The term “rick” is in rare use today. It is most likely to be heard from the mouth of an “old timer” from Washington County referring to the long space between two lengths of twine that designates a raker’s area on the barrens. Sometimes you are lucky to get a “good rick” or unfortunate enough to have to rake a “bad rick”. The “bad ricks” are usually the start of the fields or near the woods. Today, most people refer to the section simple as a “row”.
Thanks to Todd Merrill of Merrill Blueberry Farms in Hancock Country for this information and for confirming my recollection of this term. –Ed.
Sunny Jennings, known by many as The Tantra Cook, was kind enough to share her own childhood memories of living in New England and picking wild blueberries — what she calls her favorite fruit — in the nearby hills. She also shares a favorite recipe.
On The Tantra Cooking Blog, Sunny joins her culinary passion and a penchant for fun with “Tantra Cooking,” a method of putting the focus on the process of the meal, from beginning to end. That might mean shopping for ingredients with the kids, chopping veggies with a girlfriend or chatting with family over the grill. It’s a wonderful approach that lends itself to choosing whole ingredients and helps us rely less on food short cuts that undermine our health. You Go, girl! Here’s a preview of her post for Wild About Health:
“…one Saturday each August, we created the largest wild blueberry test kitchen on the planet. Or, so we told ourselves. We told stories, caught up on our news, laughed, experimented, carefully or casually measured ingredients, shared equipment and gently critiqued each creation as it reached its optimal temperature. We loved our time together and each of us carried timers hooked to our waists to remind us to race back and check on whatever was in the oven or refrigerator.”
— Sunny Jennings
Relied-Upon Recipe Classics for a Wild Season
The season is ON! Use your fresh while you can in these Maine favorites this weekend.
Also: Know Wild Blues? Win a *Deluxe 5-Day Bar Harbor Trip*!
Wild blueberry growers are expecting a bountiful harvest this season, and the race is on to make this abundance of blues work in our favor. Switching out frozen for fresh can mix up our blueberry repertoire and help us get a little closer to the origins of a favorite fruit. Chefs, bakers and home cooks all around the region are busy taking advantage of this fresh product while the getting is very, very good.
Don’t know where to start? Help is everywhere this season. First, every week in August, the Portland Press Herald will share fantastic ways to use your blues while they’re fresh. (And, you can take the recipes into the winter season by replacing fresh with the just-as-nutritious frozen.) Get a start this week with the Azure Café’s Campside Wild Maine Blueberry Upside Down Cake.
Also, The Montreal Gazette reminds us that Quebec places second to Maine in wild blueberry production and offers up Classic Blueberry Crisps and Blueberry Meringues to help get the season started. Down East, publisher of The Wild Blueberry Book, weighs in as well, reminding us of an award-winning recipe, Cinnamon Nut Coffee Cake, that is destined to be a classic.
Know Your Wild Blues? Take the Quiz, Win a Trip!
What can knowing about wild blueberries do for you?
Well, a lot. Integrating just a half a cup of wild blueberries into your diet (health researchers indicate the more the better) can help you age better, provide protection against cancer and diabetes, and coat our bodies with an armor against disease.
What’s more, it can help you win a fabulous expense-paid 5-day trip to the heart of blueberry harvest country – Bar Harbor, Maine – that is packed with amenities.
The Wild Blueberry Association is holding the ultimate wild blueberry sweepstakes. The winner receives a 5-day, 4-night getaway in Bar Harbor, Maine, including round-trip travel and accommodations at the deluxe Bar Harbor Inn & Spa for two. Included in this special getaway is Acadia National Park passes, a windjammer cruise, and dinner for two. Add to your stay a full wild blueberry breakfast each morning, two 50-minute Swedish massages and a Go Wild Tour of the wild blueberry barrens to see first hand the origin of these nutritious, antioxidant-rich berries that make life better and bluer all year long. In short, it’s the Ultimate Wild Blueberry Getaway.
Just enter to win—it’s easy. You’ll watch a video to bone up on why wild blueberries are nature’s antioxidant fruit. Then, you’ll take a short, fun quiz to test your Wild IQ. Provide your info, and you’ll automatically be entered to win.
Did You Know?
Wild blueberries aren’t planted?
