Hi there,

The other day I stopped at the farmer’s market. They were selling the most beautiful pints of blackberries. I suddenly remembered myself at 10 and back in my childhood home.

One of my childhood responsibilities was to go to the local grocer and buy Lebanon baloney and Fleichman’s white bread for lunch. (No worries about cholesterol back in the day.) I did this just about every 3 days. The path from my home to the grocer we nicknamed the Indian path.

In the summer, the path was filled with the noise of insects and butterflies winging about. It was just an earth trodden path through an overgrowth of trees and bushes. But some of those bushes were blackberry bushes. Those blackberries, eaten off the vine, after fighting off the bees, were a free and sweet treat. When the bushes became heavily laden with fruit, I picked the berries and brought them home to be made into jam. Jam, which again, was a taste of summer during the harsh winter months.

Ingredients

• 3 cups blackberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup Limoncello
• 2 teaspoons dried lemon-thyme (or 1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme with 1 teaspoon Meyer lemon zest)

Instructions

1. Combine blackberries, sugar, Limoncello, thyme and zest in a medium heavy saucepan.
2. Cook over medium heat until the blackberries begin to soften a little.
3. Use a wooden spoon or a potato masher to break up the fruit.
4. Reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered, stirring often, until the mixture begins to thicken, about 30 minutes.
5. The jam won’t be as firm as you think it should be but it will definitely firm up once it cools down.

Special Note: This jam, in addition to being great in the morning over toast, is also delicious over yogurt or over prima donna cheese for an appetizer.

I recently gave a jar of this jam to my friend, Terrie, at http://www.comfortdujour who came up with a delicious pastry using the jam. If you get a chance, check it out “Easy Puff Pastry Pinwheels”.

Talk soon, ❤️💕 Bernadette