pink colored rose water ice cubes! I put them all in a baggie and now I'll have rose water whenever I want to use it! Do you have any favorite recipes using rose water? Let me know down in the comments! I would love to have other recipes to try!

But of course I couldn't make fresh rose water without making one of my favorite recipes, Earl Gray Scones with Rose Water Icing! I found this particular recipe while searching through Pinterest for something unrelated (isn't that how searching through Pinterest always works?), but I am so happy I found it! I'll share the recipe with you here - and please do tell me if you try it out!

Earl Gray Scones

Adapted from Pinch Me I'm Eating

2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 tbsp cold unsalted butter, diced
3 bags of earl gray tea (or about 1 tbsp)

1.) Set oven to 400 degrees F.

2.) Open tea bags and empty them into a food processor (or mortar and pestle if you're old school) and crush them till the tea leaves are a powder.

3.) In a medium sized bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

4.) Add diced butter to dry ingredients, using a pastry cutter to incorporate butter until the mixture resembles sand.

5.) Beat together the egg, heavy cream and vanilla in a small bowl. Add to dry ingredients and mix only until combined.

6.) Pat dough into a ball, flattening it out on counter to be a 9-inch circle, using extra flour for dusting if necessary. Cut into 8 triangles, arrange on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

7.) Bake for 12-17 minutes, or until scones start to turn a golden brown.

Rose Water Icing

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1tsp heavy cream
1/2 tsp rose water
1-2 drops red food coloring

1.) Mix all ingredients till smooth, be careful to add a little food coloring at a time to achieve the desired shade of pink.

2.) While scones are still warm from the oven, carefully dip tops into bowl of icing - let excess drip off - and place them on to parchment paper to set.

3.) Once completely cool, store in air tight container. Do not stack scones on top of each other. 

I simply can't tell you how much I love these scones. I usually make a double batch and have them with tea once or twice (or three or four times...) a day. As I'm sure you can imagine, they don't last very long! The scones have such a delicate earl gray flavor, it simply pairs so nicely with the floral taste of the rose water icing. And yes, I promise they taste just as amazing as they look in these photos!

I hope you've enjoyed this walk with me, as well as a peak inside my kitchen! Please let me know if you're in the area and you can stop on by for a scone - or two - and some tea. Until next time Dear Reader! I hope you have a wonderful week!

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Apples Aplenty

In the dark days of winter we will remember the lush colors of spring, summer, and autumn. Small tokens will remind us of the sunny days: a sea shell, a pressed flower, or a jar of something yummy canned at the peak of sweetness. 

One Sunday morning not very long ago I woke Quinn up quite early (too early for his liking I believe) and we emerged from the Barn into a lovely foggy dawn. The sun was just starting to break through the thick billows of mist, and in that wonderful light of morning we started picking apples. 

Though Quinn wasn't too excited to get up with the rising sun, the prospect of jars and jars of apple butter in the larder was a scrumptious thought. We set to work finding the biggest apples and filling the trug. After scouring the trees in our back yard we returned inside to start the long work of pealing and slicing them.

 

 The recipe we used for our apple butter is one that was sent to me by my penpal, Jaclyn. It was perfect for us as it used a crockpot. We have had our crockpot for three years (since our wedding) and I haven't hardly used it at all! The last two months I have been trying to use it at least once every week, and I have come to love it as my new favorite way to cook dinner (If you have any good crockpot recipes I should try, email them to me!). The apple butter would cook in the crockpot for 12 hours, which is why Quinn had to get out of bed so early this morning.

Some of my favorite spices got added to the apples in the crockpot, and soon it was sitting in the corner starting to cook. Meanwhile, Quinn and I got ready for church and headed out into the sun once again...

What a lovely morning to drive into town and go to church!

Upon returning home we were met with the most heavenly smell! Who knew apple butter smelled so wonderful? The whole house smelled of Christmas - which I have been looking forward to quite a bit (I'm listening to Christmas music as I write this - haha).

At the beginning of January of last year I purchased a book entitled "The Homemaker's Mentor - Treasury of Homekeeping Skills" (I bought it on Amazon here.) In it, women from all over share stories of their grandmothers and mothers who were true homemakers, and along the way share wisdom about everything from first aid to cleaning and keeping a household. I particularly loved the canning and preserving section, and I'll be sharing the recipe I used for canned apple pie filling from the book with you today!

Now that we were home from church we set to work in the front yard, where the apples were bigger than in the back yard, but also higher up...

There may have been some screaming and carryings-on as I was not too keen to fall and it seemed that was the only thing to do when being that high up! Oh dear! Oh well, I made it through without a bump, and Quinn did not mention my weight at any time, haha!

With basket and trug full of apples we went back into the kitchen for another round of peeling, coring, and slicing, this time putting the cut apples in to bowls of water with a little lemon juice added, to help prevent browning. While I worked on the apples, Quinn worked on making the apple pie syrup and preparing the canning jars.

Once the big jars were sterilized and the syrup all ready, we worked fast to pack the cut apples into the jars, pouring the yummy smelling syrup to fill them up. Off into the boiling water bath they went!

Before we knew it hot jars of apple pie filling started lining up on the counter - and oh what a great feeling of accomplishment we felt! 

The sun is setting earlier and earlier with the arrival of Autumn, and before we knew it it was dark outside and the time to take lovely pictures was over. Because of this I don't have any photos of us canning the apple butter, but I can tell you the feeling of accomplishment was the same - how wonderful to have yummy things on the shelves from your own yard or garden! We finished with six quart jars of apple pie filling, and six quarter pint jars of apple butter - a good number if I do say so myself. 

We have already started eating through the apple butter, and I think Quinn agrees that waking up early was worth it. Our apple crop was great this year, and I hope next year we'll be making these same recipes again - hopefully with some new ones too!

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Apple Pie Filling

From The Homekeeper's Mentor -

Treasury of Homekeeping Skills

Peel, core, and slice 6 pounds of tart apples. Keep prepared apples immersed in water containing a tablespoon of lemon juice, to prevent browning while preparing killing syrup.

In a large saucepan bled together:

4 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup cornstarch

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

Add in and cook and stir until thickened:

10 cups of water

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Pack apples into clean, sterilized quart jars up to 1 inch from the neck of the jar. Fill with hot, thick syrup. Do not fill to top but leave a bit of headspace. Use a spatula to help distribute syrup. Wipe rims clean and adjust lids and bands. Process in boiling water bath for 20 minutes. Makes 6 quarts.

To Serve: Prepare a double pie crust pastry. Line pie plate with pastry and add in 1 quart of pie filling. Dot with butter. Top with 2nd pie crust, crimp and seal edges. Cut slits for steam to escape. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake on a baking sheet, lined with foil, to catch drips. Bake at 400 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

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