Wild blueberries have natural protectors so they can handle the stress of their wild environment?
A quart of wild blueberries includes several different varieties?
Chefs use wild because their flavor is more intense than cultivated berries?
It’s true—and it’s all part of the reason we celebrate wild blueberries everyday, every season, fresh and frozen.
See what a little knowledge can do.Enter Now for a Chance to Win and enjoy a luxurious stay in the place where it all begins – Wild Blueberry Country!
Just as night follows day, a deluge of fresh fruits can sometimes lead to jam. Jam is one of summer food’s wonderful spin-offs. When the luxury of copious amounts of fruit surrounds us, jam is a way to utilize our beautiful excess. It provides us with a gift for friends and neighbors and a way to recall summer’s bounty when it’s darker and colder.
We’ve discussed jam’s advantages and its caveats in a previous post (Jam-tastic! from June 2011). While its deliciousness is undisputed, it’s true that some nutrients are lost when berries turn to jams. According to Livestrong.com, boiling that occurs in the process of canning changes fruits’ enzymes, reducing its vitamins by as much as one-half to one-third. Vitamins possess the antioxidant activity that fruits like wild blueberries, for example, are famous for.
Dr. Daniel Nadeau recently pointed out that fruits like blueberries are best eaten raw or frozen to take full advantage of their disease-preventing power. Still, jam has many advantages for the healthy eater. It has half the calories of butter, which it is often substituted for, and it is low in cholesterol. And, by boiling and canning fruits yourself, you avoid processed foods with added sugar and preservatives while passing along a respectable amount of nutrient content. Did we also mention it is famously palate-pleasing? It lends a fruit forward essence to toast, cheese, crackers, yogurt – even coffee.*
Buried in Berries? Start Here
Put your fresh fruit where your mouth is and get hands-on with summer’s crop of wild blueberries. Two hands-on workshops, sponsored by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, provide a practical lesson on making low-sugar blueberry jam and low-sugar blueberry spice jam for those who live in southern Maine. Both workshops will be taught by master food preserver Kate McCarty and will be held at 75 Clearwater Drive in Falmouth at a cost of $10. The Blueberry Jam Workshop will be held 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 2; the Blueberry Spice Workshop will be on Aug. 11. For more information or to register, call 781-6099 or e-mail [email protected].
Jam Tomorrow, Jam Today
When the White Queen told Alice that there would be jam yesterday and jam tomorrow but never jam today, it’s no wonder the poor girl was confused. We can relate: sometimes it seems the ever-unreachable treat will never come. It makes jam the perfect object lesson when it comes to the indulgences of summer – the promise of a little now and a little later is infinitely more digestible.
Make today’s summer tastes last until tomorrow by getting creative with your jams. Huff Post recommends a few jam recipes to inspire you. Their Mixed Berry Jam allows a mélange of summer’s berries for even bigger berry taste – the result is the “ultimate” jam. With Simplest Rhubarb Jam you won’t let one of the season’s most popular fruits go unjarred. This jam makes a luscious condiment for cheese, for example. Huff also recommends putting Fresh Fruit Butter into your repertoire. Fruit butter – for which wild blueberries are a perfect choice – doesn’t use pectin and is thick and sticky for when you’d rather smear than dollop.
Jam Don’t Shake Like That
Jam’s counterpart, jelly, is usually known for being made from an ingredient’s juice or essence rather than its crushed whole. Blueberry harvest season is a perfect opportunity to join two favored flavors in jelly form. Wild blueberries and hot peppers pop when paired – they work so well together that you’ll want this combo in everything from meats to appetizers. This Blueberry Pepper Jelly recipe is from Lauri Jon Bennett, who promises that you can jar your jams and jellies without buying lots of expensive canning equipment. (She improvises by using rubber bands wrapped around kitchen tongs to create a jar lifter.) She also offers up a recipe for “addictive” Blackberry Jam with Lemon Zest or her Peach Jam with Lemon Thyme and Almonds for some lip-smacking seasonal zing.
If even a moderate jarring operation isn’t for you, you can still enjoy jam with your bounty of blues. Use them in this easy Wild Blueberry Lemon Jam from the wildblueberries.com recipe bank that requires only jars and a boiling water canner. Waffles have never been this mouth-watering. It weighs in at 34 calories per tablespoon.
