Lemon Burst & Blueberry Cake for Father's Day for Baker Newbies and the Rest of us!

                          

Hello People!

It is time to celebrate Dad, with a simple cake that looks beautiful, is citrusy, loaded with bluebs and has a minimal decorated look for those of you who do not feel at ease using frosting tips. (Or frosting, for that matter.) This recipe is really broken down for you, will be exactly what the not-so-great in the kitchen, peeps need!
I have come to find that lemon and blueberry is quite the hit with men, women, old,and young alike; usually these ingredients are not too difficult to find either, so this Father's Day-Let them eat cake!
                                                        

I can assure you that Dad will appreciate you doing something nice for him, especially if it means you made the effort and went all out.
                    
I prefer organic lemons when I make confections, that is because I need the zested peel and I prefer to not have any hidden chemical surprises that can add bitterness to a recipe. Believe it or not, I have had it happen in the past and it was so odd and unexpected. You can find organic lemons in most grocery stores nowadays, I make the extra effort to go to the health food store and support local farmer's, whenever I can. It's better for the economy and less likely to come from dubious sources. Always look for the number 9 at the beginning of fruit code stickers. 9=organic!
Oh! What a time to be alive!
                         
I also dipped into my supply of frozen blueberries from an eco farm I zip to, several times a year, that has gorgeous and delectable blueberries!
                                       
As for the cake, I needed to test out Bob's Red Mill vanilla cake mix and felt it was perfect for those of you not too savvy in the kitchen, or perhaps unsure in the gluten-free baking domain, or just pressed for time. Whatever your reasons, I decided to use them to test them for possible cake orders in the future and to see how much I could play with adding ingredient's to it.
                   

You can find Bob's Red Mill products on-line here:
http://www.bobsredmill.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=cake+mixes+gluten+free

http://www.bobsredmill.com/

I found mine at the health food store but they are often in local grocery shops now too!
It was on special and cost me under $5.79

   To keep this cake more basic, I also used an American buttercream recipe, as it is way less complicated, uses easily sourced ingredients, and does not require the most special equipment or skills to make.
The only drawback is that it is a much sweeter frosting, I do find it too sweet but I tested this cake on my colleagues at work and the consensus was that it was delicious, not too sweet, and the cake was devoured away with nary a crumb left.
Only myself and a friend, we have both cut out regular sugar-found it to be too much. I was informed that this is what happens when cutting out sugar but colleagues would be glad to eat my piece for me. How cheeky!
I made this cake in two small 6" cake rounds because I was making it for very few people, did not want leftover cake, and have always found small cakes too cute to resist; plus they are way less surface area to have to decorate. You may use two 8" cake pans if you prefer.
As I stated before, I have provided this recipe with major breakdown for those of you who really struggle with baking or are total baking newbs. Be brave, don your aprons and go forth with spatulas in hand!
A few important words of advice before you dive in, as I have found that most people fail at baking because they do not respect all of the following. Pay attention and just do it, your cake will come out beautifully!

1)Read through the Entire recipe 2 times to make sure you get it and are clear on how it all needs to be done.

2)Make sure you have all the ingredients & equipment required. Do not proceed if you are missing the necessities, otherwise you are throwing time, money, effort, and expectation in the garbage.

3)DO NOT change up a recipe that you have never tried before or just want to play with because you think it could work. Listen to me, baking novices, baking is a CHEMICAL reaction.
YES, it really is!
You mess with the balance of that and your cake will flop, no rise, won't cook all the way, will be too runny, too hard, etc. It is an inevitable truth, whatever disaster could happen will befall the baker who does not respect the cardinal rule of baking! Respect the recipe!
It is a Chemical reaction not a science experiment!

4)Do what professional Chefs do, measure out all your ingredients before hand, place them in a bunch of smaller bowls, have them at the ready to add as you need them, so you are not over taxed and stressed as you bake. It is called M.E.P.  aka Mis-En-Place  aka Get it all ready and in it's place before you start fool!!!!!!

5)Get all your equipment ready, that means organized and not a mad scramble or hunting game in the middle of baking.
Ooops, you mean I don't own a zester? Oh poop!

