Thursday, August 9, 2012

Summer Sipping, Blueberries, and Chicken



Summer is flying by and I am still doing my darndest to keep up with the cooking and baking, picture taking and blogging.  Truth be told, I am taking tons of photos but I am failing at the writing the part....I even took my laptop to the back yard to write but there are so many darn distractions in the yard...you know, the garden, butterflies, naps....that sort of thing....
The distraction of the first ripening tomato in the garden!!!
 I am still busy making my own lemon and ginger syrups for tasty summer bevvies (and for some marinades and dressings) but lately  I have tried a new syrup. Blueberry syrup!!! I did some research online for this one and came up with my own concoction that follows the recipe I follow for the lemon syrup. A simple syrup of equal parts sugar and water with the berries tossed in. This one seemed to work for me.


Blueberry syrup

4 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 lemon's worth of lemon juice

Put everything in a pot and let it come to a boil. Cook until the berries are popping. I gave the berries a bit of a mashing with a potato masher just to get all the juice out.

Allow everything to cool in the pot then pass through a strainer.  I stirred and mashed the berries in the strainer a bit more then transferred the mashed berries to a jar for use on toast....instant jam!


Store the berry syrup in the fridge.

I found this one required a bit more than 1/3 cup of syrup per can on club soda. It makes a nice fruity soda with a gorgeous colour.

Another use for this syrup:

BBQ sauce!!!!!

Mix equal parts chili paste and syrup and brush onto meats on the grill. I used this on chicken tonight and it was absolutely divine, a nice sweetness with heat on the back of the tongue!
I used Sambal oelek for this one.
Until next time, stay warm and eat well!! (and have a drink!)

5 comments:

  1. I love the bbq sauce idea! Sweet n spicy and that bit of blueberry musky funk... I've got to give it a try :)

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    1. You really do, I am impressed how well it turned out. (I was half expectig a fail).

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  2. Wow, the blueberry syrup made the marinade extra special. I wish I could try this but blueberries are very expensive where I live. Looks like you are having a lot of fun.

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    1. You could try another syrup flavour if blueberries aren't available. Something sweet that you could make a syrup with should work.

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  3. Blogging in the backyard with the bees...yep...that's me right now! :)
    I think I would drink this syrup on its own...I love me some blueberries! :)

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