SWEETEN UP SUMMER
Blueberry recipes will make your mouth water.
They say there are no blue foods but of course, there’s the renegade blueberry. You’d think it would be the punk rocker of the berry family, all shouty and rebellious, smirking at the rules of cookery and certainly not agreeable to being a willing partner to pancakes.
But apart from its clingy tenacity when I dribble blueberry cobbler or blueberry sauce on my summer dresses, they are congenial and even obedient when it comes to cooking and baking and preserving them in the freezer.
I always have some frozen blueberries for adding to my pancakes or waffles, coffee cakes and smoothies. Unlike some berries I know (I’m talking about you, strawberries!) they come out of the freezer looking pretty much like when they went in.
But right now, it’s blueberry season and the time to enjoy them fresh.
The Blueberry Council of B.C. has a baker creating and testing recipes through the year and right now, they’ve got a batch of summer recipes for you to try. One of them came to the council’s publicist in a dream. That’s the Blueberry, Watermelon, Cucumber and Feta Salad. “I woke up and it was ‘Oh, I have an idea for a recipe.’ It was for a salad with cucumbers, mint and feta with blueberries,” says Wendy Underwood. “Maybe I was just craving them.”
Tracy Kusiewicz turned dream into recipe. She tweaked it by adding watermelon. Her job is to show that blueberries are good for more than pancakes, muffins and smoothies. “We’re constantly trying to show that blueberries complement a lot of things and not just in desserts but in savoury applications,” says Kusiewicz. Still, the Blueberry Yogurt Ice Pops went over particularly well with testers, she says. She makes a couple of versions of recipes for testers and yogurt won out over a coconut milk-based blueberry ice pop.
The Blueberry Lemon Pudding Pie was developed with summer in mind. That is, no baking required. Even the graham-wafer crust was tweaked so it could be prepared without hitting the oven.
For someone who eats blueberries all the time, what’s got to be the favourite recipe? “I like them simple, on oatmeal or yogurt,” says Kusiewicz. I like them simple because I eat them a lot. One of my personal bests was when I went out in the field to photograph them, I ate them right off the bush. Oh my God. They were so good. It was like the best of the best.”
Blueberry, Watermelon, Cucumber and Feta Salad
1 1 tbsp tbsp (15 (15 mL) mL) vegetablelime juice, freshlyoil squeezed
¼ tsp (1 mL) fresh ground pepper
1⁄8 tsp (. 5 mL) salt 1 cup (250 mL) B.C. blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup (250 mL) watermelon, diced 1 cup (250 mL) cucumber, seeds removed and sliced ½ cup (125 mL) feta cheese, diced or crumbled 1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh mint, finely chopped In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, lime, juice, pepper and salt. Add the salad ingredients to the vinaigrette, toss and serve chilled.
Blueberry Bacon Cornmeal Waffles
1 cup (250 mL) cornmeal ¾ cup (185 mL) all-purpose unbleached flour
1⁄3 cup (80 mL) corn starch
3 tbsp (45 mL) granulated sugar
1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder
1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
1⁄8 tsp (. 5 mL) salt
2 large eggs 1¾ cups (435 mL) buttermilk ¼ cup (60 mL) salted butter, melted 2 cups (500 mL) blueberries, fresh, divided ½ cup (125 mL) bacon, cooked and diced (approximately 6 slices)
Preheat waffle iron to a medium heat (350 F). In a large bowl mix dry ingredients.
In another bowl whisk the eggs and buttermilk, then mix egg mixture into the dry mixture. Stir in the melted butter then fold in 1 cup (250 mL) of blueberries and the bacon.
Brush the hot waffle iron with oil or butter, ladle batter into each mould until ¾ full. Close lid and cook according to manufacturer’s directions until golden brown.
Top with remaining blueberries and maple syrup.