6)Preheat your oven to the stated recipe temperature before you begin baking!

7)Do not answer phones, or text, or allow yourself to be distracted. Focus! Total focus on the task at hand, tell them you took a day trip to Nepal (yes, they should not believe you) you were being interrogated by aliens in sombreros, or that you were on a heady raspberry cordial drinking binge. Do what you gotta do, all tech off, just focus on baking time.

8)Once the cake goes in the oven, do not be loud, do not slam doors, quiet, so as to avoid a cake fall.

9)With gluten-free baking, it is best to not use glass bakeware or dark bakeware as the flours are more delicate and prone to burning. Regular light bakeware is best. It is also important to turn the pans halfway at the mid baking point. If the recipe says bake an hour, 30 minutes in, gently and using an oven mitt, turn the pans half-way, to ensure even baking; and gently close the oven door if it is cake-no falling cakes!

10)Be fearless, have fun, get messy, and make mistakes in the kitchen!

Without further ado, here is the recipe for the cake and the frosting follows down below. As usual, there are pictures to help guide you after the recipe, to make the steps as easy as possible to follow.



LEMON BURST & BLUEBERRY CAKE WITH LEMON BURST BUTTERCREAM

(The lemon in this recipe can be replaced with orange, or you can use lime and frozen raspberries instead of blueberries)

Equipment:

-2 x 6" (or 2 x 8") cake pans lined with parchment paper rounds at the base and sprayed with no-stick baking spray.

-Large bowl for mixing dry ingredients and small bowls for keeping wet ingredients at the ready.

-Glass measuring 2 Cup measure & regular measuring cup set and measuring spoons.

-Whisk and a citrus zester

-Rubber spatula for scraping down bowls

-A standing mixer with paddle attachment or hand mixer with beaters

-A wooden spoon for mixing dry ingredients

-A wooden skewer or cake tester for checking doneness of cake

-A small metal baking spatula for decorating

-A knife with a serrated edge(teeth) for cutting cooled cakes in half

-Parchment paper & a non-stick baking spray

-A 6" or 8" cake base or plate, depending when and how you plan on serving your cake.

-2 Hot stones for cooling the cakes in the tins, just out the oven for the first 15 minutes.

-A cooling rack for the cakes to be gently turned out onto, to cool when removed from the bake tins.

-Cake dome for storing finished cake. (You can saran wrap it on a plate too)

Ingredients:
(Do not follow the ingredients listed on the back of the Bob's Red Mill cake mix directions, use the one's listed below that I know work-chemical reaction!)

1 x 453g Gluten-free Vanilla Cake mix from Bob's Red Mill
3 eggs
1/2 Cup Unsweetened almond milk "buttermilked" by adding 1 Tbsp of lemon juice and stirring it through once then allowing to sit for 3 minutes. Can use any unsweetened milk of choice.
1/4 Cup Vegetable oil
1/4 Cup freshly squeezed lemon juice or bottled
1 tsp Real vanilla extract
Zest (the yellow skin ONLY) of an organic lemon
1 Cup frozen blueberries (keep frozen until ready to use, I mix 1 Tbsp rice flour with these before gently folding them in the recipe at the end, to keep the berries from sinking to the bottom of the cake)

Method:

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

-Prep baking pans by lining the base of each one, with a cut out circle of parchment paper and spraying the sides with a non-stick baking spray. Keep aside but close by.

-In a large bowl combine the cake batter and zested lemon, using the wooden spoon stir through.

-Make a well in the middle of the dry cake batter mix, add eggs, oil, milk, vanilla, and lemon juice. Quickly whisk all together until well incorporated and no lumps remain.

-In a bowl, add frozen blueberries and add the 1 Tbsp of rice flour to keep the blueberries from falling to the base of the cake when baking. Gently fold the blueberries into the cake batter, being careful to only stir slightly. You do not want a blue coloured batter, it takes 1-2 stir throughs to get the blueberries evenly distributed throughout the batter and to keep the batter a golden yellow with a few blueberry streaks.

