Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Blueberry Picking

 Today we went Blueberry picking, partially because it goes along with out farming unit study, but mostly because fresh picked blueberries are soooo yummy!   It was also the last day of pickin' this year, so they were only $1.50/lb.  Well worth the 1 hour drive to get there.

This is the entrance to the farm, there are rows and rows of blueberry bushes behind the pond.   Levi chose to wear is cowboy hat instead of a sunhat, and I put him in a dark colored shirt so I wouldn't have to worry about stains. 


There was a tractor by the pond, so we checked that out, we are going to learn more about farm equipment in a few days.   


This machine is used for trimming the tops of the bushes down at the end of the season in preparation for next year. 



The first handful!

There were plenty of blueberries, some not ripe yet, but lots of plump juicy ones. 

Check these out! 


Levi and Nai Nai


We picked a total of 12lbs of blueberries.








We brought them home, and later in the evening started cooking with them.

First, we made blueberry sorbet.  It was quick, easy and oh so delicious. 

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Fresh Blueberry Ice Sorbet

4 cups of freshly picked blueberries
1/4 cup of water
1TBS of fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup agave nectar (to taste)

Put everything in the blender and puree thoroughly.   Then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the directions.   Eat it! 






  Next, we made a blueberry pie, its totally dairy free! 

Fresh Blueberry Pie (dairy free)

Vegan double crust recipe can be found here.

Filling:
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
3TBS cornstarch
1tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp nutmeg
juice from 1/2 of a lemon
6 cups of freshly picked, washed blueberries

Prepare the crust according to the double crust measurements.   Divide into 2 balls, and put them in the fridge.


Next prepare the filling.  Mix everything together in a big bowl, and then leave it aside while you work on the crust some more. 


Take one ball out of the fridge, roll it out, and put it in a pie pan.  Put it in the fridge and get out the second ball of dough.
Roll out the second ball, and cut a bunch of 'cookies' out of it using a cookie cutter with a simple shape such as a star or heart.   Re-roll the scraps, and keep cutting cookies out of dough until you run out. 


Now take the crust out of the fridge and dump the blueberry filling into it.  Top with your 'cookies' overlapping slightly to cover the whole pie top.  Put it back in the fridge for 30min.  


Meanwhile, take your extra "cookies" brush them with melted earth's balance and sprinkle with cinnomon and sugar.  .


Preheat the oven to 475*.  Put the pie in for 15min, and reduce the temperature to 350*.   Bake for another 45min until the top is golden brown and the blueberries are bubbling.   At some point durring the cooking, you can stick your extra cookies in to bake, for around 12min.  


Let the pie cool for a couple hours before serving, otherwise the blueberries will spill out all over the place! 





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He was too busy eating to let me get a good picture! 

Next I think we will make some breakfast foods- pancakes, waffles, and muffins - to keep in the freezer.  We still have a lot left to eat!


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