Food Friday: Blueberry Summer

It’s almost June and we are about to dive headlong into summer. I can see the signs: the fireflies are lighting up our backyard, the weeds are growing faster than kudzu, and the hydrangeas are bobbing their blue mopheads in the warm breeze. And there is a sudden proliferation of green cardboard blueberry baskets in the fridge. I can’t find the butter dish because there are three containers of blueberries crowding the bottom shelf; harbingers of summer.

Mr. Sanders starts most mornings with blueberries. Sometimes he just rinses them off in a wire strainer and drops them into a cereal bowl for easy munching. Or he mixes them with other berries and some yogurt. Sometimes he deposits a handful on top of a bowl of leaves and twigs and has a healthy, crunchy granola breakfast. And there is his new favorite breakfast concoction – overnight oats, with chia seeds, whey protein powder, yogurt, and whatever fruit he can summon up. It is a very earnest breakfast, and he is full of antioxidants, chock-a-block with Vitamins C and K and his blood pressure is great. Benefits of Blueberries

On Sundays, when I have time for creative cooking, and am not rushing out to the Y, I like my blueberries as a special component: in piping hot, just-baked blueberry muffins, with oozing schmears of Irish butter, with a side of Sunday papers. Mr. Sanders can have his overnight oats. Give me some blueberry pancakes, with warm blue bursts in each mouthful, the flavonoids enhanced with alternating bites of bacon. Luke the Wonder Dog likes a blueberry treat, or two. He is always vigilant in the kitchen and catches many a spill before they hit the floor. He likes the added thrill of a bouncing blueberry. Not too many, though! Dogs and Blueberries

With a little planning, you can bake a breakfast cake. How perfect is cake for breakfast? A blueberry breakfast cake is the best way to start a day.

Surely the ultimate blueberry moment is the first bite of pie. You might prefer your pie open-face, latticework, crumble, or with a second crust. It’s going to be a long summer, so try every variation. Our friends at Food52 have done lots of research, and lots of baking. I rely on them to guide me through these treacherous blueberry pie waters.

Our children never ate blueberries except in muffins and pancakes until we visited a blueberry farm in Maine, and they got to fill both their buckets and their greedy bellies with blueberries that they hunted and gathered themselves. Now they are confirmed blueberry aficionados. Hit the farmers’ markets near you on Saturday to pick up a nice fresh pint or two of locally grown blueberries. And if it is too early for locals, satisfy your yen with strawberries or blackberries. Yumsters.

Here’s a genius idea for a breakfast shake. You can still get out of the house quickly in the morning, yet you’ll still get some nutrition – no stopping by Dunkin’: Breakfast Shake

What are you doing for lunch? How about a colorful salad? For a delightfully cool lunch salad, try pairing blueberries with cucumbers and some feta cheese. The weekend promises to be steamy, so plan ahead: Blueberry Cucumber Salad

Cocktail hour! John Derian is as stylish and clever as folks come, and this is his recipe for a Blueberry Smash. Deelightful! Blueberry Smash

Finally, Alexandra Stafford, of Alexandra’s Kitchen, has introduced the Spy Test Kitchens to Lemon-Blueberry Dutch Baby

June is about to be busting out all over. And if you listen carefully you’ll hear the blueberries ripening. Little globules of vitamin-rich blue goodness! ’Tis the season to revel in local blueberries! Summertime adventures are just around the corner. Don’t forget your sunscreen.

“Although it was a blueberrying day, there was no telling what would happen next.”
–Robert McCloskey