Prefer to make your own pectin? Using homemade pectin means you’re making completely natural preserves. Learn about making your own pectin for jams and jellies from pickyourown.org.
*Have a unique use for jams and jellies? Let us know by leaving a comment. We’ll use the best in our Best of Fresh Blues list!
For Olympic athletes at the top of their game, eating a healthy diet once every four years isn’t enough. While potent nutrient-rich wild blueberries figure prominently in the diets of athletes during competition time, they are also a staple in the years of training that lead up to the big event. Whether they are vaulting, running, shooting or backstroking, Olympians often rely on blueberries because they are one of nature’s ultimate performance foods.
Blueberries, especially powerfully nutritious wild, provide mental focus and clarity, nutrient richness, and low-calorie fiber, and they serve as a low GI food to provide steady energy over the long haul. According to Epicuious.com, U.S. Olympic swimmer Peter Vanderkaay and soccer goalie Nicole Barnhart bet their best maneuvers on blues, packing their breakfasts with blueberries in smoothies and in yogurt. In fact, recent research indicates that blueberries help muscle recovery, making smoothies a smart choice for athletes. Even Bruce Jenner has weighed in with his own All-American Blueberry Muffins!
That powerful little blue fruit seems to be the undisputed breakfast of champions, and because the London 2012 Summer Olympics coincide with the beginning of wild blueberry harvest season, fresh is the name of the game whether you are training, recovering, throwing an Olympic-sized party, or just keeping tabs on the coverage.
Wild Blue Guide to the 2012 Games
– Combining classic English eating with American flair is the culinary challenge during the London Summer Olympics. To kick off the opening ceremonies, this Gold Medal Summer Berry Pudding is the California Raisin Marketing Board’s homeland take the English classic. It features copious amounts of strawberries, fresh raspberries, fresh blueberries, and fresh blackberries along with California raisins of course. Way to get in the game, CA!
– The Today Show shows us how to step up to the podium with the ‘Olympic’ Eccles Cakes with Ice Cream, a delightful way to take your pride in USA to the finish and still doff your hat to the host country. Dried blueberries feature in the filling of this dessert cookie named after an English town.
– Olympic Fruit Sticks are a snack Brits and Americans alike can be chuffed about. A few favorite fruits speared onto cocktail sticks showcase the spirit of the Games with choices that represent the colors of the Olympic rings and the bounty of summer. Great for a patriotic accompaniment to a drink or snack and a super simple way to boost both pride of country and berry intake.
– When London’s calling, it’s all about cake. UK import PocketfulofDreams.com breaks a dessert record with this Patriotic Cake that shows the true colors of the host across the pond. A little shift in design and sure, you can tailor it to the country appropriate for you – we won’t tell. Either way, this cake truly “takes the biscuit”.
– Go for gold with Vanilla Cupcakes from WhatKateBaked.com – pleasingly British in its works-well-with-tea character, berries are the focal point. Fresh wild blueberries really rack up the medals for their role in this recipe, and at just the right time of year for fresh embellishments.
– Good show PBS Food, for searching out superior foodie celebrations to commemorate the 2012 Games with picks for favorite Patriotic Recipes. Some berry good highlights include:
Red, White and Blue Sangria from RecipeGirl.com. It deftly passes the torch of flavor, thanks to the addition of blues. Pineapple stands in for white – why not? What a way to toast to victory!
Go Team USA! Open-Face Panini from PaniniHappy.com. Sliced French bread, topped with a thin layer of sweet honey, Brie, ham “stripes” and fresh blueberries send a unique message of solidarity to the home town team. Says Kathy of Panini Happy: “Sweet and savory never seems to fail. […] That warm, gently sweet burst you get when they break in your mouth is a fun part of eating these snack-like sandwiches.” A win!
SkinnyTaste.com’s Red, White and Blue Trifle. This recipe is destined to take home the hardware with its promise of health and low calories in sweet, fresh outsize spoonfuls. Summer’s blueberry crop provides the gold-worthy elegance that makes the dish, along with their competitively high antioxidant counterparts, fresh strawberries. Beautiful for any USA-themed celebration.
