SUMMER
Blueberry Pickin'
Thursday, September 15, 2005
I didn't think this recipe would work; that'll teach me to think.
It was a perfect summer's day when we met our friends at the blueberry festival. The eight of us took a charming hayride out to the field. The bushes were brimming with fat, juicy, sweet organic berries. There was a feeling of abundance. Plenitude. We picked as much as we wanted, then rode back to the farmhouse to grab some lunch - smoky barbecue, delicious blueberry scones, homemade chocolate cupcakes. Nine-year-old E entered the pie-eating contest while we all watched, laughing. Then he drew a still life with colored pencils and entered it in the art contest. He won.
Meanwhile, all was not as it appeared. Bad Betsy had taken up residence within me and was whispering things like:
Why is that woman near our bush? There won't be enough room for everyone on the hayride back. What will we do if we're left behind in this sweltering heat? What if our pals don't make - "Hey you guys, hurry up." Where's that tractor, anyway, it's been much longer than five minutes. And, finally: I don't even like blueberries.
Then, as we were about to get onto the tractor for the ride back (as we did, indeed, all make it on board), I thought of something to be grateful for. As the crowd collectively muttered about the lack of seating on the tractor, I said to the woman in front of me in line, "At least we don't have to worry about ticks."
"Well," she said, and I knew I was toast. It was a tone of voice I recognized, having used it thousands of times with my kids. It's the "well" of disappointment, of disagreement, of the last word. The ominous "well."
"Actually, there are ticks around here. In fact, the farmer's wife has Lyme disease."
"You're kidding, right?" I asked, shocked. "You're not kidding?" Bad Betsy was practically laughing out loud.
Suddenly I felt itchy. I thought about how lucky we were to have made it onto the hay ride out of this hellhole, and how much I fear ticks and Lyme disease, and how glad I was that we were done picking blueberries. Maybe for the last time.
Blueberries with berry cream
We ended up with two quarts of gorgeous, plump, sweet blueberries - that no one really wanted to eat, until E came up with this recipe. Even I like blueberries this way:
(Recipe by E)
1 cup cream
cup blueberries
3 big strawberries (optional)
1/3 cup sugar
Combine all ingredients in food processor until thick 'n creamy, about five minutes. Dollop on top of lots of fresh berries in order to make parents happy.
Meanwhile, all was not as it appeared. Bad Betsy had taken up residence within me and was whispering things like:
Why is that woman near our bush? There won't be enough room for everyone on the hayride back. What will we do if we're left behind in this sweltering heat? What if our pals don't make - "Hey you guys, hurry up." Where's that tractor, anyway, it's been much longer than five minutes. And, finally: I don't even like blueberries.
Then, as we were about to get onto the tractor for the ride back (as we did, indeed, all make it on board), I thought of something to be grateful for. As the crowd collectively muttered about the lack of seating on the tractor, I said to the woman in front of me in line, "At least we don't have to worry about ticks."
"Well," she said, and I knew I was toast. It was a tone of voice I recognized, having used it thousands of times with my kids. It's the "well" of disappointment, of disagreement, of the last word. The ominous "well."
"Actually, there are ticks around here. In fact, the farmer's wife has Lyme disease."
"You're kidding, right?" I asked, shocked. "You're not kidding?" Bad Betsy was practically laughing out loud.
Suddenly I felt itchy. I thought about how lucky we were to have made it onto the hay ride out of this hellhole, and how much I fear ticks and Lyme disease, and how glad I was that we were done picking blueberries. Maybe for the last time.
Blueberries with berry cream
We ended up with two quarts of gorgeous, plump, sweet blueberries - that no one really wanted to eat, until E came up with this recipe. Even I like blueberries this way:
(Recipe by E)
1 cup cream
cup blueberries
3 big strawberries (optional)
1/3 cup sugar
Combine all ingredients in food processor until thick 'n creamy, about five minutes. Dollop on top of lots of fresh berries in order to make parents happy.