blueberry | Real Food on the Table

One thing I failed to mention in Part I of It’s a Win-Win, is that I really wasn’t a blueberry fan prior to finding Temecula Berry Company. I always adored McCloskey’s book, Blueberries for Sal – a family favorite in our house, but the fruit itself didn’t hold much appeal for me. I would eat them occasionally in fruit salads and when they were served by others, but I never bought them. To me they were generally tasteless. Well let me tell you, eating directly off the bush is a whole different experience. They are just so flavorful – almost like a completely different fruit to me.

So if you haven’t ever gone blueberry picking, I really recommend it. Here’s a handy little site that can help you locate places to pick berries as well as various other fruits and veggies – http://pickyourown.org/

Our No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake wiped out about half of our take in the picking. That doesn’t account for all of the random munching – of which there was A LOT. So with the other half we just had to go for a classic cobbler.

We did one with a drop biscuit crust and so started off by whisking together some flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Then we mixed in butter with our fingers until little lumps formed. Finally, we mixed in sour cream being super careful not to over mix.

We sat the dough aside and got to work on the filling. Super simple, really. We just mixed the berries with sugar, a little flour, some lemon zest, and a bit lemon juice.

Once the filling was mixed, we spread it into the bottom of our dish, and then dropped the biscuit topping, by quarter-sized pieces, all over the top. Nothing fancy at all.

Doesn’t it kind of look like cauliflower?

The whole thing baked for about 50 minutes, until it was golden brown on top, and then we let it cool for about an hour. Of course, we had to eat it a la mode. I mean it would have been a total cobbler travesty to have eaten it any other way.

And that, dear friends, completely finished off the fruits of our picking.

Here’s the recipe for Blueberry Drop Biscuit Cobbler if you want to give it a go.

Recipe adapted from Epicurious

I spend a significant amount of time doing things that I’m not exactly dying to do. This always seems to astonish my children. I think they actually believe that I’m INTO driving back and forth to Water Polo and Soccer. They are convinced that I get a real kick out of washing and folding laundry and loading and unloading the dishwasher. Just last week, I was at a fundraiser at Pump It Up with four of my small people. I finally said to the mom next to me, “Is it just me or are the hands on that clock simply not moving?” Thankfully, she was down with my sentiment and didn’t look at me as though I were the worst mother on the face of the planet. So yes, the things that fill my days aren’t always high ranking on my dream roster or bucket list. A season for everything, right?

Now granted, I have made the choices leading me to where I am. I recognize that and accept that. I am not complaining, just being honest, folks. I refuse to believe that even the most saintly of mothers jumps with joy over the prospect of, say, reading The Little Red Hen for the 42nd time in one morning or going to the library on the third Wednesday of the month for Read to Rover (yes, sitting and watching as your child reads to Guide Dogs. Dogs. I repeat – reading to dogs. Point made). So you can easily understand, I hope, what a treat it is, when THEIR entertainment and enrichment can cozy up with any of MY passions.

Thus, my pure enthusiasm over heading out to go blueberry picking this past week. They were exuberant at the thought of picking berries, and with friends at that. I was looking forward to spending time with friends, but my wheels were already turning as to what we would make with so may fresh picked blueberries. We headed for Temecula Berry Comany, a little blueberry farm that the fam and I discovered about four years ago. We’ve made an annual pilgrimage there every year since.

Altogether, we picked 8 pints of berries. Not too shabby, but I’m always astonished at how quickly they disappear.

We were invited to a friend’s house for dinner over the weekend and so of course I felt compelled to take a blueberry dessert. Specifically, a No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake.

I started by tossing together some graham crackers, brown sugar, rolled oats, and salt for the crust. I mixed it in the food processor until fine crumbs were formed.

After that, I mixed in melted butter and vanilla with the processor running until evenly moist crumbs were formed. Then I pressed it into the bottom and up the sides of a springform pan.

I baked the crust at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes until it was golden brown.

While the crust was baking, I sprinkled some unflavored gelatin over a bit of water and let it sit for about 10 minutes.

I then heated it over low heat until all of the gelatin was dissolved.

In the food processor, once again, I combined some cream cheese, whipping cream, sugar, and lemon juice and blended until it was smooth. Then I added a bunch o’ berries and blended again.

I slowly added the dissolved gelatin mixture with the processor running and mixed until everything was well blended.

I poured the filling into the crust and sent it off to chill. I actually left it in the fridge overnight, just because I had enough time to do that and because the flavors blend so much better the longer they set.

The next day, I beat some cream and sugar into stiff peaks.

I spread the cream over the filling, and then topped all of that with more blueberries tossed with some melted blueberry jam. Another few hours in the fridge and our blueberry treat was ready for prime time.

Now that’s what I call harmony – kids were entertained, food was gathered, and dessert resulted. If you are a blueberry lover, stay tuned. Next post on the way . . . Blueberry Drop Biscuit Cobbler.

Want the recipe for No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake? It’s here.

Recipe from Epicurious.

In a real blueberry mood? Check out these other great blueberry recipes.