living well one day at a time

As always, if you’re just here for the Razzleberry Chia Jam recipe, skip ahead and I won’t judge you.

Okay, maybe a little.

No matter what phase of my life I think of – I can remember the medium of food as my canvas, and its comfort even when I’m at my most overwhelmed.

When my family finally caved and got cable growing up (a big deal for a homeschooled religious family), I used to dominate the remote as much as possible and watch Food Network.

I rearranged thinly sliced apples and cheese on a plate at 7ish years old until they were perfect (and had a total conniption when my Dad ate them all in one bite), was known to take photos of my creations with a disposable camera, and my first (and only, really LOL) adventure into the world of pottery was to make a tiny fruit bowl. I keep it as a memento to remind me of my roots.

Essentially, I’ve always been obsessed with food.

Obsessed with the creativity it allows for, along with the stories that it carries from our ancestors and families. It’s as therapeutic to me as it is creative, allowing me to connect with flavors and scents while keeping my hands busy. My family and friends know that my desire and ability to create in the kitchen directly corresponds to my wellbeing.

Needless to say, I’m always in the kitchen creating something – and this extra time at home (hey, pandemic) is giving me allll the space and time to make things like homemade naan, bread, and a plethora of more demanding recipes.

This beauty is by far one of my favorite creations (this week). It’s the opposite of demanding, and can be made from a well-stocked pantry. I used Molly Yeh’s Party Trick Peanut Butter Cake (from her cookbook, Molly on The Range) recipe as a base and smothered it with homemade whipped cream and this homemade Razzleberry Chia Jam.

This was my breakfast yesterday, and after seeing a photo, my parents were keen on a curbside pickup. Part of me thinks maybe this was their plan all along when they gave me two cookbooks for my birthday a couple of weeks ago.

I’m sure Molly’s recipe for peanut butter cake is all over the internet or her blog, and you can find the Razzleberry Chia Jam recipe below.

You also might be asking “wtf is a razzleberry?”.

I know, because I had exactly the same thought almost three years ago when I began dating Sean. When it came time for holidays and birthdays he was extremely excited about the promise of “razzleberry pie”.

Initially, I was curious and assumed that razzleberry pie was some old family recipe that I would have to coax out of his mom (hey, Laura 👋🏻). About a year later I discovered that she gets her razzleberry pie straight from Marie Callender.

In the frozen section, in a box, that is.

*gasp*

Before anyone gets judgy about not making homemade pie (I personally haven’t met many pies I don’t like), know that she has celiac disease and making a traditional homemade pie would be torture, if not dangerous.

Maybe I’ll make her a gluten-free razzleberry pie someday (if she reads this, she’ll be pretty pumped).

Of course, this razzleberry pie origin story brought me back to my original question of what the actual hell a razzleberry is.

Short answer: it’s not “a” berry.

Long-ish answer: it’s basically slang for using whatever medley of berries you have on hand. The key berries to make it the most traditional razzleberry mixture are raspberries and blackberries – but use whatever you want. The Marie Callender edition actually uses blackberries, raspberries, and apples. I used a bag of frozen sweet cherries, tart cherries, blueberries, and strawberries from Target.

The same principle would do delightfully applied to this Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble recipe.

This simple jam is delicious as a cake topping as pictured, on oatmeal, in yogurt, on toast, or by the spoon.

Also, it’s #nationalpeanutbutterandjellyday 🥜🍓- a holiday I can really get behind and will celebrate while eating this for dinner tonight (unfortunately Sean is a trucker, therefore out of town, and will miss the cake altogether this time)

What are your favorite ways to enjoy PB + J?

(my other fav is leftover french toast made into a PB+ J sandwich 🙌🏻🥪)

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