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The Blueberry
Blueberries were not always my favorite fruit. As a little girl I refused to eat my grandmother’s blueberry pie, can you imagine? I did not like the way those berries tasted in my mouth. Although I did love going wild blueberry picking in the woods, it was the hunt I loved, not the blueberry.
Blueberry Farm
Each blueberry season Grayson, Grant and I head to a farm and spend the day together or with friends picking eight to ten pounds of berries for a variety of recipes. This year I found a great muffin recipe that has turned out perfect every time. I make at least two batches at a time because of all the hungry people in my house.
This year we went back to Sandhill Blueberry Farm. It is owned by the sweetest woman and I love to be a part of continuing her tradition of keeping up the farm. Melanie greets her customers with a smile and helps get the bucket harnesses on. If you haven’t picked with one of these things you are missing out. It keeps your hands free and your bucket close. It keeps the bending over to a minimum but it also makes it too easy to eat a berry or two, or ten.
My favorite part of going to a farm is talking to the owners and hearing their stories. It makes the food just a little sweeter and I appreciate their passion for what they do. Melanie runs this five-acre farm with four varieties of blueberries mostly by herself. We did a video interview with her about how she operates this farm and what it takes each year to be ready for picking season. That interview is in our course, The Garden Classroom.
Even though we stuffed ourselves with blueberries at the farm, I still came home and made these muffins. It can’t get much more farm to table than that!
Ingredients
- 2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 stick unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Servings: muffins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375. Line 12 muffin cups with liners. In a bowl, whisk 2 cups flour, baking soda and salt. In a mixing bowl beat 1 stick of softened butter and 1 cup of sugar until blended well. Add in the eggs one at a time and scrape down sides of bowl as necessary. Beat in vanilla. Add the flour mixture, alternating with milk. Fold in the blueberries to the batter. Do not overmix. Spoon batter into muffin tin liners. Topping: In a bowl mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup softened butter and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Mix with a fork or pastry blender. Sprinkle generously over muffins before baking. Bake muffins for about 30 minutes. Tops will be golden brown and cake tester should come out clean. Cool muffins on a rack for 10 minutes before serving.
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Enjoy the muffins. I warn you in advance that they will disappear fast! Better make a few batches. If you went picking just freeze your berries in 2 cup portions in zip-top bags. They will be ready to go for most recipes.
Chapter five of Blaze New Trails is devoted to making your family adventure at U-pick farms sprinkled with educational opportunities year after year. We dedicate several activities with math, literature and cooking to the blueberry.
Listen to the first 4 chapters FREE!
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