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Remember those $50 blueberry bushes we bought at the nursery?
Turns out they had the same ones at the grocery store for $25.
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The husband couldn’t resist.
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There are days when I prefer to soak myself in alcohol, but apples and watermelons work too.
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I passed on the meatloaf mountain. Bread and potatoes? That’s a bit much.
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Here’s the Junior chuck, just chillin’ on the deck landing.
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Probably still full from all those flowers he devoured.
😖
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It’s a shame chokecherries are bitter and nearly impossible to eat…
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Because our tree is just loaded with them this year.
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But speaking of eating…. when your neighbors start dumping tons of veggies on your doorstep because no one ever grows a few zucchini? Try this:
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Slice, dip in beaten egg, then Italian breadcrumbs, lightly fry in olive oil and serve with lemon herb aioli. Fabulous!
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In other news, the turkeys are still here and my husband is still chasing them.
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I’m laughing because he was about to lose his pants running after them. (Don’t tell him I posted this, I’d never hear the end of it.) And while I normally think the daily chasing is ridiculous as well as fruitless…. you’re not going to out stubborn a wild turkey …. those little bastards have eaten every single one of our blueberries this year. On all 7 bushes! And that means no blueberry pie, no blueberry coffee cake, no pancakes or muffins. Damn their feathered souls!
😡
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I watched the White Sox beat the Yankees on the Field of Dreams the other night. (That’s Kevin Costner in the photo.) I’m an unapologetic sucker for that movie. Never been able to watch it without thinking of my father and crying like a baby.
If I’m ever in Iowa? I am damn sure going to Dyersville and walking through that corn.
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We’re rapidly running out of fresh blueberries thanks to the crows…. so it was time to whip out my all time favorite blue recipe.
Lemon blueberry pound cake with a lemon zest glaze.
Ooh la la…. the batter has a stick of butter in it.
And once you add the berries?
I eat it like ice cream.
Do I make a mess when I bake?
You could say that.
But it’s so worth it.
Three loaves of buttery berried goodness.
I ran into a little SNAFU after they cooled and I started to make the glaze.
2017? No problem….
Expiration dates are for the weak.
But settle down, I Googled it.
There.
If Google says it’s alright? Who am I to argue.
Lemon zest glaze.
I tend to do more than drizzle.
Because when have you ever heard someone say, “I’ll take mine with less fabulousness please?”
Recipe as requested.
It should be noted I double…. oh alright, sometimes triple…. the glaze ingredients.
A slightly smaller bounty this week as the neighbor we split with liked more of the offerings than we did.
But there were fairy tale eggplants, so I should probably start this blog with Once Upon a Time.
Once Upon a Time in Maine…. a local grocery store advertised their weekly ware.
Squid jigs at the grocery store.
You know you’re in Maine when….
And meanwhile down at the River ranch, there was pie.
Glorious lattice crust fresh blueberry pie.
No, I couldn’t wait for it to cool completely.
And yes, I had pie for breakfast the next morning.
If that’s wrong?
I don’t want to be right.
We’re extremely blue at Casa River.
And loving every minute of it.
Our bushes are full of ripe fruit and we can’t pick fast enough.
The neighbors get a bowl.
The postman gets a bowl.
If y’all lived closer, you’d get a bowl as well.
After picking, it was time to dig out my favorite blueberry recipes.
The coffee cake was wonderful.
Bursting with fat juicy fruit.
Unfortunately, the cobbler didn’t cobble.
The berries were so big the batter didn’t squeeze up through, but sat at the bottom and made cake instead.
Of course, now that I think about it….
There’s nothing wrong with upside down cobbler.
It still tastes fabulous.
So if you care to share your favorite recipe…. I’m all ears.
And blue fingers.
For Boo, as requested.
Remember how I posted about a red pepper that wanted a kiss a while back?
Well, the creepy food phenomenon continues.
My potatoes are smiling.
And my blueberry pancakes are giving me the eye.
I’m beginning to dread going in the kitchen.
We’ve been having an unusually hot dry summer so I was a little worried our blueberry harvest would be small.
But the bushes are positively laden with fruit.
And in some places, look like grapes.
We did our first picking the other day…
And I see pie in our future.
As well as coffee cake, crumble, lemon blueberry pound cake, buckle and muffins.
If we can beat these little bastards to the berries that is.
No one wants pancakes that squirm.
River's world..... 