Blueberries

I just baked a blueberry pie and a dozen blueberry muffins. For breakfast we are enjoying fresh blueberries in our granola. So far I’ve frozen 2 kilo (4.4 pounds).

My granddaughter had her very first taste of these sweet delights and gave them an enthusiastic “thumbs up”. (Funny, it doesn’t seem that long ago that I picked blueberries in Oregon, with her dad in a baby carrier on my back.)

Yesterday was blueberry heaven here – 42 kilo (over 90 pounds) delivered from a Golan farm to our home in Beer Sheva. I was inundated with orders when I posted a notice on our local English-language email site.

This was the second year that Aryeh, our friend the Golan blueberry grower, agreed to the arrangement. Fortunately, he’s always had a family event in the area, to make the three-hour drive more worthwhile. And lucky that I ordered early in the season. With this year’s drought, the season was shorter and his crop much smaller than usual.

I’ve always been a big fan of berries. Blueberries in particular. I remember eating them as a little kid in Michigan – a once-during-the-summer treat. In Oregon, a trip to the U-Pick blueberry farm was an annual event, complete with blue stained fingers and clothes.

That was before blueberries became fashionable. Before slick magazine ads announced that “We can’t live without them.” Before we knew that these tiny berries were a nutritional powerhouse.

The blue in blueberries does a lot more than leave stubborn stains. Compounds that make berries (as well as plums, red cabbage, eggplant and purple grapes) blue are called anthocyanins. These compounds (called phytochemicals – chemicals produced by plants) act as antioxidants in our bodies, mopping up free radicals and soothing inflammation.

Researchers believe that other antioxidants in blueberries may promote insulin production, benefit heart health and aid in reversing age-related memory loss and motor coordination.

All fruits and vegetables contain phytochemicals as well as vitamins, minerals and fiber. Each has its own nutritional “profile” It takes a mix of these to provide our body with what it needs for good health. That’s why health professionals have always recommended eating a variety of foods. My preference is for locally grown and in season – for maximum taste and minimum cost to the environment.

Nutrient content aside, there’s one especially important reason to eat fresh blueberries now – they’re delicious!

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS (DAIRY)

This muffin recipe is flexible. I like the combination of cornmeal, blueberries and lemon zest. But you can use all whole-wheat pastry flour or half white, half whole-wheat flour, without the cornmeal. Just be sure that the total amount of flour is 2 ½ cups. You can use brown sugar instead of white and any other berry or cut-up fruit. If you’re using frozen blueberries, don’t defrost them before you add them to the batter.

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup all-purpose white flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
1 ½ cup blueberries

Preheat the oven to 375 Fahrenheit (190 Centigrade).

Line 12 to 15 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla and lemon zest.

Add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and mix gently. Add the blueberries and mix just to combine. It’s all right if there are some lumps.

Spoon the mixture into muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Makes 12 to 15 muffins