It's The Berries

Have you heard the term "food miles?" Food miles is the distance a food travels from where it is grown to your plate. The term food miles is used to address the energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions (contributing to climate change) attached with each food we purchase.

And I do my share of adding on the food miles. From my home, it's a 16-mile round trip to the nearest grocery store. And if I were to count the food miles it takes me to collect the fish I eat all year long, it would be an astronomical number.

But during my week without transportation, I turned to the "groceries" close to home. The area around my home is loaded with wild berries. I'm delighted by just about all berries, straw (last month), blue and huckle (this month), and black and rasp (next month) are my favorites. Blueberries in particular, according to those who are more health conscious than I, will keep me living perhaps much longer than I want. Now maybe the anti-oxidant property of blueberries is just propaganda, but if they're free and they taste great right off the bush, then why not? The rain we've had in June has made this year's crop of blueberries and huckleberries big, juicy and sweet. I've already picked and frozen enough to get me through an entire year.

Unfortunately, the dogs are also partial to the berries. I will have just found a nice patch for picking, settle in with my bucket, and one or both of the dogs will come grazing through and strip berries off the plants like they were machines made for the task. What they might have missed, is left all slobbery on the bush. Then my pups sit at an inappropriately close distance to me and not so quietly hack up the leaves that got caught in their throats during their berry pillage.

I was at the bank the other day, rearranging finances in order to pay for my new transmission, when I mentioned to Shelly, my new savior in the transmission incident, that I would be drowning in berries if I didn't get the Jeep back on the road soon. Between the two of us, we came up with seven ways to prepare blueberries and huckleberries; muffins, pancakes, pie, slump, cobbler, crisp and buckle. I'm looking for more, so feel free to send them on.

All in all, it's has not a bad way to spend some forced time off.

"I think it's always best to be who you are." ~Halle Berry

"You can say any foolish thing to do to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, 'My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'" ~Dave Berry

"Don't let the same dog bite you twice." ~Chuck Berry

I'd ended June here in Northern Michigan with a bumper crop of blueberries picked and frozen. At the end of July I will head for Northern Ontario where I will traveled just far enough north to be back into prime blueberry season. I'll go to fish, of course. But I'm a harvester at heart. And whether it's fish or berries, when the opportunity presents itself I must act. This time, I won't freeze berries. Without the kitchen facilities of home, I'll feel no responsibility to "put up" my harvest but, instead, allow myself to indulge and fill my belly with berries every day. I'll have plenty of recipes to choose from.

Here's a sampling of my fish camp berry fare. I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy them as much as I will. While these recipes are written for the more familiar blueberry, feel free to substitute huckleberries. They'll work just fine!

From Patt Osborne...
BLUEBERRY DAIQUIRI
1 cup frozen blues
1/2 cup light rum (or more depending on the mood and circumstances)
1/2 lime-juiced
1/2 cup crushed ice
1/4 cup superfine sugar
In a blender, combine all ingredients for about 30 seconds. Pour into a chilled glass.
My Comment: There is no blender at camp but I'll do just fine by shaking vigorously.

From Shelly K...
BLUEBERRY BUCKLE
3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter
1 egg
3/4 c. milk
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. blueberries
Topping:
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. soft butter
Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside. Beat together sugar and butter. When mixture becomes light, add egg and beat. Sift together dry ingredients on a piece of waxed paper. Pour half of dry ingredients into bowl, add milk and remaining dry ingredients. Stir together until combined, do not over mix. Sprinkle berries on top and stir in. Sprinkle on topping and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

From My Mom...
BLUEBERRY SLUMP
1 qt. blueberries
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. sugar
Dumplings:
1 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tbs. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 c. milk
2 tbs. oil
In a 2-quart saucepan, bring the blueberries, water and sugar to a boil. Lightly mix together all dumpling ingredients. Drop dumpling dough by spoonfuls into the boiling berries. Cover and cook for 20 minutes over moderate heat. Serves 4.

From Denise M...
BLUEBERRY COBBLER
1 stick butter
3 to 4 c. fresh blueberries
1 c. water
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. self-rising flour
3/4 c. milk
1 c. sugar
Melt the butter in an 8 or 9 inch square pan. Put blueberries in pan with water and 1 cup sugar. Leave on burner. Simmer while making crust. Mix the flour, milk and 1 cup sugar together. Mix well. Pour over blueberries. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Check all along to see if juice is cooking out. If so, add a little water to keep cobbler juicy. Serve with ice cream.

From Me...
BLUEBERRY PANCAKES
1 c. blueberries
1 egg
1 c. milk
1/2 c. melted butter
1 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tbs. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
Combine egg, milk and butter. Sift dry ingredients and add to egg mixture. Beat. Drop on lightly greased griddle, sprinkle about 2 tablespoons berries over each cake. Turn when bubbly and browned.

From Pam M...
BLUEBERRY PANCAKE SYRUP
2 cups blueberries
1 cup light corn syrup or maple syrup
dash of salt
Mash blueberries until somewhat smooth. In saucepan, combine berries, syrup and salt. Bring to boil and cook for 7-10 minutes, stirring gently, or until thickened.

And finally, some recipe research suggestions from Karla K., who seems to have a bit of a blueberry fetish...
Blueberry yogurt, blueberry custard, blueberry scones, blueberry waffles, blueberry smoothies, blueberry ice cream, blueberry sauce, blueberry jam/jelly, blueberry juice, blueberry crepes, blueberry syrup, blueberry/pecan french toast, blueberry cheesecake, blueberry blintzes, blueberry tarts, blueberry & honey pecan salad, blueberry coffee cake, blueberry daiquiri, blueberry fruit ice, ... and her all time favorite, plain ol' blueberries with milk/cream and sugar (in a bowl).

"Better than any argument is to rise at dawn and pick dew-wet red berries in a cup."

"I am not bound for any public place, but for ground of my own where I have planted vines and orchard trees, and in the heat of the day climbed up into the healing shadow of the woods."

"I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief... For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free."

"We learn from our gardens to deal with the most urgent question of the time: How much is enough?"

~Wendell Berry

Blueberries and Antioxidant Activity
Antioxidants are thought to help protect the body against the damaging
effects of free radicals and the chronic diseases associated with the
aging process. Fresh fruits, including blueberries, and vegetables
contain many of these naturally occurring antioxidants such as Vitamins
C and E. Blueberries contain 14 mg of Vitamin C and 0.8 mg Vitamin E
per 1 cup of blueberries. In addition, blueberries contain anthocyanins
and phenolics that can also act as antioxidants. Based on data from the
USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (Boston, MA), blueberries
are among the fruits with the highest antioxidant activity. Using a
test called ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), researchers have
shown that a serving of fresh blueberries provides more antioxidant
activity than many other fresh fruits and vegetables.

http://www.blueberry.org/nutraceuticals/health.htm