Blueberry or Raspberry Stuffed French Toast
8 slices thick sliced bread
4 ounces cream cheese
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries or 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
8 extra large eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup evaporated milk (not skimmed)
1/3 cup real maple syrup
Cut off crusts from "Texas Toast" bread slices and cut into thirds each direction. Spray non-stick coating in 9-inch-square baking dish and line with bread pieces. Dot with small chunks cream cheese. Place blueberries or raspberries between cheese chunks to distribute evenly to fill in all spaces. Top with layer of bread pieces.
Beat eggs, milk and syrup together. Pour over bread to cover all.
Cover with foil that has been sprayed on under side and refrigerate overnight. One hour, 15 minutes prior to serving, microwave 3-4 minutes on medium to warm. Bake at 350 degrees in shallow pan of boiling water, covered for 30 minutes and then uncovered for 30 minutes until set and knife comes out clean in center. Top should be lightly browned.
Remove from oven and let stand about 5 minutes before cutting. Cut into 9 squares and serve with powdered sugar sifted on top.
Serve with warm blueberry sauce or raspberry syrup. Raspberry syrup is good on the blueberry French toast too.
Raspberry Syrup
2 cups juice drained from sweetened frozen raspberries
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
In small saucepan blend together sugar and cornstarch. Whisk in raspberry juice. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook until thickened and clear.
Can be made ahead and refrigerated. Warm in microwave to serve.
Blueberry Sauce or Topping
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup warm water
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
In medium saucepan blend together sugar and cornstarch. Stir in warm water to dissolve. Add blueberries and bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute and stir so most berries break. Sauce thickens as it cools.
Store in refrigerator.
Cranberry Conserve
1 quart low bush cranberries
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 oranges, peeled, sliced and quartered
1 1/4 cup water
1 cup raisins
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts
In large saucepan, combine cranberries, grated orange peel, oranges, water and raisins. Cover and simmer over medium heat until cranberries are soft. Add nuts and sugar, stir well. Simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes, stirring often. Can in sterilized jars by water bath 5 minutes or freeze or refrigerate.
Use as jam, sauce over waffles or as an accompaniment to poultry and game meats such as moose roast.
Blueberry Brunch Cake
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
8 ounces sour cream
1 cup wild blueberries
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Cream sugar, butter and eggs until light and fluffy. Combine dry ingredients and set aside. Add flour mixture and sour cream alternately to creamed mixture. Combine 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon flour in small bowl. Pour in blueberries and toss gently to coat then immediately fold into batter carefully to prevent making batter purple. Divide in half and turn into two 9-inch round cake pans by spoonfuls. Gently spread batter together and to edges before berries melt.
Batter may be mixed, pans covered with plastic wrap and held in refrigerator overnight to be baked the next morning. Hint: frozen blueberries tend to leak juice into the batter as they melt. Sprinkle crumb topping over batter before baking.
Crumb Topping
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup cold margarine
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
With pastry blender, cut margarine until crumbly. Mix in walnuts and sprinkle on batter.
Bake 350 degrees 35-45 minutes. Test center with tooth pick. Cut each into 6 wedges. Serve hot with warm Blueberry Sauce.
Blueberry Sauce
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup warm water
2 cups blueberries
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Mix together sugar and cornstarch in small saucepan.
Add water and blueberries. Stir constantly over medium heat until boils, thickens and is clear, 1 minute. Stir in cinnamon.
Lemon juice may be omitted with wild blueberries.
Currant or High-Bush Cranberry Jelly
4 cups currant juice
1 cup low-bush cranberry juice for color
7 cups sugar
1 pkg powdered pectin
To prepare juice, place 3 to 4 quarts berries in large enamel or stainless steel pan. Add just enough water to come to the top of the berries. Bring to a boil and simmer while crushing berries with a potato masher. Drain through cloth and let drip several hours but do not squeeze or stir as this makes cloudy jelly.
To make jelly, measure juice and sugar in large enamel or stainless steel pan. Mix well. Place over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. At once stir in pectin. Then bring to a full rolling boil and boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat, skim off foam with a metal spoon and ladle quickly into prepared jars, seal and process in boiling water bath. Store in cool dark place for at least a week before using.
