I can!
I mentioned earlier in the summer that I took a class through the Urban Ecology Center to learn the art of jams and jellies. Well, summer has flown by and only this weekend, waiting (with a cleared calendar) for one of my best friends to roll into town, did I find a chunk of time to attempt canning. Although I didn't get to the strawberries tucked away in my freezer, I did take care of the 5lbs of cherries and blueberries (well, most of them) that my friend Kim graciously arranged for me to enjoy from her CSA.
I guess only time will tell if I did everything correctly, but I have 5 jars of brandied cherries and 6 jars of blueberry spice jam stored away in the cupboard. There was a small amount of the blueberry spice jam leftover and I must say it's been delicious on the breadmaker bread I made this week as well.
I also treated my coworkers to some blueberry cornbread muffins a la Martha last week.
While I still have to polish off the blueberries (though they've been mighty tasty with yogurt and granola every morning), the remaining cherries ended up atop one of the most decadent deserts I've ever created. Following the basics a random blog recipe for goat cheese cheesecake I went to town on Saturday afternoon. I used Ruegsegger Farms goat cheese for my base and eggs from my Rare Earth Farm CSA to keep it mostly local. For an added layer of awesome, I substituted Anna's Almond Cinnamon Thins for the crust in lieu of plain old graham crackers. I ended up having to cook it about an hour (as opposed to the 30-40 mins in the blog), but it was worth it. Seriously, cheesecake heaven. I was happy to share with friends throughout the weekend!
Wow - wandering into my baking territory with the cheesecake! I entered my first baking contest this year, alas, no dairy-based entries were allowed due to the heat, but my berry tart with an almond frangipane was worthy of the cover of Martha Stewart Living.
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