Blueberries!

One of the nicer attributes of central California living is that we are in the middle of agriculture. So many varieties of fruits, vegetables and nuts are produced here.  Getting just-picked produce is just a matter of driving to the closest farm stand or bi-weekly farmers' market. It is such a blessing. This morning my granddaughter & I went to a U-pick blueberry farm about 5 miles from my home. Upon arrival, we were given small buckets and directed to the rows of blueberries that were available for picking today.  This farm has 5 or 6 different varieties to choose from.  As I don't know one blueberry from the next, we went to the row that my granddaughter picked! She did really good, thought that it was fun competition to compete with Nana to see who could fill up their bucket first! We ended up picking about 5 pounds of berries before she was done.

 

Doesn't every blueberry picker wear a dress?  I tried to convince her to wear something else!

On the way home she wanted to stop at the strawberry stand, where we picked up three baskets of berries and a basket of cherries.  By the time we got home her face was a blue and red mess, she couldn't resist trying a few!

I am freezing most of the blueberries, I pour them on baking sheets and flash-freeze them, then put into freezer bags.  I don't wash them first, this way the berries don't stick together.  It's very easy to get whatever quantity of berries I need  from the freezer bag and a quick rinse in warm water usually thaws and washes them at the same time.

A lemon-blueberry cake is in the oven now. Perhaps blueberry pancakes for breakfast tomorrow!