-Evenly pour half the batter into one cake pan and then pour the remaining half batter into the other cake pan. You need to ensure that the batter is evenly portioned out between the pans so you can have even layers.

-In the preheated oven, place both pans in the middle rack and bake for 30 minutes, then turn the pans halfway while wearing oven mittens, and cook for another 20-30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle of each cake comes out clean. (No wet batter or wet crumbs cling to the wooden skewer or cake tester)

-Remove cakes from oven, allow to cool on hot stones for 15 minutes. Turn oven off.

-Once 15 minutes have passed, very gently, turn cakes over and remove one at a time from each tin and place on the rack. Allow to cool completely.

-Using the serrated knife, carefully cut a thin portion off the tops of the cakes just to make them even and more flat. It won't be perfect, it's cake but you can get pretty darn close. (See pics below)

-Cut both cakes in half.*

*At this point cakes can be wrapped and frozen for 1 week, or can be served as is with fresh lemon curd and whipped cream or vanilla ice-cream.(Recipe for lime curd which just needs to have limes swapped out with lemon, and a recipe for dairy-free coconut whipped cream links are below) Or I wrap them and freeze them for 1-2 hours and make the frosting recipe, that follows down below, and decorate. This cake keeps well on the counter overnight if it is cool, keep it under a cake dome, or keep refrigerated in a cake dome for up to 3 days.

                                      
                           

 The last pic up top is a technique Chefs use to keep sliced cakes moist, they use a simple syrup to moisten the layers, one at a time, just moments before frosting. It helps the cake retain moisture, helps keep crumbs down, and aids in keeping a nice texture to the finished product. Do not panick, if you serve the cake, the same day you make it, it won't be a problem. If you want an easy faux syrup recipe, I have had to use in a pinch in professional settings, use about 1/2 Cup of juice or liquid that matches the flavour of the cake, mix in 2 Tbsp real maple syrup,stir well and using a pastry brush gently pat some of the liquid on each layer. DO NOT drown the cake, it's just to keep it from drying out, you are not looking to drench, it's a gentle pat.

http://bienconfitglutenfree.blogspot.ca/2016/11/pucker-punch-lime-curd-also-for-lime.html

http://bienconfitglutenfree.blogspot.ca/2016/10/vegan-coconut-whipped-cream.html

LEMON BURST BUTTERCREAM
               

(I am giving you a base Vanilla Buttercream recipe that I used half of, I added lemon juice, zest, and colour to half and the other vanilla bean part I froze, to use at a later date. I always like to keep some on hand, in case something comes up. I also tried to do a reduced recipe and found it was horribly sweet, so to preserve taste, I recommend doing this whole recipe; especially as it is an American Buttercream which are nothing like smooth Italian buttercreams, and have always leaned towards the sweeter end of the spectrum. They are however, quick to make, and perfect for beginners. The lemon in this recipe can be replaced with orange, or you can use lime.)

Ingredients:

1 Cup half salted butter softened
5 Cups Vegetable shortening
5-6 Cups SIFTED icing sugar (This is to your "sweet" preference)
2 Tbsp real vanilla extract
1/2 tsp sea salt
-Zest of 1 organic lemon
-3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
-a few drops of natural yellow food colouring. (I like nature's flavors, link is below)

Method:

-In a mixing bowl, (I use a kitchen aid but you can use a bowl with hand beaters on an electric hand mixer) add softened butter and shortening, beat until very well incorporated, no lumps, just smoothly blended together. Scrape the bowl down several times during mixing process. 

-Add half of sifted icing sugar and beat until incorporated.

-Add last of icing sugar and vanilla extract and sal. Beat for several minutes until well incorporated.

-Freeze half of this mixture, to remaining half, add zest of 1 lemon and 3 Tbsp lemon juice, beat until well mixed.

-Add a few drops of yellow food colour to get desired icing colour. (optional)

-Use to decorate your cake as you like.

         

Using the flat of a small spatula, you can easily make pretty furrows in the frosting by drawing it from the outside to the center, and gently applying a light pressure as you draw it in a curved swirl. The center will have a small glob of extra frosting from the dragging in, just carefully remove it with the tip of the frosting spatula. 

