Last weekend, I left the city and headed to Votyko Farm in Burton, Ohio on a quest for something simple: Blueberries.  Just get them at the grocery store around the corner?  I think not.

In addition to being a fraction of the price of store berries, the transcendental act of picking berries from a tree fills a void in my daily urban life.  Maybe transcendental is a bit of a stretch, but it is the start of my push to seek more genuine food experiencesand to connect organically to every experience in my life.

In this post, I'll share the process of picking blueberries, and making lemon blueberry jam.

I hope to share more experiences that explore the relationship between vintage & modern, urban & rural, and simple & complex.

Votyko Farm was exactly what I was looking for.  Simple, rural, authenitic, and family-owned.

Adam joined me and picked half of our 8 pounds of berries.  Good job, Adam!

The harvest, ready to take home.

Washing one of the many batches of blueberries.

Glamor shot!  Lay the berries out to dry.

Jam making, step 1: Berries into the pot over low heat.

Step 2:  When the berries begin to give up juices, it is time for the other ingredients.

Pectin and fresh nutmeg.

Lemon zest, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar.

Add the sugar to the pot.  Don't flinch.  At least it's sugar and not high fructose corn syrup, right?  Healthy! 

Let the mixture come to a full boil and leave for about a minute. 

I chose to can my jam.  Canning instruction on Ball's website.

After the jam is safetly home in its jar, you're done!

But wait!  I added basil to some of my jars of jam.  Lemon Basil Blueberry Jam.  YES PLEASE!

Finished Jam.  Guess what everyone's getting for Christmas!

What's next?

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Recipe (adapted from Alton Brown):

4 Cups of Blueberries

3 Tablespoons of Pectin

Fresh Nutmeg

Juice of 1 Lemon

4 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar

3 Cups of Sugar

1/2 Cup of Water

1/4 Cup of Fresh Basil

Process above.