A Book Review of Blue Jelly by Debby Bull!

A Very Quick and Enjoyable Read!

I have such a big book collection that I don't always read each book as they are purchased!  It sometimes takes years for me to read them.  Dusting is an excellent way for me to pick out a book that I might not otherwise have read and get it read!  Such is the case with Blue Jelly--Love Lost and the Lessons of Canning by Debby Bull, a former editor at Rolling Stone magazine.  Blue Jelly is a memoir with canning recipes.  What more do you need! Now that I think about it I probably nipped my herbal jelly title from this book.  Ms. Bull talks about jelly making and canning as being a zen experience.  Some people enjoy a crowd when they are canning.  I prefer to go it alone hence the zen experience.

My kitchen is so small that to get more than just me working on process is almost too many!  This book is described on the cover as a deliciously quirky memoir.  She drops names because she can (pun intended) and because she had therapy, I can relate to her story in some small way.  If you enjoy canning whether it be savory or sweet recipes, you will love this book, like dilly beans, red current jelly and a recipe for raspberry jam when her therapy didn't work.  Just to name a very few.  I'll let you figure out which jelly was made blue!  Even the chapter descriptions in the beginning of the book will make you laugh out loud!  It is really a group of short life adventures with canning as a finishing touch.

Ironically the recipe I really wanted to do was one that she didn't give and I won't ruin the reason why.  You need to read the book.  So some day soon I will give you a recipe for rosemary apple jelly!  Thanks Debby Bull for making me laugh, think and love making jam and jelly so much!  In a similar vein, I have been very busy picking raspberries (because of rain) and making jam.