National Pick Blueberries Day

When I saw this holiday, I was immediately taken back to my grandmothers blueberry patch, and the anticipation of being there at the time when her patch ripened. If she could get them picked without our help, ha ha, she froze and we enjoyed them for several months. If we, her tons of grandchildren, were lucky enough to be there when they were ready – I’m surprised any made it into the basket and into the kitchen. We always ended up with full tummies, blue fingers, lips, and tongues. It is the sweetest of memories.

So thinking about this holiday, I wondered how it came about. It only took a little research with.: https://nationaltoday.com/pick-blueberries-day/#history

The article from nationaltoday.com provided interesting facts. National Piccoli day has been a holiday since 2003. There are two major kinds of blueberries, low bush and high bush. That was something I did not know and have no idea what was in my grandmother‘s blueberry patch.

Most of the US is high bush and provides 40% of the world‘s total blueberries annually. But Canada it’s mostly low bush. But whatever the plant the lowbush fruit is always smaller, and the high bush fruit provides a larger berry.

I love that you can get them near year-round now, when I was a kid, you look forward to them for a short period of time and then you waited until next year.

So how should we celebrate this special day? It seems like a periphery of options:

1. We could go berry picking at your favorite local patch. If you don’t know where that is, you can find a local patch by searching.https://upicklocator.com or https://blurberry.org/helpful-tips/finding-a-farm/

2. If you need a basket, this is my favorite: https://amzn.to/3Sj1xVQ

3. Or the apron for while you pick or cook: https://amzn.to/4exW2tA

4. You could plant your own blueberry patch. They’re fairly easy with full sun and a little wild range soil. A little acidic makes them really happy, but you could easily grow them in containers even in a small space like an apartment balcony.

5. You could pick blueberries alone or with friends and then make a variety of foods with them: yogurt, dessert, salad, smoothies, compote, cheesecake, for one of my favorites pie.

So however, you celebrate national blueberry picking day celebrate that little blueberry that is one of my favorites. I hope it is also yours. Happy picking!

Until next time,

M.G.

Blueberry Muffin Recipe

Muffins:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• ¾ cup white sugar

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ⅓ cup vegetable oil

• 1 large egg

• ⅓ cup milk, or more as needed

• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Crumb Topping:

• ½ cup white sugar

• ⅓ cup all-purpose flour

• ¼ cup butter, cubed

• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Gather all ingredients.

2.       Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 8 muffin cups or line with paper liners.

3.       To make the muffins: Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.

4.       Pour oil into a small liquid measuring cup. Add egg and enough milk to reach the 1-cup mark; stir until combined.

5.       Pour into flour mixture and mix just until batter is combined. Fold in blueberries; set batter aside.

6.       To make the crumb topping: Combine sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix with a fork until crumbly.

7. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling right to the top. Sprinkle with crumb topping.

8. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Enjoy!

   https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/6865/to-die-for-blueberry-muffins/