Blueberries

I live in a small orchard town known as Emmett. Times are changing, and as sprawl from Boise comes in, the orchards disappear and are replaced by new subdivisions and golf courses. This transformation hasn't fully occured yet. Much of what I love about this town is still here. There are still some orchards, though not as many as when I was growing up. Main Street, once the hub of the town, has fallen into disrepair, but the old buildings, many of which date back to the early 1900's, still hang on, trying to make the awkward shift to the modern. The old Rexall drug store where I used to buy colorful Spider-Man and Superman comic books now sells satellite dishes. Alma's Cafe, a greasy spoon that would have been a great setting for a Fannie Flagg novel, is now a pawn shop. And still, despite all of this ignominious change, I hold onto the town of my youth. One way I do this is simple. When July rolls around I go to Suyehira Farms, on the outskirts of the North end and I pick blueberries with my mom.

Suyehira Farms, owned by a friendly, elderly, Japanese fellow, sells blueberries two ways. They pick them for you or you can pick them. It's a little over $3.00 a pound if they do it and about $1.80 a pound if you get out there and do it yourself. Why, I wouldn't do it any other way, even if the price was the same. There's something to be said for picking the berry yourself, each one a rich treasure of flavor. If you go in the morning (which we did), the sun isn't too hot yet, but you do have to contend with mosquitoes. But, at any rate, residents of Emmett are used to that. Mosquitoes are so ubiquitous that we are on great terms. We name them and ask them how they are doing before we slap our legs and arms. I hate to tell you, but I had to kill Roscoe last night.

Between us we picked around 15 pounds. We like blueberries, but we aren't as greedy as we seem. Sisters each get a bag...friends...people at church. Plus we freeze them. Mom told me (and I think she picked this up from Martha Stewart) that if you put them on a cookie sheet and freeze them like that, you can then transfer them to freezer bags and they won't clump all together in a massive blueberry chunk. Then, come January, you take out a bag and have delicious, flavorful blueberries in your pancakes on a cold winter morning.

This batch was especially good. (Picking them requires constant sampling.) The color of the berries was a rich, deep blue, almost tinging into purple... Packed with antioxidents, they tell me! The fragrant tart of the fruit was misleading as when I popped one into my mouth I was pleased to discover that the tartness was subdued with sweet. A good batch. We immediately served a bowl with sponge cake and Cool Whip to reward our work.

Here are my two favorite blueberry recipes.

BLUEBERRY-CORNMEAL PANCAKES

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
3 tablespoons skim milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1.) In a large bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon.
2.) In a medium bowl, stir together the egg, yogurt, milk, and oil. Add yogurt mixture all at once to flour mixture, stirring until moistened. Gently fold in blueberries.
3. For each pancake, spread about 1/3 cup batter into a 4-inch circle onto a hot, non-stick griddle or skillet. Cook over medium heat until golden brown, turning to second side when pancake edges are slightly dry.

Makes 4 servings, each 2 pancakes.

(I got this recipe from the Idaho Power bill, which includes recipes that supposedly use little energy!)

BLUEBERRY CRISP

5 cups thinly sliced, peeled tart apples (Granny Smith or pippen works great)
1 cup blueberries
2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons margarine

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In large mixing bowl, combine apples, blueberries, lemon or lime juice, and sugar. Transfer to 2-quart square baking dish or 9-inch pie plate.
3. In small bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, flour, ginger and cinnamon. Cut in margarine until crumbly.
4. Sprinkle oat mixture evenly over apple mixture. Bake in preheated oven 30-35 minutes or until apples are tender.
5. Serve warm to one very greedy blueberry lover or six if you share.

Yield: Up to six servings.

(This recipe came from our local paper, The Idaho Statesman.)