National Blueberry Month & Summer Games Together? Celebrate Olympic style!This Mango Blueberry Greek Frozen Yogurt from Andreasrecipes.com will help you keep your eyes on the prize. (The yogurt is Greek – see what we did there?) Or, try WhatMegansMaking.com’s Greek Yogurt with Warm Black and Blueberry Sauce. For taste and health it gets – that’s right – a perfect ten.
What is surprisingly small, startlingly tasty and only around once a year? It’s lowbush blueberries (known widely as “wild ”), available in Maine and Nova Scotia exclusively during the special weeks of harvest season. If you live in the region, you’re lucky – you can enjoy one of nature’s most sensational gifts fresh from the field. They bring joy to our taste buds and to our bodies in equal measure, thanks to unsurpassed antioxidant power. It’s nearly time to engage in the tradition of picking, buying, cooking, and eating wild blueberries during the few weeks a year they burst in a sea of blue from the fields.
Wild By Nature
What’s so special about wild? You can easily get the scoop on wild blues from anyone in Northern Maine. Blueberries grown there are not planted from seed or transplanted – they are wild, created by bees transferring pollen. One acre of plants typically contains over one hundred varieties, each genetically distinct, providing that characteristic diversity of flavor. While cultivated berries – larger berries not sold under the moniker of “wild” – have just over 100 varieties, there are an estimated 6.5 million wild blueberry “clones” or varieties of wild blueberry plants. They flower into a superior sweetness that delivers superb disease fighting compounds: the deep violet skin that provides protection as they bask in the harsh summer sun is transferred to our own bodies to fight disease and aging when we eat them. There are more fresh wild blueberries in a cup, pint, or serving than cultivated, too, because of their size (approximately 150 vs. just 90 according to Virginia Wright, author of The Blueberry Book), meaning more antioxidant power is delivered via the higher ratio of deep blue skin.
Today, farmers with acres of wild blueberry fields are preparing for the harvest, which occurs around the last week in July and lasts through mid-September. Right now, crews are beginning to arrive to process the berries from the fields – over 200 million pounds will be harvested in the growing areas during this time. While the majority of the harvest is frozen, a chosen few remain fresh and appear in local markets and on roadside farm stands. Fairs and festivals will commence, celebrating the season with berry-focused events, and menus around New England will feature wild blueberry-themed dishes. It’s a special time, and it takes place only in a special place, and that time is here.
“Fresh!” A Special Request
Even with IQF freezing that preserves all the nutrition and taste of fresh for our enjoyment year-round, eating fresh blueberries from cardboard containers has a special allure for local residents. It truly connects us to our foods origins, reminding us that wild blueberries are a special treat indigenous to our area and facilitated by local farmers who have worked their fields for generations. Eating fresh blues also allows us the opportunity to better savor each berry, assessing their individual tastes – one sweet, one tangy, one jammy, one tart – and the mixture of under- and overripe berries that mix to create an unduplicated complexity of flavor that can only be found in nature in late summer.
Fresh wild blueberries also provide a tradition of picking (or just picking up from your local market or roadside stand) and reveling in brimming pints stacked and ready for snacking and cooking. For many families in Maine, it’s a rite of passage – a tradition that is passed down through generations that comes to define summer in a region that holds the season itself and its bounty dear.
July is National Blueberry Month (Naturally!)
Even for those who don’t live in the region, it’s time to eat blueberries. Here, we eat them fresh at every meal, in every dish. Head to local fields to pick your own and start a summer tradition if you don’t have one. You can find pick-your-own wild blueberry fields in Nova Scotia or search for them in Maine by region. Then, bring your plenty home and get creative. You can do anything from grilling them to having them the more conventional way – by the forkful in a heavenly blueberry pie or blueberry turnover (like these from Plating Up). Sprinkle and scoop them onto anything and everything: cereal, yogurt, salsa, sandwiches, entrees and ice cream. It’s no time to be conservative. Indulge in this wonderful gift of nature while you can.
When you’re done picking, local restaurants will offer you respite. Menus are bursting with blue in the summer to pay homage to the season. Chefs feature freshly harvested blues in an array of seasonal dishes ranging from crisps and brûlée to decadent entrées where blueberries complement the flavors of the main course. Just browse the menu of your favorite local bistro, café, eatery, or bakery, or take a look at what some Maine chefs do with wild blueberries by viewing the videoWild Blueberries – A Culinary Star.