Spatulas can be found at Michael's, Target, Small Bakery equipment shops, and on-line.

Feel free to decorate it with fresh blueberries, sprinkles, whatever you like, or you can keep it as is. 

https://www.naturesflavors.com/

Have fun and please try to steer away from another tie for the Dad in your life, beyond what most people believe, Dads do want nice things that THEY like and can use for Father's day.
                             

Some idea's to help you out on your gift giving quest:
                                        
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/344103227770225540/


              

The Best Citrus Queen Anne's Lace Jelly Recipe and Foraging

Good Glorious and Gorgeous Morning!

Today, I am telling you all about my summer Queen Anne's Lace foraging experiences and the citrus Jelly I am making with them.

*Very important to note before I tell my tale, should you choose to forage it, you must be exceedingly careful NOT to confuse Queen Anne's Lace with Hemlock*

Below there's information on Queen Anne's Lace from the following site:
http://www.ediblewildfood.com/queen-annes-lace.aspx

QUEEN ANNE'S LACE:

Queen Anne’s lace earned its common name from a legend that tells of Queen Anne of England (1665-1714) pricking her finger and a drop of blood landed on white lace she was sewing. Belonging to the carrot family, Queen Anne’s lace is a biennial that is also known as wild carrot. Early Europeans cultivated Queen Anne’s lace, and the Romans ate it as a vegetable. American colonists boiled the taproots, sometimes in wine as a treat. Interestingly, Queen Anne’s lace is high in sugar (second only to the beet among root vegetables) and sometimes it was used among the Irish, Hindus and Jews to sweeten puddings and other foods.

Distinguishing Features: The Queen Anne's lace flower resembles lace, and oftentimes the flower has a solitary purple dot in the centre. In addition the root smells like carrots!

Flowers: Queen Anne’s lace flowers have a flat-topped white umbel, sometimes with a solitary purple flower in the center. These flowers bloom from late spring until mid-fall. Each flower cluster is made up of numerous tiny white flowers. The flower cluster start out curled up and opens to allow pollination. The cluster then rolls itself shut again, like a reverse umbrella when it goes to seed at the end of the season.

Leaves: Feathery leaves resemble those of the domestic carrot. The bases of leafstalks are broad and flat. Queen Anne’s lace leaves also closely resemble the leaves of the poison hemlock, fool’s parsley and water hemlocks, all poisonous cousins of Queen Anne’s lace.

Height: Wild carrot can grow tall, most average about 1 metre tall.

Habitat: Queen Anne’s lace is found in fields, meadows, waste areas, roadsides and disturbed habitats. They are very hardy and thrive in a dry environment.

Edible parts: Using first year Queen Anne’s lace plants are recommended. Roots are long, pale, woody, and are finger-thin and are used in soups, stews and in making tea. First year leaves can be chopped and tossed into a salad. Flower clusters can be ‘french-fried’ or fresh flowers can be tossed into a salad. The aromatic seed is used as a flavoring in stews and soups.

 Similar Plants: Poison Hemlock, Fool's Parsley 

This is a picture from when I was foraging at a later date by myself, I was still a bit sleepy as it was 6am when I went out to pick Q.A.L. 
I almost grabbed Hemlock by mistake and went, whoo hoo hoo! 
No touchie that stuff Kiki!
That was when I thought, it might be a good idea to take a side by side pic to help any of you foragers that might be interested. 
The Hemlock is on the left & the Queen Anne's Lace is in my hand on the right. You can see how a novice could easily make a mistake and forage something, literally, deadly! Remember that Hemlock has a center of small yellow flowers with a cluster of white small petals around; whereas Queen Anne's Lace looks like a bird's nest, has white flowers and a very tiny purple "heart" center.

Below is the Queen Anne's Lace with that purple "heart", it is very small but easier to tell the difference if you are unsure. Remember that sometimes they already fall off, so you might not always see it. If you are not sure, ask, use a floral finder app (yup, those exist) and walk away without, if you are really unsure. It is always best to err on the side of caution.

