More Berries!

We live in Western Canada where  we are blessed with an abundance of berries in the summer. In fact, berries are one of British Columbia's commerical crops. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/animals-and-crops/crop-production/berries  We have a few bushes at home, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. If you would like to try your hand at planting at home, start with Farm Folk, City Folk, an extraordinary resource for us all to find out how to grow our own food, reduce our carbon foot print and get outside!  https://www.farmfolkcityfolk.ca/knowledge-pantry/seasonal/

                    

Did you guess that  family favourite is BLUEBERRIES?   See below for hundreds of tested  recipes:  https://www.bcblueberry.com/😊

Glazed Fresh Blueberry Pie

   Move over WHITE SPOT Blueberry pie, it doesn't even hold a candle to the homemade version  The Secret?? 
Unsalted Butter instead of shortening or lard in the recipe, to give it flavour and texture.  The pie is best eaten FRESH! 

The crust is all the homemade difference:  this is the recipe I like, I simply use the double crust recipe, and make 2 fresh pies!  Each pie will take about 5 to 6 cups of fresh berries.  The recipe is from Robin Hood, and easy to follow.  Often, I substitute 1/2 of the white flour with whole wheat to increase fibre and books nutrition.  It does not work out as flaky with 100% whole wheat flour, the dough may become crumbly instead of flaky. https://www.robinhood.ca/En/Recipes/The-Perfect-Flaky-Pie-Crust-Double 

     Warm Blueberry Pie with vanilla cream for dessert, evidence is all over their faces!  Husband is trying to include more fruits and vegetables in his diet.  So more blueberries!  Seriously, more vegetables and fruit are necessary for all of us, especially growing children.  Here are some ideas from Canada's Food Guide: https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/healthy-eating-recommendations/make-it-a-habit-to-eat-vegetables-fruit-whole-grains-and-protein-foods/eat-vegetables-and-fruits/#section-5 

   

  

We picked over 10 pounds of fresh blueberries over a few days.  We froze as many as possible, ... so now what???  We had so many berries that we had to dehydrate them in the oven over night.  If you don't have a dehydrator, the oven is an good choice.  I like this recipe, although I did not blanch the fresh berries before placing them on a tray, it is a good idea, because it will speed up the dehydration as well as destroy harmful bacteria. 

https://oureverydaylife.com/508752-how-to-dry-or-preserve-blueberries.html

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Blueberries for breakfast too!   Homemade waffles,  Blackberry Sauce and Greek yogurt. The sauce was tart, sweet, and floral, so delicious we forgot to add maple syrup -eh?!!??  Here is the recipe for waffles.  Once you make your own batter, you will never buy waffle mix again: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/86538/cinnamon-belgian-waffles/ 

Backyard, organic Blackberries

We have blackberries that grow in our backyard, they come back every year. Tip for picking:  wear a hat, long pants and long sleeve shirt. I washed two cups of blackberries, boiled them in a small sauce pan to reduce for 5 minutes, added 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and a touch of honey, boiled for another 2 minutes, voila! (Strain the sauce if you do not like seeds, but they provide anti-oxidants and extra fibre, so I keep the seeds in the sauce.)  Eating produce local and and fruits in season provides the best nutrients and best taste!  Try to pick black berries that are slightly soft, and easily pull off the stem.  Alright, gotta get back to processing more berries!   

Alright, I'm back!  What do you do with those left over croissants that the children are tired of eating, and MORE Berries?  Make a Croissant- Blueberry Bread Pudding for breakfast! 

Croissant Bread Pudding 

 Use 3 slightly stale croissants, eggs, a cup of blueberries, or whichever berries which are available.  Add raisins, and nuts for extra protein and crunch.      

 Dice croissants into 1/2 inch cubes.  For a lower calorie breakfast, use 3-4 slices of bread instead.  

Diced croissants 

  In a medium sized bowl, mix together eggs, 1 cup of milk, dash of cinnamon, two teaspoons of maple syrup or honey to taste, stir in berries, allow croissant pieces to soak up liquid mixture.  

Cook unit eggs are solid, and each side is golden brown 

 Heat a skillet, add a dab of butter, pour in mixture.  Grate the zest of an orange over the mixture.  When golden brown, flip over like a pancake.  If the "Pudding" remains in one piece, slice into wedges, if not, flip and cook until second side is golden brown, pile onto plates, then serve. 

Croissant-Blueberry Bread Pudding 

 Serve with a side of fruit and drizzle with maple syrup.  

 Here is Lucas tucking into his breakfast!