Dehydrating Blueberries & Topless Blueberry Pie

Each year we purchase 20 pounds of blueberries, and it gets us through winter and spring.  I make blueberry syrup, jam, jelly, freeze some, and bake some. 

This year I am doing something new - dehydrating some.  They will be wonderful in baked goods for after school snacks and lunch packings.  I will use them in my homemade granola bars too.


Some sites recommended dropping the blueberries in boiling water first to crack the skins, and others recommended simply puncturing each blueberry.  Sounds time consuming right?

I decided to puncture each one, to shorten the drying time.  I did not have enough ice to do the boiling method. They still took a long time to dry, so I won't be doing the "poking" thing next time.  

I put 3 cups on each tray, dehydrating 12 cups of blueberries - 6 pints.  After dehydrating, I almost filled a quart jar with all of them.  I have very limited freezer space, so the dehydrator has become very useful.  This will save me a lot of money on buying dried blueberries at the store.

I canned several jars of blueberry jam and jelly, however I did not make syrup this year.

And who can resist baking pies when berries are in an abundance?  I have never made a blueberry pie, and I am very happy with the results.  I made two topless pies, by heating my berries on the stove top, and filling a baked pie shell.  We topped them with whipped cream.  Delicious!   One pie is never enough.

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We once again, are having gorgeous weather.  The guys have the car repaired and up and running now.  We still have to do more repairs on the barn roof, repair the lawn mower, finish the installation of the front screen door, and more.

Hubby already got a "call out" this morning, and we never know how long the job will take.

I'm very late on completing my 2500-word, short (fiction) story, and may decide to work on it today, simply lounging on the porch (albeit a mess right now due to the new door and packaging everywhere).  

I'm taking the day off from exercise.  I know, not exciting news here.  Yesterday I climbed 3 flights of stairs 6-7 times, and walked 2 miles.  My daughter's apartment is on the 3rd floor.  She's settled in, and looking for a second job.

Today I am thankful for:
~ God's Provisions
~ A slower paced day
~ The chance to see our hummingbird this morning