High-Bush Cranberry Butter
5 cups fruit pulp
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cloves
71/2 cups sugar
1 pkg powdered pectin
After extracting juice for jelly as explained above, put fruit pulp through a sieve or food mill to make a puree. Measure puree, spices and sugar into large pan. Boil, stirring constantly (burns easily) until mixture darkens slightly and begins to appear clear. Add pectin as it continues to boil then remove from heat.
Ladle liquid into sterilized sealing jars to very top and cap with metal lid and ring, seal and process in boiling water bath. Remove from water. Turn upside down until cool.
Raspberry or Strawberry Jam
3 cups crushed raspberries
1 cup mashed stewed rhubarb
61/2 cups sugar
1 pkg powdered pectin
Strawberry
3 cups crushed strawberries
1 cup mashed stewed rhubarb
7 cups cups sugar
1 pkg pectin
If using raspberries, be sure they are thoroughly crushed. For a more fresh fruit flavor, leave some of the strawberries in larger chunks but crush most of them.
Rhubarb should be sliced thin and simmered a short time until tender, then thoroughly crushed. Use 1/4 cup water to each quart of fruit.
To make jam, add the exact amount of sugar specified in the recipe to the measured fruit in large enamel or stainless steel pan. Mix well and place over high heat, bring to a full rolling boil and boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Add pectin. Remove from heat.
Skim off foam and then stir for 5 minutes to cool slightly and to prevent floating fruit and seeds. Turn upside down after ladling into jars, leaving no head space. Adjust caps and rings. Turn right side up after partly cooled. This distributes fruit more evenly and is especially important for strawberry jam.
High-Bush Cranberry Ketchup
1 pound onions, finely chopped
4 pounds high-bush cranberries
2 cups water
2 cups cider vinegar
4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon allspice
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 teaspoon pepper
Put onions, berries and water through food mill or cone-shaped food saver to make a puree. Add remaining ingredients and cook until soft.
Cool mixture until desired thickness. Pour into reuseable pop bottles and cap or seal in jars.
Makes 3 pints.
Low-Bush Cranberry Sauce
2 quarts low-bush cranberries
6 cups water
2 quarts sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Cook berries and water slowly for 10 minutes after bringing to a boil in stainless steel saucepan. Don't cook in aluminum.
Add sugar and bring to a boil, simmer 15 minutes.
Stir in vanilla and pour into jars and seal. Set jars upside down for 5 minutes then turn up for 10 minutes, then down again for 10 minutes to distribute berries evenly as it jells.
Good for for poultry or game meats.
Makes 6 pints.
Raspberry Freezer Jam
2 cups crushed raspberries
4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 pkg pectin (1 pouch)
Mix fruit, sugar, lemon juice, and pectin together in bowl for 3 minutes. Pour into jars and cover with tight lids. Allow to sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Store in freezer. Use within 1 month.
Blueberry Gingerbread
3/4 cup Crisco
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 cup butter milk
4 1/2 tablespoons molasses
2 1/4 cups blueberries
Cream together Crisco, sugar and eggs.
Sift together flour, spices and salt.
Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk. Add flour and milk alternately to creamed mixture, stirring well. Beat in molasses and fold in berries.
Pour into greased and floured 13-by-9-inch pan. Sprinkle with sugar if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.
Jellied Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
8 cups low bush cranberries
3-4 cups sugar depending on taste
2 1/2 cups water
Place all ingredients in large pan. Bring to boil and gently boil until all berries have burst.Bring back to a fast boil and boil to 220 degrees on candy/jelly thermometer.Or boil for 15 minutes at hard boil. Ladle while hot into serving dishes and refrigerate or ladel into clean pint jars, seal and process in boiling water bath for 5 minutes.
8 cups of fireweed blossoms
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 1/2 cups water
2 pkgs pectin
5 cups sugar
Pick, wash and measure 8 cups of fireweed blossoms. Add 1/4 cup lemon juice and 4 1/2 cups water. Boil 10 minutes and strain. Take the strained juice and heat to lukewarm. Add 2 pkgs powdered pectin and bring to boil. Add 5 cups sugar and bring to full boil. Boil hard for 1 minute. Pour into hot clean jars and seal. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Fireweed Honey
50 pink clover blossoms
10 white clover blossoms
25 fireweed blossoms
3/4 tsp alum
5 lb bag sugar
3 cups boiling water
Wash blooms thoroughly in cold water. Put all ingredients except water in pan, then pour boiling water on. Let sit for 10 minutes. Bring to boil and boil for 10 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth. Put in canning jars and water bath process for 10 min. before sealing lids.
