blueberry bliss

I recently went blueberry picking with a friend.  We went to our local blueberry orchard, Moorhead's Blueberry Farm.  The owner, Sid, told us that his dad started the place 35 years ago and he worked there every summer as a kid.  Now he owns it and works there every day during the season.  They don't use chemical pesticides or fertilizers which is a plus in my book.*

These bushes were fabulous!  Over six feet tall and loaded with berries.  In just 30 short minutes I managed to pick two and a half pounds of plump delicious berries.  As I was picking I was hearing parents with small children scattered throughout the field.  I laughed to myself as I remembered blueberry picking with my girls when they were little.  The three of them were more interested in eating the berries.  They would pick for a while, eating as they picked, and then when they were tired of picking they would come raid my blueberry bucket for handfuls of sweet berries.  Quite frankly I never managed to pick enough to satisfy three hungry tummies and have some for home.  I often had to go back without them in order to have a reasonable amount of berries.

I consider blueberries super-fruits, very high in antioxidants they are one of the few native American fruits.  I've written about some of their health benefits in the past.  New research appears to show that higher consumption of blueberries may be helpful in warding off conditions such as Alzheimers and Parkinson's as well as improving general cognitive function in aging adults.

Whatever their health benefits, no one can deny that they taste wonderful.  After my husband and teenaged daughter plundered the batch I brought home I had just enough left to make a gluten free blueberry coffee cake.  Obviously I'm going to have to go back for more....I guess some things never change.

Gluten Free Blueberry Coffee Cake

Preheat oven to 350 F
grease and flour a 9 x 9 baking pan

1 C. buckwheat flour
1 C. gluten free oat flour
1 C. evaporated cane juice crystals
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. sea salt
1/4 t. baking soda
1 C. blueberries
1 C. chocolate chips
4 T. butter, cold
1/2 C. Greek yogurt
1/2 C. unsweetened almond milk
1 large egg
1 t. pure vanilla extract

topping:

1/2 C. gluten free rolled oats
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 C. evaporated cane juice crystals
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
1 t. pure vanilla extract


Mix together all of the dried ingredients
Shred butter into flour mixture using the large side of a box grater
Mix butter into the flour mixture with your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs
Add blueberries and chocolate chips and toss well to coat
In a separate bowl mix together yogurt, almond milk, egg, and extract, blend well
Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients and quickly blend together, do not overmix the batter
In a separate bowl mix together topping ingredients
Spread topping evenly on the coffee cake
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top of the coffee cake springs back lightly when tapped
Remove from oven and cool
Serve warm or room temperature


*Sid did share that he uses roundup for weed control (obviously not on the blueberries) because it is  a short-lived weed killer.  I'm hopeful that he will consider switching to something else like vinegar which is shown to be effective. 

blueberry season is here...

...and there is nothing more wonderful than having fresh blueberries to eat.  Just by themselves they are a wonderful snack.  In a fruit salad they are delicious.  Baked into a myriad of treats such as muffins, cobblers and pies they are indescribably delicious.

Recently I went with some friends to a local pick-your-own place where there were over 5 miles of blueberry bushes.  The berries were plump, juicy and very flavorful.  With three adults and four kids the picking went fairly quickly and everyone came home with a quite a few berries.   Blueberries freeze quite well if you want to save some for later.  There's nothing quite like blueberry pancakes in the middle of winter from blueberries that you picked fresh during the summer.

Blueberries are native to North America and related to cranberries, another distinctive North American fruit.  They are high in antioxidants; anthocyanin which is beneficial for collagen especially as it relates to capillary and vascular support, and ellagic acid which is helpful in protecting against cancer.  Blueberries are also rich in vitamin C, manganese and are a good source of fiber.  Studies show them to be effective in helping to protect against Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD), colon cancer, and ovarian cancer.

One of my favorite ways to eat them is in pancakes, simply take your favorite pancake recipe and add blueberries to the batter after it has been put into the pan.  Another favorite is blueberry muffins.  A quick search of the internet will reveal plenty of recipes that call for fresh blueberries but here is my muffin recipe which is always a hit at our house.

Blueberry Muffins

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon (optional)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon. baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup oil

1 egg

1 cup Sucanat

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 - 1 1/2 C. blueberries (depending on how berry-y you like them)

Sift together dry ingredients 

In a separate bowl beat egg, add oil and Sucanat

Add vanilla and add-ins

Add dry ingredients and mix well

Spoon into two well greased loaf pans

Bake 375°F for 15 minutes

Enjoy!

If you live locally in the Houston area, here's a link to an article about the farm I visited to get my blueberries.

photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

on my mind monday 2.20.12

newspaper | photo:  mconnors

It's never the same two weeks in a row.  My snapshot of what I find interesting.  Information and news about health, nutrition and/or holistic living.  Here's what's on my mind.

Walmart 'Great For You' Healthy Labels - While I think we need to have appropriate labeling for food I'm not so sure who is the best organization to create it.  As proven by the Smart Choice label fiasco manufacturers are certainly not a good choice.  But are retailers any better?  Considering that they have a vested interest in selling product and that their shelf space and advertising efforts can be bought, I'm not so sure this is a winning scenario for the consumer.

What's In Your Food: Weight Watcher's Blueberry Muffins - the usual suspects of bad food, artificial ingredients, chemical additives, and far too much sugar.  Read the label, not just the front of the box.  Unfortunately many people assume that the front of the box tells the whole story when it comes to health and nutrition information.  Not true, that's the marketorial space that producers use to try to convince you that you want to buy their product.

Bright Farms - this is an organization that is bringing hydroponic greenhouse farms to grocery stores.  I think this could potentially be a great idea.  One issue is getting grocery stores to consider buying in to the concept of truly local sourcing.  Another is the strategy of growing what/enough for consumer preferences.  But it could potentially be a fabulous idea, especially in urban areas.



Wow!  The Discover High School Farm.  This is another twist on the education/food concept.  This effort is really spreading in a variety of wonderful and creative ways across the country.  Starting with Alice Waters' Edible Schoolyard to the Real School Gardens and more, kids are learning about their food, where it comes from, and making great choices because it's easily available.  Now we have this high school connecting their kids to food in a meaningful and productive way.

Raw Milk Debates - As I've written about here and here,  raw milk is in the news.  There are many people who prefer raw milk.  And both the Raw Milk Institute and the Weston A. Price Foundations Campaign for Real Milk support those consumers who want raw milk and those farmers who want to provide it.  Here is a great blog post by someone who drinks raw milk.  This issue seems to be getting more and more attention in the news and in legislative issues.  On a personal level, in case you are wondering, yes, there is a raw milk dairy about 45 minutes from my house.  Yes I do occasionally drink raw milk, but only when it is convenient for me to go that way and get it.  I'll also share that my husband and teen daughter are not willing to drink it, so I don't force them.  But I find it to be delicious and if it were more easily available I would consume more of it.

Arsenic found in infant formula - I am once again very upset to find such serious problems in the food supply.  The arsenic is found in rice which is a very efficient at uptaking it from the soil.  Apparently even if the field is now organic (a process which takes three years to achieve) if there is significant arsenic in the soil it will still find it's way into the rice.  Where did the arsenic come from?  It's being used as a pesticide.  We need to stop dumping toxins on our food and to stop poisoning our soil.