The Blueberry Blast

Category: Artic Living | Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 4:59 pm

Holy weapons of mass destruction Batman!!

Is what I should of said.

But instead I said,,Sonofa---, What the h---, Sonofa---!!!

I'm gonna go to hell for that. Well the way I see it these days, at least it might be warmer than the Arctic.

I guess maybe it would be a good idea to start at the beginning. --nodding-- yeah.

We have been having some very serious family issues here on the farm for the past,,,ohhh,,,lets say,,,since summer started. But I keep smiling, going about my business and try to keep a very positive outlook in the long run. Its just my way. I go foraging, pick blueberries, plant my plants, learn about what flowers are already here on the farm and what might possiably grow here besides. Theres the tourists who come to stay, the cook outs, making cheese and well just a lot of different things that i take the time to try or do on a regular basis.

Today, mind you, has been one day I would like to start over. From the moment I got up, and seen KB drank all the coffee, and I actually had to wait until more was brewed, to the moment i stood in my kitchen this afternoon wearing half my blueberry saft while toursts stood in my kitchen with huge eyes trying not to laugh at me. Yep blue/black is the new fashion color for a few more days. So why am I wearing this new color for the fall fashion in the Arctic. Let me tell you. Its all the weathers fault. Okay, okay, I'll stop skipping around and get to the facts.

We having been having very dry weather for a very long time now, but today, it is raining. Beautiful slow, big drop rain. The kind of rain my crops are just drinking up nice and slowly. So since I can't go out to play or work in the gardens, I pulled out my blueberries that I had picked for a few weeks, and froze. Its a jam and saft day I told myself. So I got to working in the kitchen. Half way thru making my jam, KB calls and says he is soaked thru and can I please bring him another Viking outfit. Sigh. So I put things on hold, and ran the cloths up to him. To make a long story shorter, my jam did not set. Sigh. So back to the pot, and i used Toni's recipe on how to fix jam that hasn't set. It worked. While the jam was trying to set the first time, I had started a batch of saft from my blueberries. No problem what so ever. It was nice and thick, but not to thick, and sweet as can be. Just perfect. Until I decided to follow a secret trick on making the saft preserved longer for over winter use. I let it cool, then added the 1/2 t. of natron, or baking soda. Well it must not of been cool enough. Because when I bottled it up, the cork blew like whale comming up for air. I had saft on the walls, the cabinets, the windows, the counters, all my kitchen gadgets and tins. But most of it I think ended up on me. As I was getting a warm wash cloth to start wiping my face, hair and cloths, there is a knock at the front door. OMG! No! No, no, no, no, no! Come in! As i frantically wiped my face, only to turn around and there is 3 toursts with eyes the size of sunflowers, jaws hanging open, and trying very hard not to laugh. All I could say is "I'm cooking" So I get them checked in, ID's listed and hand them their keys. I usually walk them to the cabins and really welcome each guest. Not this time, as soon as they were out the door I ran to the bathroom and looked on in horror. I looked like I had the measles only blue/black dots. My hair was matted and also is now spotted blue/black. Well at least it kind of goes with red hair.

I ended up with 2 bottles of saft, there should of been 3, 10 jars of blueberry jam, and I also made 2 bottle of flavored oil. One for fish, with oil, dill, lemon balm, garlic and norsk pepper mix. The other is a dipping oil made with green olives, garlic and basil. Ofcourse they have to sit for at least a week, then they will be good to go. I also had started a cream cheese the night before and it was now ready for the added ingredients. I make this out of yogurt and half t. of salt let sit over night to drain. I added finely diced leeks, red sweet pepper, garlic and basil. Let it sit a day and it is so good, it barely lasts to the next day.

My blueberry jam fixed with the help of Toni and the Garden Stew

And a photo of it all together, the jam, saft and oils. I'm still afraid to put the corks on the saft, thats why they are left open,,

So all in all not a bad day really, just a little colorful.

So what did KB think when he got home from work today. Well I can tell you he was afraid to say anything, it might have been the narrow eyes I had on him. He just smiled, okay howled really. But as he was walking up the stairs I could of sworn I heard him saying,,,,

See Spot! See Spot cook! See KB run!,,,,,,,,

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toni wrote on Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:30 pm:

Hiya, Spot....
OMG, I really hate to say it but I had to laugh when I read this. Of course I am now soleumn and serious...[[snicker]]

Just think of the story the tourists will have to tell when they get home.

gardengater wrote on Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:38 pm:

What a day, Biita. So glad you saved your good blueberry jam, but what a sight it must have been. "See Spot run....." Wow how awful - haha ha. Sorrry
Gardengater

Biita wrote on Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:52 pm:

Lol!! I can laugh about it now. I still have faded dots tho all over my face hands and neck,,lol.

Ohhh geez i can only imagine what the tourist go back and say,,lol. Well at least i give them something to remember.

KB can't even look at me with out laughing. I told him i was going to cork up the bottles and he and Balder ran out of the kitchen,,,lol, men.

Droopy wrote on Wed Aug 13, 2008 6:11 pm:

*I'm cooking!* Oh, my dear, I'm laughing really hard here. Sorry about that. You've probably messed up the tourists' view on Norwegian home cooking now. Not that it matters much. I'm glad you're in one piece and with only a few spots to show for your saft making adventure. I hope your family issues will calm down before too long. Good luck with the next saft and jam batch.

glendann wrote on Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:43 pm:

I have laughed until my tummy hurts ,Thank you I needed that today so bad :) :).(My computer is so slow and deletes most new post so bear with me for the ones I haven't answered :(
You tell everything so funny I would have loved to have seen the tourist faces.I'm glad everything turned out ok in the end .Sorry one bottle of saft you and everything around wore.
I may sound stupid but what is saft Bitta.I hope all the family stuff gets straight soon.

eileen wrote on Wed Aug 13, 2008 10:27 pm:

Oh Biita you have a way of putting words down that give us all a clear mental picture of what you're telling us about. I can just imagine your red hair standing on end, covered in purple and your face and clothes a delicate matching shade!! (Giggle, chortle, BIG belly laugh - sorry.)

I hope the saft doesn't blow again when you put the other two tops on and that your 'spots' clear up soon.

Family problems can be a real pain so, fingers crossed, yours work out well soon for you.

Sjoerd wrote on Wed Aug 13, 2008 11:47 pm:

What a wild tale, Biita. Oh dear me...my sides are still aching.

I love it when you show stuff you've made. In this case it's something I am extreemly fond of to boot.
Just keep on going with that canning and preserving.
Well done, Spot.

Biita wrote on Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:53 am:

Thanks all!! That was something that after it was all done and over, i had to write about. No one would believe what a klutz i am.

The saft is safely bottled. No more explosions. Glenda, saft is like fruit concentrate but not kept in the freezer. I call it Norwegian Kool-aid.

Family issues will take alot of time here, its the reason i'm so stressed. But i keep smiling.

In the immortal words or Bob Marley,,,"Don't worry 'bout a ting,,,, Everytings gon be alright"

dooley wrote on Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:27 pm:

Family issues take a lot of time but eventually they will work out someway. Our family gathering turned out great and any problems were laid aside. I love blueberries and blue or purple fingers are a price to pay. I don't know about spots though. Spots can be funny. I made a blueberry peach pie or a peach blueberry pie. Whichever it was very tasty. Now I hear thunder and it wasn't supposed to rain today. dooley