Wojapi as dish, dessert and sauce

Wojapi is a thick berry dish, sometimes the consistency of pudding. Traditionally, it was not made with flour or sugar, but today it often is, rendering it only a marginally nutritious dish (even less so if the berries used are frozen “with sugar added”). If the berries you find are ripe and tasty, there is no need to add additional sweeteners.

Ingredients:

4-5 cups Berries of your choice that are fresh and preferably growing wild

(blueberries, grapes, chokecherries were used historically but can be bitter and must be pitted)

½ cup water

Honey

Cornstarch (cornstarch possesses double the thickening power of flour; if you use this ingredient, don’t add to hot liquids. First add the cornstarch to cold water and mix, then add to your hot mixture)

Made from blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and water
Directions:
Clean the fruit
Place in bowl and mash using potato masher (or a fork, but that takes longer)
Add fruit and liquid to large saucepan and bring to boil—be careful not to scorch the fruit.
Lower heat to a simmer and cook for about an hour, constantly checking.
Taste and see if you need to add honey for sweetness—only add a little at a time.

If you want the mixture to be thicker, either continue to simmer and “reduce” the mix (that is, the liquid evaporates rendering the taste more intense and the mix thicker) or add a small amount of cornstarch. If you go with the latter option, place 1 T of cornstarch into small bowl and add cold water to that. Stir until you have a desired consistency (add more water or starch if needed). Then slowly add to hot pot of berries and stir.

Wojabi as a topping for low-fat ice cream. This also can be used to top cornbread, yoghurt, grits. Add a few peppers and it works great as a steak sauce

Venisonflank steak topped with wojapi steak sauce (boiled a bit longer with cayenne and black pepper); cornbread, purple potatoes and tomatoes.