This week’s recipe for you to use all those beautiful blueberries you are getting at the Farmer’s Market and from The Produce Box is brought to you by Kate of PUPPIES AND BRUNCH.
When I was a kid we spent every summer visiting family at our cottage in Maine. It was in a tiny town called Trenton, was on Day Lane (my last name is Day and I always thought it was SO cool our street was named after us), and looked like a giant red barn. My dad was one of six kids, so all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins would pile into The Cottage for the summer. It was total chaos and I loved every second of it. My summers in Maine left me with a love for countless things, but most importantly- lobster, fishing towns, and blueberries. Oh, the blueberries! We used to kayak across the bay to Blue Hill and pick blueberries by the bushel. And every July they had a blueberry pancake festival. We would gorge ourselves on these pancakes-they were unbelievably good, and then spend the rest of the afternoon snoozing on the back porch.
Unfortunately I can’t spend every morning recreating the blueberry pancakes from my childhood. I don’t have the time or the metabolism. But this blueberry chia jam is close enough for me. It’s healthy (naturally sweetened!), delicious, and takes just a few minutes to make. I like to whip up a batch on Sunday night and have it for breakfast throughout the week. I LOVE it on toast with a little vanilla yogurt underneath. But honestly… You could put in on anything (I’m not above eating it off of a spoon with some peanut butter).
INGREDIENTS
2 cups blueberries
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Zest of half a lemon
2 Tbsp. honey (or agave nectar)
2 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. chia seeds
DIRECTIONS
Heat blueberries in a pan on the stove over medium heat until mostly broken down and slightly thickened- About 10 minutes. Smash the blueberries with the back of a rubber spatula as you go. (You can choose how chunky/smooth you want it.)
Remove from heat & stir in lemon juice, lemon zest, and honey. Taste and add more honey/lemon juice/zest as needed. Keep in mind the lemon flavor will get stronger over night.
Stir in the chia seeds. Wait about 15 minutes and if you would like your jam to be thicker, add more chia seeds 1 tsp. at a time.
Kate Day of puppiesandbrunch.com
Kate was born and raised in Atlanta, GA and is a recent addition to the Queen City. When she’s not in the kitchen experimenting, you can find her cuddled up with a cookbook and her loyal pup, Tuck. To see more of what she’s cooking up- check out her Instagram or visit puppiesandbrunch.com