Capture the Wonders of Blue This Season
Want to capture those glowing, picturesque fresh wild berries during this fleeting season? There are plenty of mouth-watering ways. Share your fresh sightings and gastronomic wonders far and wide this year. Snap a photo and share it with your friends, on your favorite social network, send it to us, or pin it on your Pinterest page (or follow us on Pinterest to join the fun).
Here are some places you can find and capture the fresh wild blue essence before they are gone:
Need recipes for fresh wild blueberries? We have them! Bookmark wildblueberries.com so you’ll be ready, or follow us on Facebook for the latest recipe ideas from around the web.
Wild blueberries and the 4th of July – few other foods do such heavy lifting when we’re feeling patriotic. This deeply loved fruit is bursting with healthful antioxidants that have dominated the news for their role in preventing cognitive decline, and even more recently, their potential to lower cholesterol. But the best thing about wild blueberries, at least on the 4th, is the ingenious and multifaceted role they play in representing one of the three colors of the Stars and Stripes. Betsy Ross had no idea when she picked up a needle that she was giving rise to this exquisite rendering of Old Glory from Hostess (with the Mostess). From patriotic cupcakes to tantalizing salad, salsa and pie, wild blueberries are in glorious use all around the country this week.
Inspired kitchenistas know to use wild – they are small but they are formidable, with extraordinary benefits that can carry the day. Their smaller size means more berries in every bite, less water content, and heightened nutritive benefits. As if we needed another reason to be grateful for this near-perfect fruit.
What a big moment for such a small berry! Happy 4th of July – enjoy!
Delicious Wild Blueberry Dishes Will Turn You Into a Top Chef
Why do chefs love cooking with wild blueberries? Steve Corry, Owner and Chef at Portland’s 555 and Petite Jacqueline Restaurants (and a Food & Wine pick for its 10 Best Chefs) breaks it down: deeper color and more intense flavor than their cultivated cousins. Wild is a requirement for recipes at Corry’s restaurants where there are no compromises, and for many award-winning chefs wild means better performance in the kitchen and better reviews in the dining room.
Spicy Tortilla Salad with Wild Blueberries
Feel like channeling a top chef? With summer upon us, wild blueberries provide vibrant color and uniquely sweet taste that creates seasonal dishes worth raving about. Plus, if you live in Maine or Canada, serving dishes with a nod to the region is simply de rigueur. Here are three recipe ideas that exemplify these virtues to kick off your own personal culinary extravaganza.
Super Summer Salad
Spicy Tortilla Salad with Wild Blueberries elevates salad with an inspired mixture of fruit and warmth that is dazzling to look at and utter fun to eat. Apples and peppers combine with wild blueberries, flour tortillas, and goat cheese to complete the flavor profile. (Check out other delicious salads for summer.)
An Ideal Duck Pairing
Duck Breast with Wild Blueberry Sauce
If you are looking for a special entrée that shows off the unique sweet-sour taste of wild blueberries, try duck. Duck with wild blueberries is a signature combination at Corry’s restaurants – its popularity is due to a flavor that works tangy blues against savory duck. Wild blues are also ideal to add acidity and cut the fat content of the dish. This Duck Breast with Wild Blueberry Sauce is the perfect example. You can buy conveniently packaged duck breasts at most the grocery stores (and stop by the freezer section to stock up on wild blues).
Wild Blueberry Baselito
Summer Cocktail
It may not be first on your list of ways to use wild blueberries, but in fact, this underrated drink ingredient shines in summer cocktails. This Wild Blueberry Baselito is one example of how blues play a part in celebrating the season. Wild blueberries, basil and rum (though this drink is fantastic with or without) make an ultracool cocktail for sipping on the porch.
Top Maine Chefs Love Wild Blueberries. Watch What Makes Chefs Go Wild and see why area chefs use exclusively wild, and how they are inspired to use them in award-winning baked goods and dishes.
Need a Healthy Eating Idea? These Favorites are Tried, True & Blue
Looking for a new dining or dessert idea that’s big on health and just as big on taste? We’ve assembled the top most-viewed recipes from wildblueberries.com from the last twelve months and made them into our – that is, your – countdown of the Top 5 Wild Blueberry Recipes. Of all the unique, creative ways to use wild blueberries, why do these recipes keep coming out on top? The answer is palpable. Here, you be the judge.
