Blueberry season has been upon us for the last few weeks, and lately I've been out enjoying the gorgeous summer days, picking the last of the tiny fruit in what is now the end of the season. I was a bit of a late bloomer in getting out, mostly because I thought that the berries only grew in certain carefully-guarded secret patches and that only the locals would know where to go. People around here had not been very forthcoming with directions other than a general area, so it was only a few days ago that I, New to the North, decided to wander out on my own to see what I could find. Armed with a bucket, sunscreen, OFF and the knowledge that blueberry bushes like shallow, rocky ground, I bravely (if somewhat sceptically) drove the truck out of town. I was not to be disappointed. In fact, I now curse myself for not having ventured out earlier in the season.
Blueberries are everywhere! I found a spot to park by an exposed section of the Canadian Shield and did not have to wander more than five metres before the little blue dots caught my eye. At first they were sparse, and I wanted to walk a bit further from the road before I started picking in earnest anyway, but it wasn't long before I found a few good patches and my bucket was slowly filling up. And oh, are they delicious! The wild ones are a good bit smaller than the commercially grown blueberries, and they're tastier too, although maybe the difference in taste comes from eating them fresh off the stem versus from a store. I have never had sweeter or more flavourful blueberries, that is for certain!
Of course I needed to do something with all of the berries I have picked. Most I have frozen to use later in the season. To do this I rinse the berries and lay them on cookie sheets to dry, then pop the sheets in the freezer. Once frozen completely, the berries can simply be put into a freezerbag and stored for a later day, either for baking or to be thrown in a smoothie mix or sangria. Frozen berries also make a nice garnish for a cocktail or in iced tea, and they help keep your drink cold by acting as tiny ice cubes.
Of course I needed to do something with all of the berries I have picked. Most I have frozen to use later in the season. To do this I rinse the berries and lay them on cookie sheets to dry, then pop the sheets in the freezer. Once frozen completely, the berries can simply be put into a freezerbag and stored for a later day, either for baking or to be thrown in a smoothie mix or sangria. Frozen berries also make a nice garnish for a cocktail or in iced tea, and they help keep your drink cold by acting as tiny ice cubes.
For breakfast the other morning I made a delicious yogurt parfait with homemade granola. The granola recipe is one I believe I found in an issue of the magazine Women's Health, but I cannot recall for sure if that is indeed the source. The recipe below is tweaked a bit from the original anyway and really you can add or omit anything as desired.
2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 slivered almonds
1/2 cup shredded coconut
3 Tablespoons all-natural peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Mix all ingredients and press into a pan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes.
For the parfait layer yogurt, berries and granola to fill half the bowl and then repeat.
Lastly, I found a recipe from Canadian Living for Blueberry Oatmeal Squares that is now one of my favourites of all time. It's like eating blueberry crisp in bar form, and maybe it's just the fresh wild berries but I don't think I've eaten anything quite so good in awhile. I think I'm in love. The only alteration I made from the recipe in the above link is to omit the orange zest, as I'm not a huge fan of orange flavouring. I did keep the orange juice in the blueberry filling, as I suspected (and was correct) that it would be overpowered by the juicy berries anyway.
The recipe was really easy to follow, except for the unfortunate space between the bulk of the dry ingredients and the brown sugar. I accidentally missed adding the sugar because of this, and I didn't realize it until I had nicely layered the dessert in the pan and it was ready for the oven. All of a sudden I thought: "Oh, sugar!" and then cursed for real. I quickly dismissed a crazy notion that I could try baking the squares without the sugar and see how they turned out. That would not do. I put a lot of effort into picking the berries, and if the recipe didn't turn out that effort would be for naught. I carefully skimmed the oatmeal portion off the top, then scooped out the filling, then mixed the oatmeal base with the top and the required brown sugar. The result after re-layering was a slightly sloppier but much sweeter version of my previous attempt, and despite my blunder the squares turned out perfectly, as you can see below.
I already can't wait for next year's blueberry harvest...and I'm going picking sooner this time!
Homemade Granola
2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 slivered almonds
1/2 cup shredded coconut
3 Tablespoons all-natural peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Mix all ingredients and press into a pan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes.
For the parfait layer yogurt, berries and granola to fill half the bowl and then repeat.
Lastly, I found a recipe from Canadian Living for Blueberry Oatmeal Squares that is now one of my favourites of all time. It's like eating blueberry crisp in bar form, and maybe it's just the fresh wild berries but I don't think I've eaten anything quite so good in awhile. I think I'm in love. The only alteration I made from the recipe in the above link is to omit the orange zest, as I'm not a huge fan of orange flavouring. I did keep the orange juice in the blueberry filling, as I suspected (and was correct) that it would be overpowered by the juicy berries anyway.
The recipe was really easy to follow, except for the unfortunate space between the bulk of the dry ingredients and the brown sugar. I accidentally missed adding the sugar because of this, and I didn't realize it until I had nicely layered the dessert in the pan and it was ready for the oven. All of a sudden I thought: "Oh, sugar!" and then cursed for real. I quickly dismissed a crazy notion that I could try baking the squares without the sugar and see how they turned out. That would not do. I put a lot of effort into picking the berries, and if the recipe didn't turn out that effort would be for naught. I carefully skimmed the oatmeal portion off the top, then scooped out the filling, then mixed the oatmeal base with the top and the required brown sugar. The result after re-layering was a slightly sloppier but much sweeter version of my previous attempt, and despite my blunder the squares turned out perfectly, as you can see below.
I already can't wait for next year's blueberry harvest...and I'm going picking sooner this time!
No comments:
Post a Comment