Blackberry Heaven: Simple Blackberry Jam and Blackberry Granita

As I've been becoming a (sub)urban farmer lately, I feel very lucky that our house came with a decent sized blackberry bush in the backyard. We just walk out of the door and get to pick these heavenly delicious berries during the summer.

The kids picked enough berries for me to make some jam, which will be so good with crepes, waffles and lapper (Norwegian mini pancakes) for breakfast!

The kids love picking and eating the berries while they play in the yard and it is a fun activity this time of the year. They also love getting freaked out every time they see spiders around. Despite the spiders around the bushes, the kids managed to pick some more berries. It was a hot day and I was having a dinner party. I love the deep purple color of blackberry juice and I decided to make granita for refreshment. It was perfect because the kids love icy desserts and it's gluten/dairy free, so all the guests were able to enjoy it. 

I grabbed a few pears from a friend's backyard and peaches along with the blackberries and threw them in a blender. Nothing special or fancy, but it's so fresh and the color is amazing. 

Jam Recipe:  3-5 jars 

6 cups of fresh blackberries (rinsed)

6 cups of pure agave syrup

1/2 cup of lemon juice

Add berries, syrup and lemon juice in a pot and mush them together. Cook it for 45-60 min. with medium heat until it reduces to half the amount. 

Cool and put them in jars. I didn't use pectin but you sure can. Make sure that the jars are sanitized well and completely dried if you want the jam to last longer. I washed mine with hot water and dried them in my dishwasher.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Granita Recipe: 10 small servings

1 cup of blackberries

1 big pear (I used basque)

1 big peach (white or yellow)

a bunch of mint

a lemon

2 tbsp of agave syrup

Rinse all the fruits and mint, peel, core and de-seeds pears and peaches. Cut them into big chunks. Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until the mixture is smooth.  Pour into a shallow container and freeze for 1 hour. Scrape the surface a few times and put it back in the freezer. Take out and scrape the granita into small glasses and serve.