I received a call from Lady T and she told me that all the Queen Anne's Lace was out and in full bloom.
As it turned out my son needed a serious getaway from the city; so I asked him to come with, for a day of foraging, feeding chickens, and country fresh air. When we first arrived,we could see my son decompress in 10 minutes; it's amazing what getting away from the pressures and speed of the city can do to a person. We both agreed that moving out to the country one day would be something to work for, in our own respective houses of course!
It was beautiful and we got a lot of foraging done, I did not take pictures because it was by the side of a mildly busy road, was really hot, way too sunny, and we had a lot to do.
I did not feel right taking pictures, which could have been dangerous and made us slow down. We were at it for about 2-3 hours and then we ran to get something icy and cold to drink.
At the house, Lady T made them both some yummy gyros with tzatziki sauce and bbq chicken. I was breaking my juice fast, I chose to eat a light salad and drink a freshly made savoury juice.
We had fresh blueberries for dessert and enjoyed a quiet end to the day.

This was one of the several bags we managed to forage, just a little tip for you intrepid foragers. Do not bring these bags in your house!  These along with any other flowers you forage will have so so so MANY bug critters and you DO NOT want an infestation. It does not take long for a nest of bugs to set up shop in your home, don't risk it! 
I leave them out back and when I am ready the next morning, I grab a bowl, a big garden fork, and then I proceed to CAREFULLY and GENTLY shake out the flowers. Fork remove any beetles and unwelcome critters. Do not leave longer than overnight to begin processing these flowers, as they are so delicate and will end up as a loss. They are just not made to last long, once picked.

These were what I started with:

And then I had these cute tiny blossoms:

It's time-consuming, I suggest some fav tunes, sitting comfortably, and asking for some help from hands that can be patient and gentle.

This is how they look when all the flowers are removed, feel free to compost these:

By the time we finished picking everything apart, we had my pitcher full and I could proceed with my steeping process, to draw out the flower flavour, for jelly making.

I do not have a pic of the actual steeping process, to be honest, it looks a tad yuckie. I get that that is not yummy sounding at all, as such, I decided that you did not need to be exposed to the unappealing part. I did manage a pic of the strained steeping liquid; which was a beautiful rosy blush, infused with Queen Anne's Lace loveliness. It's below with the steeping liquid recipe.

This is the glorious and perfectly pretty jelly that I got from this wonderful citrusy floral combo.

I tested it on waffles, just to be sure that it was the proper level of deliciousness before I shared it here. Fear not my lovelies, it is a citrusy wonder of scrumptiousness! I am selling this in my Etsy shop, until supplies last. This is obviously a seasonal, short-run item, but I managed to get in a few foraging sessions and made loads of steeping liquid. When I went the last time, there were smaller flowers but very abundant.

 This has given me a few jars more than anticipated, I am excited to share them with you in the soon to re-open shop (It is really, really, almost opening day!). I may do a giveaway with this flavour, let me know in the comments if that would be something you would like; I could even add one of my jars of Lilac & Pineapple Jelly as a floral taster giveaway set. The Lilac & Pineapple Jelly is so pretty and is one of my best sellers, people really adore it. It looks like this and tastes heavenly:

Does that look yummy or what? As I said, comment down below if you would like this. as a giveaway contest.

Here is the recipe for those of you who want try this out in the summer, picking/foraging Queen Anne's Lace starts at the end of July and goes into the earlier weeks of August.

THE BEST CITRUS QUEEN ANNE'S LACE JELLY
This recipe makes about 4x250ml mason jars

Ingredients:

2 1/2 Cups Steeping liquid (recipe follows)
4 Cups Sugar
2 Pouches liquid Certo pectin (85 ml each pouch)
2 tsp Powdered sugar-free pectin (I used Bernardin brand)

Method:
-In a non-reactive medium sized pot, heat steeping liquid and sugar until melted at a medium high temperature; making sure to stir constantly.

-Once sugar is melted, bring liquid to a rolling boil, add pectins, cook at a boil for no more than 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

-Skim scum and ladle into still warm, sterilized jars

-Process in a water bath canner, bring to a rolling boil and process for 10-15 minutes.

-Remove jars carefully and place on a rack, allow to cool completely.

