Blueberry Farm: Bybee Farms in North Bend, WA

I am so happy that we found a U-Pick Blueberry Farm! In Michigan, all of the blueberry farms are too far away to enjoy on a weeknight, but here in Washington, I found one that is just 15 minutes from our house! 

We dropped Bybee Blueberry Farm a half hour before closing time and were invited to pick berries "until the air horn blew."  An air horn is the genius way they notify guests that it's closing time and that they should come in from the field to weigh and pay.

We picked a pound of blueberries in 30 minutes and paid $2.25/lb - not bad, huh?

The Bybee Blueberry farm boasts 6 varieties of blueberries available for U-Pick. I am not certain which variety we picked but they were delicious and the bushes were loaded!

We had enough blueberries for snacking and to make one of my gorgeous blueberry gateau. Blueberry season is still in full swing and I intend to go back and pick even more! Happy Summer!

A Pastry on Your Time

When I see a pastry like this and know that the baker must have been up late the night before baking them, I have a hard time resisting.  Blueberries were in season and this simple shortbread crust masterpiece had to be mine.  It was made by Pleasanton Brick Oven Bakery in Traverse City and sold at the Sara Hardy Farmers Market.

What's funny is that while I took this beautiful photo to show you, I actually ate it "on the fly" over two days.  A bite when I passed by it on the way to do laundry; another bite as I headed back to take a shower.  Then I covered it and put it in the fridge.  The next day it was much of the same.  A bite here and there until it was finished and I enjoyed every bit of it.  

It became like a box of 6 chocolates, that I ate over time. Do you know what I mean?  Sometimes when you each a gorgeous dessert stem-to-stern, you talk and chew and miss how delicious it is.  Every time I took a bite and moved on, I was happy that I had splurged on a blueberry tart.  You don't always need embroidered napkins and monogrammed silver to eat something this beautiful. Enjoy it in a way that works for you. 

I made the immediate gratification of a French pastry last.  That is delight!

Leelanau Peninsula: Hearth and Vine at Black Star Farms

It is the Hearth and Vine Cafe's Blueberry Salad with pea shoots, baked ricotta cheese, honey, candied pecans and chive blossom verjus.  If you read that description, wouldn't you order it?  They had me at verjus.

It was lovely, and fresh, and tasted like summer on a plate.  I recommend ordering this beautiful salad (plus one of their wood fired pizzas) and then find a table out on the patio.  

After lunch, walk over to the tasting room to sample wines from the Black Star Farms vineyard.  When you've made your choices, walk outside and around to the back of the building and visit Leelanau Cheese. You can buy the freshest cheese around to go with the wine for tomorrow's dinner.  

See, aren't you having fun?  This is the Leelanau Peninsula at its best.    

Summer Fruits Make Luscious Jam

The color and arrangement of these Summer fruits called me from across the farmer's market.  I wove my way through the crowd so that I could get a closer look.  Stunning! Do you feel the same way? I picked up a carton of the black raspberries to make a quick batch of jam, reminiscent of the one I'd make with my grandmother's berries each summer.

Do you remember this story of when I met the women staying in the cottage next door to the one that had been my grandmother's?  It still makes me smile.

Today I am mixing the black raspberries with some sugar and a packet of freezer jam pectin.  It will turn breakfast into a sweet walk down memory lane.

Blueberry Lemon Mini Cakes

Lemon Blueberry Cakes - I baked mine in blue checkerboard cupcake liners to enhance the cute.  It worked! These little beauties are dense, moist and packed with flavor.  I'd say they are picnic ready.  It is blueberry season - enjoy!

Individual Lemon Blueberry Cakes

2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
2 cups of white sugar
Zest of one large lemon (2 1/2 Tablespoons)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
3 eggs
2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
2 cups fresh blueberries, washed and dried

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Blend in zest, juice, yogurt and eggs.  Mixture may look separated or curdled, but don't worry.

