Blueberry Season

When we returned from our trip on Monday, we found our first ripe blueberry. Thus begins the official start of blueberry season in our little corner of the world! Ah, the delight of biting into one of these sun-warmed, succulent, sweet-tart wonders. No one is more excited than our two year old.

Last year at this time, she learned the difference between green and blue, ripe and "not ready yet". This year, she is revisiting these concepts, and working on that most difficult skill--delaying gratification.

 It is sooo hard to wait for those plump round berries to turn blue...

And you will find her hunting intently for ripe berries every chance she gets.

We have four blueberry bushes--just enough for backyard snacking. When peaches and nectarines and plums come into season, they are delicious in a salad together with a bit of fresh mint. And when we get a chance to pick larger quantities at nearby farms (we like Sauvie Island Blueberry Farm) we bake them into muffins and pancakes and cobblers (and freeze up as many as we can for winter baked treats). My favorite blueberry muffin recipe comes from The Tassajara Recipe Book by Edward Espe Brown. It has lemon zest, banana, and buttermilk, and it is just perfect.

This time of year we also enjoy checking out our favorite blueberry books from the library--
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey, and Peter in Blueberry Land by Elsa Beskow.

Do you have a blueberry season in your neck of the woods? How do you celebrate?