Crowberry Jelly

Remember all of those berries we picked when we first got here? We've finally learned how to make Crowberry Jelly with them. 

We haven't really heard of anyone in the village who makes Crowberry Jelly. A much more popular use of these berries is for Akutaq, which you read about in our post about the funeral. I've heard of them being used for pies, but have heard that there isn't anyone in the village who can make a good pie. Remember, these berries have a very sour taste.

The berry juice going through the strainer after boiling for a few minutes. Straining the juice from the berries is a tedious process and took 2 people! 

Finally the finished product. We tasted a little bit this morning on some toast and decided it has a pretty good flavor. The bitterness of the berries still comes out a little bit in the aftertaste. Overall, we enjoyed the new taste of Crowberry Jelly. 

Now, I'm sure you're wondering where you can get your hands on a jar of this tasty jelly? Right?! We've got the opportunity that you've been looking: for a place where you can get a jar of our Fireweed Jelly and Crowberry Jelly.

Our friend John has been battling cancer for the past 10+ years. Recently the cancer has returned and he has had surgery to remove another tumor and has spent quite a bit of time in hospitals, rehabs and with at home health care nurses. John and his wife Chrissy have 2 sweet boys that we happen to be pretty fond of. It goes without saying that the past several months have been quite an economic hardship for the family. So, some of our friends back home have organized a benefit dinner for John and his family which will be hosted by Everson Evangelical Church on September 27th in their multi-purpose room. The dinner will be held from 4-7pm and the cost is $6 for adults and $3 for kids 10 and under. This is where the chance for jelly comes into play; they will be having a basket raffle and we're preparing to ship 2 jars of our awesome jelly to go into an Alaskan themed basket. (More on that later) I'll update this post with a link to the Facebook invite page and a contact number for Amber within the next few days. 

***EDITED TO ADD DINNER INFO***

You can find the Facebook Event Page for the dinner here. If you have any questions that can't be answered by the Facebook page feel free to call Amber Etling at 724-858-8694.