We were delighted to see a non-dessert recipe show up in the past year’s Top 5: This one is perfect for its easy pairing of protein with the sweet, tangy taste of wild blueberry sauce. The secret: deglazing the pan with red wine, wild blueberries, lemon rind and salt. It turns chicken into a superfruit specialty. Using frozen wild blues means you can keep this recipe up your sleeve for any time you want something unique, easy, and big on healthy ingredients.
#4: Wild Blueberry Crisp The jury is in: we simply can’t resist a crisp – the crunch, the sweetness, and the satisfaction is what makes this dessert a true favorite. This crisp recipe delights over and over again because of its fruit combination (apples paired with blues) and its ease. Add chopped pecans if you wish for an additional nutty crunch – undeniable dessert excellence.
#3: Brownie Dominoes with Wild Blueberry Cinnamon Sauce Brownies are a consistent, seasonless favorite, and this recipe comes in at #3 for its winning combination that rose quietly above the rest. It must be its chocolately flavor that pairs so wonderfully with blueberries. Served with wild blueberry sauce as recommended gives them the crave-worthy quality that makes them a list topper. Hard to believe, but these are Color Code health-approved, too.
The second place spot for popularity over the last 12 months is no surprise – it’s a pie classic that stands the test of time because it is always flawless and delicious. Winning out over more inventive desserts, Wild Blueberry Pie reigns for its supreme beauty (and rustic lattice-top crust, if you choose) and its bountiful six cups of wild blueberries that flow past its corners. Wildly delicious? Agreed.
What makes this recipe the top visited recipe of the last year? There’s no secret that the smoothie is a beloved way to get healthy antioxidants. While nutrition experts advocate eating the whole fruit rather than those in juiced form to preserve desirable fiber, the Wild Blueberry Smoothie fits the bill. It contains all the fiber of the whole fruit, and all the dark blue skins where beneficial phytos reside. Add the benefits of yogurt and honey to this naturally sweet concoction, and yep, it’s the best of the best.
#1 Recipe, Wild Blueberry Smoothie, is a star in health.
Runner-Up: An Easy Summer Dessert.Looking for an easy, colorful, warm-weather dessert that everyone will love? Try #6 on our list, Wild Blueberry Cassis Mousse Cake, a perfect choice for summer.
Check out our new look! A brand new design for wildblueberries.com means searching for all our best recipes is even easier and more fun, whether it’s for breakfasts, snacks, salads, entrees, desserts or a delightful summer drink. (Bookmark us for when you need a delicious, antioxidant-rich dish any time of day!)
A view of the many Pinterest boards devoted to blueberries and wild blueberries. The new social sharing site puts enthusiasts’ passions on display.
Whether you’re keeping tabs on the latest social media trends, or you’re an old-school scrapbooker, Pinterest is probably piquing your interest. Suddenly, this social sharing site is the talk of the digital town, and in the race to create personal “boards”, a true diversity of user interests has appeared.
Pinterest mimics a traditional pin board, letting you virtually “pin” favorite images, photos and recipes from around the digital world on your own “board”, peruse other boards, and find new discoveries to pin. It’s addictive, social fun for image-friendly topics like food, style, weddings and decor.
Though boards are widely diverse, it’s clear that many Pinterest users have a yen for a little blue fruit. These enthusiasts for blue are not shy about sharing their passion. Blueberry boards – many dedicated specifically to wild – are teeming with blueberry images, blueberry-themed food, recipes and personal photos. The result is an array of boards such as the Everything Blueberry board, the Food Blueberry board, boards devote solely to blueberry breads, blueberry cakes and simply blueberry obsession (think blueberry cake times 100.) It’s more than enough to sate a hunger for a very photogenic berry.
Blueberry Pinterest Finds
Seeking some bright blue ideas to stimulate your meal? On Pinterest you can find the creative, the practical, and truly mouth-watering. Here are just a few of our own blueberry finds – that is, images – suitable for our own wild blueberry board, along with the original source that inspired the Pinterest user to pin.
