I admit that the end of May is a weird time to be trying out a new crock pot recipe.  Usually this time of year we are more focused on grilling.  But 2020 has been strange in so many ways — including much colder weather than usual.  That led me to the following recipe.  We often forget about our blueberry chutney but this recipe called out for it — and it was delicious.  Hope you enjoy!

4-5 lb Pork Roast – I used boneless but you could also use a pork shoulder with the bone in

2 Tbs. Maple & Sage Pork Rub from Taste of Inspirations or McCormick Grill Mates works great as well

1 Cup Beef Broth – you can also use chicken broth

2 onions sliced

5 potatoes quartered

1 cup of carrots halved

Slice the onions and lay in the bottom of your crock pot.  Add in the potatoes and carrots.  Pour in the cup of broth.

Rub the Maple and Sage Pork Rub on the pork roast and then place the pork roast on the vegetables.  Cook on low for 6-7 hours until the meat pulls apart easily with a fork.

Slice and serve with the vegetables — and of course a spoonful of our blueberry chutney!

Cinco de Mayo

I don’t know about you, but it felt like April lasted 100 days.  I woke up this morning and realized that Cinco de Mayo was only a couple of days away.  I decided to spend this rainy Friday creating a Blueberry Margarita.  Let me know what you think!

Blueberry Margarita with Blueberry Blossom Honey

1/4 Cup blueberries (I used some of our frozen Wild Maine Blueberries but you could make it with fresh berries as well)

2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 Cup reposado or other tequila

3 Tablespoons Honey Simple Syrup (see below)

Kosher salt

Rub the rim of two glasses with lime wedges or lime juice.  Rub the rims in kosher salt to salt them.

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the blueberries and lime juice until the berries are mashed.  Add tequila, Honey Simple Syrup, and ice to a cocktail shaker.  Shake for 15 second, strain into the salted glasses and add a lime wedge.

It goes perfectly with our Blueberry Salsa & chips!

Honey Simple Syrup

Simple syrup is just 1 cup of sugar dissolved in 1 cup of water.  Bring it to a boil until the sugar dissolves, let it cool and you have what you need to make various cocktails.  Instead of sugar, I used a cup of our Blueberry Blossom Honey.  Bring to a boil, stirring until the honey is dissolved and let it cool.  Gives your drink a richer taste!

I put the word out that I needed the Worcester women buckle recipe. My niece Deb and her son Jake shared the following.This recipe yields a Worcester Family Favorite. Growing up we all looked forward to those first blueberries ripening so the first buckle of the year could be baked by my grandmother. Each August was marked by raking blueberries on family land Downeast and a fresh buckle was always a welcome reward following a hard day’s work. As good as it is a buckle never lasts long.

BB Buckle: 350 oven for about 50 minutes in 9x13x2 pan

top:3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 cup soft butter

bottom: 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup shortening, 2 eggs, 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 3 tsp baking powder, 3 cups either fresh or frozen blueberries (be sure to use the small wild ones)

I am often asked, “how in the world did you come up with the idea of combining garlic and blueberry?”  My response: for  several years a fellow vendor at a Grange Craft Fair who sold knitted goods would talk about her garlic jelly. I thought it sounded horrible. She wore me down.She had an old garlic recipe that she had made her own and then as we all do I modified her modification.

This is a two day process. Simmer minced garlic in vinegar; pour into mason jars to cool then refrigerate over night.  Drain the garlic liquid making sure there aren’t pieces of garlic left in the mixture. Combine with our concentrated blueberry juice and you are ready to make your blueberry garlic jelly.

Blueberry Garlic Jelly is perfect over cheese and crackers. You can also use it to baste roasted or BBQ chicken or pork in the final stages of cooking. Finally, try it on Everything Bagles for an extra treat.