-Chill in refrigerator before eating, as this really tastes best when it is cold. Ty it on toast, waffles, it would be really great with scones or as a filling in a sponge cake with whipped cream.
Oh yeah! The possibilities are endless.


CITRUS QUEEN ANNE'S LACE STEEPING LIQUID:

Ingredients:

4 Cups Foraged, bug-free, Queen Anne's Lace blossoms, gently removed from the plant stems.

8 Cups Citrus liquid such as orange juice or grapefruit juice, I used pink grapefruit. (pulp-free)

Method:

-Place blossoms in a non-reactive bowl, that can handle hot liquid, large enough to contain the blossoms and the liquid. Do not put the liquid with the blossoms yet!

-In a large pot, heat the liquid, once it reaches scalding (do not boil), gently pour over blossoms and stir until all are covered. The flowers will float to the top, this is fine.

-Allow to cool to room temperature, cover and place in fridge overnight.

-Using cheese cloth covered strainer, strain the steeping liquid with a bowl to catch the strained liquid underneath.

-You may need to do this twice to be sure you have a clear liquid, now you may use the amount required for the jelly recipe up above. This recipe is high in acid and may give varying results when making the jelly, that is why I recommend using both liquid and a bit of powdered pectin for the jelly recipe. I did have a bit of a problem with my first batches as I had foolishly added another acidic juice in a bid to play with the flavors, I had to fix several batches; so don't do that.

-The rest of this liquid can be frozen to use at a later date.

Leave any questions or comments down below, don't forget to subscribe and let me hear from yah if you give this recipe a go.

Take care, be well, love freely.

Freeyumm Gluten-free Bars Review

         

                 
Helloodles Loverlies!

I went for a zip out to the health food store to get some organic produce, and discovered these new bars! Holy Hannah was I ever a happy camper! I decided they deserved a Bien Confit! Gluten free food review.
       

Yes, they needed stars around thars, to magnify the awesomeness of tasty treatdom!
They are free of the top 9 priority allergens and they taste really good, like, seriously good!
               

My fav is the honey apple and oat but I also tested the raspberry chia, as well as the blueberry oat bars. Nice texture, good bite, a small crumb, wrapped in a fruity and oat, well balanced, yummy bar!
I was well-behaved and stayed away from the chocolate.
This is a tough allergy I have redeveloped, but contend with it I must, so I do.
I will admit, that it is not always easy, but it is a journey and I am making the effort.
Back to bars, yup, these are a new staple in my pantry. I like that they are not overly sweet, do not give me a sugar high headache or hurt the teeth, and don't taste chemically saccharine. I really like that they are a petite snack size and I can read along and understand EVERY ingredient.
I had stepped away from prepared bars because they were just doing awful things to my stomach, they were gluten-free but they had other allergy or digestive issue triggers. These are doing great, and the taste blew me away! I shared one with a work colleague, who recently went gluten-free, and she took a pic of the package and was going out to buy some asap.
                 

I paid $5.49 at Tau, for a box of 5 cutesie, delightful bars, and have been such a satisfied customer; that I returned to buy 3 more boxes!
Some might feel the price is a bit high for the size of the bars, to this I say, (as a professionally trained chef, who makes her own products to sell, and has been responsible for costing in a myriad of kitchens) the price is very reasonable and fair.
Yes, the bars are smaller but that is a GOOD thing.
                                      
We eat way too much, super sizing does not equal value or bang for your buck.
                             

I have always believed that less is more, too much of anything is not a good thing, and that we as a North American society have seriously distorted perceptions of what proper portion sizes are, thanks to the fast food world dominating our psyches.
                            
Perhaps because I am from Quebec, where we take a more European approach to food, (although we have adopted some bad habits as of late) I prefer something that meets dietary needs, (not to be confused with wants) is portioned properly, helps me when time is constrained for snack prep, is of great quality, and is obviously made with love and understanding to my allergy/health struggles.
Your kids will want to eat these bars and they will not be triggering the allergies of kids around them or their own.

