Fruits of Labor

I woke up to 57 degrees, opened the windows, turned on the oven. Now the house smells of blueberries and butter.

It reminded me of a favorite post, with a much-loved recipe at the end. **

Berries in straw.

There is a huge advantage to having small children when berry picking season begins.

They are closer to the ground. They find the best strawberries.

That might have been the family strategy when we went out every year at about this time. We ate as many as we picked, most of our haul ended up as preserves, in the freezer.

Moving to Michigan, we learned that it is the second largest producer of blueberries in the US; the hot, humid climate and proximity to major lakes guarantees the successful crop.

So when invited for a day of berry picking, we headed to the coast.

We were renting a small place, no freezer, so I planned to pick only what I could use in the near future or give away.

That didn’t happen.

I took the largest containers I had, filled them to the brim.

My childhood berry picking memories took over, and I temporarily lost my mind.

And so it began. I wasn’t much for preserving, but I was happy to bake.

Blueberry muffins, cheesecakes, crumb-topped coffee cakes, overstuffed pies, pancakes and fresh syrup.

That was all in the first week.

Courtesy Michigan.org

We discovered, a bit too late, that blueberries are extremely rich in iron.

Anemic in childhood, I was force-fed iron rich foods.  I knew about iron, beneficial and essential.

It also leads to interesting digestive issues.

Apparently.

I apologized to my husband. We got over it.

From that year on, I passed on the blueberry picking outing with friends.

I bought them by the pint, like everyone else with common sense.

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Blueberry Crumb Cake

Mix 2 cups each of flour, oats, brown sugar. Add 1 teaspoon baking soda. Blend dry ingredients with 2 sticks (1 cup) cold butter until crumbly. Press 1/2 of mixture into greased 9×13 baking pan. Top with 3-4 cups blueberries. Cover berries with other 1/2 crumb mix. Bake 45 min. at 350 degrees.

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