Blend flour, baking powder and salt together.  Slowly add mixture to wet ingredients until just blended.  Stir in blueberries.  I use a 4 T cookie scoop to put batter into individual cupcake liners.  Makes about 18 individual cupcake size cakes.  Sprinkle with large grain sanding sugar, if possible.  The additional sugar gives the cakes a gourmet bakery look and crunch. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.   

Blueberry Gateau

I'm known for my Blueberry Gateau. It's a recipe I found in Country Living magazine years ago (from an article spotlighting recipes from Vermont's Blueberry Hill Inn) and I make it many many (many!) times each Summer.

I am proud of the fact that my teenage nephews ask if I've many any "gateau."

I'm tickled that Google associates me with blueberry gateau. Try it. Google "blueberry gateau" and see if I come up in the first ten results.

It is blueberry season, I am headed to the cottage and you can bet that the tablesetting will look like this before long.

Why don't you make a blueberry gateau? And be sure to tell me if you do!

Blueberry Gateau

Our micro-crop of blueberries is coming along nicely. We may have upwards of 100 blueberries this year! A real landslide compared to the crop of ten we had last Summer.

These little garden beauties are destined for a few bowls of cereal, nothing more. But even though there are hardly enough to speak of, we grew them ourselves and that will make them the best we've had all season!

Alas, the farmer's market is my actual source for blueberries. I need cartons and cartons to keep up with the Blueberry Gateau requests. It has become my signature dish in July and I just can't make it enough.

Have you ever made Blueberry Gateau? Make it once and they will ask for it for the rest of your life.

Blueberry Dessert

What have I baked three times this week? My beloved blueberry gateau. Neighbors, friends, brothers - all have gotten their fill lately. Discovered years ago in Country Living magazine, this recipe from Vermont's Blueberry Hill Inn is becoming my signature dish for blueberry season. When I mention that I have/want/need blueberries, more & more people are asking "Are you making gateau?" (My neighbor even gave me a huge box of blueberries this week with a glance that said "You know what to do.") Delicious with a cup of tea, wonderful as a snack, perfect for company...I love this recipe. Try it. I know you will make it time and time again. And soon your friends and family will be asking...Are you making gateau?

Some Fruit

We have the tiniest "berry garden" ever. A few strawberry plants, a few raspberries and two lone blueberry bushes. I don't expect a lot from this plot, but it's fun to watch the berries develop and we do get a few cups of fruit over the Summer. Today, when I rounded the brick wall, I saw that we had blueberries! Beautiful, perfect blueberries. There are only about ten total, but aren't they gorgeous? I am very proud. If Charlotte were here, I know she would spin a web that said "Some Fruit."

Blueberry Chutney

I'm the last one to want to rush into Fall, but today was a bit
rainy and pork chops sounded really good. How to meld summer fruits with a fall mood? Chutney! I've made this homemade sauce a few times and it is delicious. So, if you have a carton or 2 of blueberries in your fridge, get to it!

Blueberry Chutney
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. white sugar
1 c. chopped red onion
few shakes of garlic powder
few shakes of hot pepper flakes
light sprinkle of cinnamon
1 t. chopped ginger (from jar is fast & easy)
light sprinkle of ground coriander
2-3 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup golden raisins

Bring above to a boil and then simmer for 20 min. Add 2-3 cups of fresh blueberries and 1/2 c. of golden raisins. Simmer for 15 min. Enjoy! Can be stored tightly covered in refrigerator for 1 week.

Blueberry Pecan Coffeecake for Book club

What did I bring to bookclub this week? The most delicious blueberry pecan coffeecake. The best part? I use Pillsbury Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread and simply add whole fresh blueberries and whole roasted pecans. Follow the directions on the box and when you sprinkle the cinnamon swirl mix, include blueberries and pecans - yum! I bake this in a small silicone angel food cake pan and find that it needs about 50 min at 350. Try it! Easy and delicious.