Blueberry Heaven

That’s exactly where we are right now.  It could be simply because we’ve never experienced a plethora of blueberries before, but we’re really, really enjoying them.  I have to thank my friends who sent me to Sunny Hill Farms in the first place.  I went there to pick strawberries, and asked about the blueberries.  While they don’t grow the blueberries themselves, they do work with a farm in Michigan to get blueberries.  I was told they came in 10 pound boxes, so I ordered 20 pounds.  Next year, I’ll be ordering double.

We’ve been eating them out of hand like there’s no tomorrow.  They are so sweet and juicy and delicious- and many of them are the diameter of a quarter.  They’re huge and wonderful.  The last time I remember so many blueberries at one time was when I was young.  My family would go camping, and one of our pastimes was berry hunting while camping.  One year in particular, it seemed like everything was ripe at the same time.  We were picking raspberries left and right, the blackberries were starting up, and the wild blueberries were also plentiful.  We ate a lot of berries that year camping.

So what are we doing with all our blueberries?  Well, right off the bat, I packed six quart freezer bags with berries for the winter.  One package will make one pie- and at our Thanksgiving table there will be fresh blueberry pies.  This morning for breakfast we feasted on blueberry pancakes.  Last night with dinner we had a blueberry salad.  Baby Spring Mix from the garden, pistachios, blueberries, Parmesan cheese, and some Honey-Dijon dressing, and we all were in salad bliss.

But the real star of the day yesterday was the pie.  I’ve never made a fresh blueberry pie.  Ever.  Every pie I’ve ever made used pie filling from a can.  And oh, how we’ve been missing out!!  Zander summed it up best when he sat down to his piece of pie and with every bite he took, would declare how delicious and wonderful it was.  It was simply vibrant and fresh and it was all blueberry.

Fresh Blueberry Pie

1 recipe of Judy’s Flaky Pie Crust

4 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon water

2 tablespoons sugar

Roll out two pie disks with the dough.  Place one in the pan, cutting off the excess, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Place the other disk in between sheets of plastic wrap and chill as well.

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

In a mixing bowl, combine the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and lemon juice.  Mix well to combine.

Remove the pie dough from the fridge.  Pour the blueberry mixture into the bottom crust, scraping the bowl clean to get all the spiced sugar mixture into the pie.  Cover the blueberries with the other dough piece.  Cut off the excess dough, and pinch the edges together, fluting as desired.

Cut four vents into the pie crust top using a sharp knife.  Brush the entire pie with the beaten egg white, and then sprinkle with the sugar.  Set the pie onto a baking sheet to catch the drips while baking.

Bake at 400ºF for 35 minutes.  Reduce the heat to 350ºF, and bake for an additional 45 minutes, or until the filling is nice and bubbly, and the crust is golden brown.

Allow to cool for at least 1 hour before serving.