Everything Blueberry!
I went blueberry picking this morning with my former student now friend, Kim. She and I realized today that we’ve certainly been picking blueberries together for at least a decade! We were able to meet at her family’s property at 8am with half of the bushes still in the shade as the heat has been oppressive lately.
I brought home well over a gallon of berries today, and this is on top of what we picked in Maine which my friend, Anne Marie, and I made into jam in her quintessential Maine cabin kitchen! It should be no surprise, then, that I am always trying to use blueberries in some new recipe. In last week’s Berkshire Eagle column I did just that with delicious results! Click here for the link to the article in the paper, or just scroll down!
Now I need to go and figure out what else to make with all these blueberries!
EAT YOUR VEGGIES – WITH FRUIT!
by Elizabeth Baer
We live in an amazing place. How often have we heard how lucky we are to live in the Berkshires, from friends who live elsewhere! People spend a lot of time, effort, and money to come and be here, especially in the summer. And yet, when it’s your home, sometimes, as wonderful as it is, you need to get away from seeing all the household tasks, to-do lists, and piles of papers that need sorting.
For many years now we’ve been making our way to Maine for our summer getaway. We rent a cabin not too far from the capital city of Augusta, on the same lake where my husband attended overnight camp as a child, as did his father in the 1930s and 1940s. We love to hear the loons and the ospreys, as well as the bugle calls from camp. (My husband quizzes me on what the different tunes mean and every year likes to remind me about how when his father was a camper there was an actual bugler!)
But the vacation is not all about his nostalgia! Maine is a wonderful place for foodies, and we make sure to enjoy many regional treats. Blueberries are always ripe for picking when we are there, and I usually have a “jam session” with my friend across the lake. With whatever blueberries don’t become jam, I like to toss them on cereal and into salads.
This year, the morning we left, we stopped at our CSA, Woven Roots in Tyringham, and, among other items, I picked a container of the last of the peas. Big, fat, and straining against their pods, I knew they would no longer work as sugar snap peas. Then another night on our vacation we didn’t finish all the corn we had bought. With a typical, rustic Maine “camp” kitchen (Mainers call their cabins “camps”), I really had to improvise, so I decided sauté the peas and the corn, and toss in a handful of blueberries. I was a serendipitous success, and I will certainly make this again. I had a few remaining lettuce leaves, also from our CSA share, and served this in lettuce cups, which is entirely optional, of course, and I thought that had I been at home, I might have added some chopped fresh basil or chopped nuts. But the fruity bite of blueberry with the sweet corn and peas proved to be a delicious combination!
SAUTÉED PEAS AND CORN WITH BLUEBERRIES
Serves 2-4
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons olive oil, or 1 tablespoon olive oil + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup peas, shucked if fresh, or frozen
2-3 ears corn, raw or cooked, cut from the cob
¼ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
¾ cup blueberries
1 tablespoon vinaigrette (any kind)
Optional additions: lettuce cups for serving, chopped fresh basil, chopped nuts
DIRECTIONS:
Heat the olive oil, or olive oil and butter, in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat until oil is shimmering and butter, if using, is melted.
Add the peas and the corn, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes, if using, and sauté, stirring frequently, for five minutes or until the vegetable reach the desired tenderness.
Remove from heat and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before stirring in the blueberries gently. Stir in the vinaigrette, taste, and adjust for seasoning if necessary. Mix in any optional ingredients and serve in lettuce cups if desired.