Lemon Blueberry Chia Jam

   I love a fresh peanut butter and jelly/jam sandwich! There's nothing like fresh, homemade bread, with a slather of peanut butter and some homemade jam to top it off....I'm officially hungry lol :)

(You caught me, glass of milk which I rarely drink, half PB&J and half PB&F... Fluff should be illegal, just sayin' .....and a fly for added protein, awesome! )
 I was experimenting with a recipe I found on Pinterest, like anyone believes that (lol ) , and decided to change one up a bit. I found these recipes http://pinterest.com/pin/29625310021914028/ and started to think of what combos I would enjoy, the combinations could be endless, but I decided on a trial batch of Lemon Blueberry. I recently made that combination in a coffee cake and loved it, more on that in a later post lol I've got some recipe tweaking to do before that one's ready!
   This recipe is not only gluten free, but it is beyond healthy! All natural ingredients, depending on your vanilla and lemon extract, you could opt to leave those out and keep this a clean eating recipe. One thing I think we do need to talk about for a second, is the Chia seed. I know what you're thinking, why would I eat seeds I just spread all over my Chia pet!? No no no, same idea, different strain, so no you're not eating your Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia pet lol This seed is quite remarkable, they're very tiny but when in liquid they expand causing the substance to gel naturally. Many people eat Chia seeds in smoothies, yogurt, mixed in juices, mixed with water the Chia seed makes a great egg replacement in dairy free recipes,  but today we're using them to thicken our jam. Who needs that heavily processed gelatin when there's an all natural alternative that tastes delicious!
  So, I made a small batch, I only used a cup of berries to start and this gave me 1 4-6oz container, just enough to see what I thought. Note to self: if you're making this for PB&J's, the jam needs to set for at least an hour, so don't jump in at last minute thinking you're going to have jam  or you'll have a soggy PB&J, yuck!

Lemon Blueberry Chia Jam

Ingredients:

1 cup Blueberries              1tbs Chia Seeds
1tbs Honey.                        Zest 1/2 lemon
1/8 tsp lemon extract.        1tsp vanilla
1tbs warm water or lemon juice

Directions:

In a small blender, add all ingredients and blend until well combined. Pour contents into container of your choice, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. This will last for a few days in the refrigerator, I haven't attempted freezing this,  but I'm sure I will soon. Enjoy! (Seriously this is too easy!?)

<3 Case
**Note: Always be sure to use gluten free items when choosing ingredients.

Blueberry season in Northern Maine.....

   The summer fruit season has begun here in Northern Maine, strawberries, raspberries, and my favorite blueberries! There's no better berry than the one you've picked yourself, straight from the bush! There is a thriving farm in an adjacent town that has a great blueberry harvest every year. Mom and I usually go a few times throughout the season, to make sure we have collected enough berries to get us through the winter. (There's never enough for me, I always run out!? ): ) This year, I went gathering with my friend, Jamie and her little lovebug Grace, who is almost 2. We had thought we would get a box or two and Grace would become bored, not the case! Grace was having such a good time that we each got close to 6 lbs of berries, that'll fill the freezer! Haha 

   Now I don't know about you, but I love to add berries to almost anything! There's nothing like the old stand by of blueberries in milk with a sprinkle of sugar, blueberries in yogurt and granola, blueberry jam on homemade toast; which by the way I have a recipe coming soon for Blueberry Chia Jam. I also, love to bake with them, from cobblers to crisp, coffee cakes to my new favorite Creamy Blueberry Pie with Streusel Topping.  I KNOW, I couldn't believe how delicious that sounded either, until I read the recipe and realized it wasn't gluten free..$&$?!?.....pssh, I can fix that! Yup, so you know what I did, put on the thinking cap and started converting. The original recipe I found on Pinterest ( what did we do before Pinterest!?) The recipe can be found on http://pinterest.com/pin/357332551654921404/ I not only converted this but added a little here and there as well. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did, I got the "mmmmmmm oh my word that's delicious" seal of approval from my guinea pigs, aka the parents. Jamie is my next guinea pig tomorrow, it's nice to have brave (when it comes to food) friends! Hopefully this turns out as well for you as it did me, good luck!! :)

Creamy Blueberry Pie with Streusel Topping

INGREDIENTS:
1gf pie crust.          3c blueberries 
1c white sugar.      1/3c gf flour
1/4c xanthum gum. 1/8 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten                 1/2c sour cream
1tsp vanilla optional 
TOPPING:
1/2c brown sugar.   1/4c gf flour
1/4 gf oats.          1/4 c cold butter, cut in cubes 
ASSEMBLY:
Roll pie crust as directed on Pillsbury container, press into pie pan and crimp edges. Wash and dry 3c blueberries, add to pie crust. Preheat oven to 350°. 

In large bowl, combine 1c white sugar, 1/3c flour, 1/4tsp xanthum gum, stir. Beat 2 eggs and add to dry ingredients, next add sour cream. Whisk to custard consistency, do not over whisk. Add vanilla if wanted. Pour custard over berries, spread evenly.

 
TOPPING: 
In medium bowl, combine 1/2c brown sugar, 1/4c gf flour, 1/4c gf oats, stir. Cut in pieces of cold butter, 1/4c all together. Mix until coarse chunks are made and butter is combined in with dry ingredients to make crumble. Sprinkle crumble over custard/berries. 

Place pie on baking sheet, cover crust with tin foil, remove foil after 25 min. Bake 50-55 min at 350°. Cool on wire rack. Serve with vanilla ice cream or cool whip. 

Ps. I used Pillsbury GF Pie Crust ( no affiliation just my preference) it rolls nicely, just be sure to follow the instructions on container.  

Creamy Blueberry Pie with Streusel Topping 

<3 Case 
Adapted from allrecipes.com via Pinterest. 


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