The Find: Blue Velvet Cake with Blueberries & Cream Cheese Frosting The Source: Adventures in Cooking Blog
The sight of this true blue velvet cake will have you reeling with pleasure. It’s breath-taking blue piled high with white frosting (Sold? Print the recipe for this exquisite creation).
The Find: Blueberry Ice Cubes The Source: We Are Not Martha
Inspiration doesn’t have to be complicated. This super simple superfruit recipe is perfect for a fun drink when you feel like giving blueberries a nod. We Are Not Martha takes you through the ice cube making process on this “favorite things” page, photographing each simple step along the way, the true indication of pin royalty. Here’s a preview:
1) Place 3-4 wild blueberries in an ice cube tray
2) Fill with water
3) Freeze
4) Use in sparking water, lemonade or your favorite cocktail.
5) Enjoy!
The Find: Blueberry French Toast Sandwich The Source: Blue Willow (a “duochromatic blog” about only things that are white and blue)
This pinable Blueberry French Toast Sandwich adroitly bridges the gap between breakfast and lunch. It’s touted for its winning taste, and such a pin-worthy image has to taste good. Here’s the ingredients:
Package of cream cheese, softened
Some confectioners sugar
French toast slices
3/4 cup fresh (or go for nutrient-rich wild frozen) blueberries
From there, you are merely a mix, a toast and a spread away from yummy.
The Find: Blueberry Pop Tarts The Source: Food Coma
It’s the homemade equivalent of the beloved family favorite. It’s hard to avert your eyes from this perfectly sweet manifestation of blueberry pop-tarts made fresh at home. The pin-worthy trick is puff pastry filled blueberry and topped with a sugary frosting. Pintastic!
Create Your Own ____ Board
Think you know wild blues? Show your colors! Create your own wild blueberry board – or fruit board, veggie board, healthy eating board, antioxidant food board, or anything full of nutritious, imagistic inspiration.
Making your own Pinterest board is easy. Start here. Request an invitation. (Yes, there’s a waiting list to this exclusive party.) Then, get to work on your own creation and share it, or browse other boards for likely additions and inspirations.
For Day 6 of our 12 Wild Days of Blue Countdown, we offer up a favorite holiday recipe with a berry twist. Yes, it’s Chex® Mix, and while the snack may sound a little retrograde (according to their web site, the famed party mix has been popular for 50 years), it’s still undeniably good, especially given a contemporary twist. If handfuls of pretzels and cereal just don’t have enough ho ho ho, trade up with recipes like Cajun Kick, Lemon Rosemary Mix or White Fantasy Clusters – it’s not your grandmother’s party mix.
Is it health food? It is not. But with moderation rather than denial as your guide, you can use these tips to keep calories in check: cut the butter requirement in half (it won’t really affect the recipe) and trade out the nuts and replace them with baked crisps or fat-free bagel chips. Then, bulk up the carby mixture with healthy dried berries. It’s an ingenious way to cut the calories from the nuts and pretzels and improve the flavor. That’s why our Day 6 pick is a berry holiday Chex® mix that is easy, pleasing and, predictably, blue.
Day 6: Holiday Berry Party Mix
Start with this Sweet Party Chex® Mix with Berries, which offers sweet and salty in an addictive combination, and the addition of dried berries provide a glamorous zing of holiday color. Food.com has the recipe, which calls for a little brown sugar, nuts, pretzels, famous bite sized Chex® (both rice and corn), and 1 cup each of the following dried berries: cranberries, blueberries and cherries. It will make a holiday bowl superbly appetizing, at least until it’s empty.
If you’re seeking something with a little chocolate, Pillsbury offers Buckin’ Blueberry Chex® Mix, and this exhaustive list of recipes at Chex.com will have you mixing up Snickerdoodle, Muddy Buddy, and Chocolate Banana Nut before you can say Ebeneezer. Party on!
The term “rick” is in rare use today. It is most likely to be heard from the mouth of an “old timer” from Washington County referring to the long space between two lengths of twine that designates a raker’s area on the barrens. Sometimes you are lucky to get a “good rick” or unfortunate enough to have to rake a “bad rick”. The “bad ricks” are usually the start of the fields or near the woods. Today, most people refer to the section simple as a “row”.
