Hunting for Berries

This weekend Cody and I set aside some time to wander up into the mountains in search of wild blueberries.  We are lucky enough to have a tasty blueberry bush growing next to our front door.  But, the summer is getting late and the birds have made a feast out of it.  In order to have enough berries to use in canning we had to do some wandering.  The wandering was worth every moment.

We drove our car up into the mountains (as far as the road allowed) and set off on foot.  There were bushes everywhere.  We could have started picking berries within about 500ft of our car but we were in need of a little weekend adventure So, we traveled up into the hills and settled on a spot in a high valley between two higher peaks.  This ended up being the perfect spot. The berries were huge and incredibly sweet.  We snacked the whole time we picked :)

                  

The weather only added to our incredible day.  Fall is my favorite time of the year.  Everything about this season makes me happy.  Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin beer, fall colors, chilly weather, big sweaters, the list goes on and on.  On this particular day we were graced with some serious Fall weather.  It was in the 50's and quite breezy in the mountains.  The threat of rain loomed near for the duration of the expedition but we were lucky enough to stay dry.  The colors up this high were incredible as well.  Everything was turning brilliant shades of red, brown, and orange!

This adventure left me longing for Fall to be in full-swing.  I am sure in a couple of months I will be missing the sun and warmth but the weather this weekend made me so nostalgic for my favorite season.   We were lucky to collect multiple bags of berries and we hope to make another trip up later this week.  I am sure we will be busy making blueberry concoctions (both to eat and store) over the next week.  Just another reason why I love my favorite season :)

Questions:
What is your favorite season? Why?
Do you ever go berry picking? 
What should I make with my abundance of tasty berries? 

Fireweed Jelly Recipe

Fireweed Jelly Recipe
8cups of packed petals (no leaves!)
 5cups sugar
2packets OR 7tbs of Pectin
1/4cup lemon juice
4 1/2cups water

Directions: Place petals, lemon juice, and water in a large pan.  Bring water to a boil.  Once boiling, set the timer for 10minutes, stir frequently to avoid burning petals.  Petals will begin to loose their color and the water will turn a deep purple.  Remove from heat and strain out petals.  MAKE SURE TO SAVE THE JUICE.  I strained my juice into a large glass bowl.  Then, return juice to the original pan and heat on medium.  Add all of the pectin at once and stir.  Bring back to a boil and add sugar.  Make sure to return the mixture to a boil for about 5minutes after adding sugar.  Remove from heat and distribute into hot mason jars.  Begin the processing (aka boiling the jars to make sure they seal).

There you have it folks! I am an official Alaskan…kind of, ha ha.   I collect my own berries, make my own jams, catch my own fish…seriously?! The jelly turned out amazing.  I couldn't have asked for a more successful first attempt at jelly making.  Sadly, a few of my jars didn't seal so I will be re-processing a few of them.  However, for a first attempt I am pretty impressed with myself.  I actually did a happy dance around the kitchen (much to Cody's amusement).  I can't take total credit for the recipe though.  I snagged it from this blog, which was recommended to me by a friend who frequently makes her own jelly. Woo-hoo for awesome jelly!

Questions:
Have you ever done any canning? Made your own jelly?
If you have your own jelly recipe, share it!