Oh! By the way, they are GMO free! They also have cookies but I did not try them yet.
                                      



                                        

                                       
I am using them in my portion controlled, healthy, whole food, meals for work and on the road. The taste is a bit nutty, with the right touch of sweetness, and it feels satisfying without feeling deprived. I have also noticed that the variety makes my taste buds happy, and I do not get food bored. I know, I know, first world probs but I am being honest.I am seriously thinking of doing a back-to-school giveaway with these bars in the fall. Yes, that good!
I suggest that you try these out and tell a friend, they really are a bar of Yumm Yumm Yumm!
(No, they didn't pay me for any of this, did not give me any free bars to try, I literally liked them and geeked out that much, as to copy the tag line on the packaging.)
                                           

What are you still doing reading?
Get out there and snag some of these, here is the link to the company site:
http://www.freeyumm.com/our-goodies/

                                     

Take care, be well, love freely!

Lilac & Pineapple Jelly Processing & Small Shop Update!

                               

Bonjour!

 Yup, it is definitely a house full of lilac smell. We have been in serious work mode. Pooped but sincerely grateful and satisfied!            

As you can see above, there is finally some movement happening with regards to Lilac & Pineapple jelly making! I was a bit concerned at first because lilacs were latethis year and with working, plus a tail-bone injury, I thought this best seller might be shelved for this year. Never been so happy to be wrong!

                         

The pics do not do it all justice but you can get a feel for it. It has been a long 2 weeks, there has been so much to do. 

It is such slow, painstaking work because every delicate bunch of flowers, must slowly be removed. and that means one little flower at a time is picked off, which made up the larger cluster. I feel that it makes a huge difference to the final jam or jelly product though.

                             

 

As you can see we managed to score loads of lilacs out in Hemmingford, Quebec. There was the mother load of lilac bushes in this place we dubbed, "Lilac lane". They were big, beautifully coloured, healthy, and full, fragrant bushes. Some were so tall, we could not reach the tops.

                                         

                                 

In the end we had over a hundred cups of processed lilacs that allowed me to make a full dozen,large ziploc bags of lilac steeping liquid. That is way more than my paltry 4 bags of last year- happy dance moment for me, as it will allow me to make loads more jam and jelly!

                               

Now that I finally have my desperately needed new freezer, (thanks Poppa Bear for the awesome sauce birthday gift!) I actually had a place to put all of these baggies. We got such a great deal on it, we had gone in for a much smaller model that was 45% off but there was a problem with delivery, so, for $25 more we got a freezer 2 sizes up, that should have been an additional $200+. Score!!!

This freezer came just in time, there was loads of packaged lilac juice in need of a place to hibernate, until ready for use. 

As you can see, I had to sit them up, I protected them by doing the initial freeze in a box; when they were set, I was able to remove them and lay them on top of one another.

                                         

So, next steps are to start the long process of canning and then the fun part of adding labels, decorative covers, and making them pretty. 

                                       

We are also making a run out to Dunham very soon, as they have some wonderful berries and honey on hold for me. I cannot get enough of this delectable, healing, not pasteurized, organic honey!

                             

I can start making some more products and finally re-open the Etsy shop, Yipeeeeee!!!!! I have had people asking me about when it will be opened again, and where can they buy what they have had before, or tasted, but the BCGF line is really seasonal. I have to wait and work with what is available, and I am a very small start-up still. This means better taste and quality, but also that small batches come and go quickly. Please bear with me. This year, I am aiming to increase my stores for better availability.

                                    

If you want to read a blog post all about Paradis Des Fruits out in Dunham, and how you can go berry picking with you and the fam this summer, click the link that follows. 

I highly recommend it as an outing because it is gorgeous, the produce is local, tastes amazing, and it is an enviro farm with the most amazing bunch of people, who will welcome you very warmly. You will definitely be making memories and you can taste what they have to offer before you pick or buy.

http://bienconfitglutenfree.blogspot.ca/2016/09/paradis-des-fruits-local-produce.html

                           

This is the work in my near future!

Will write more on those adventure's very soon and will keep all posted as to shop status, giveaway (see pic below for a sneak peek!) finally coming soon, and any places BCGF will be seen and heard in the near future!

                                 

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Take care, be well, love freely.