Blueberry Sunday

An O'Neal bush at Creekside Farm
loaded with berries.

Just about 10 minutes from my house is a blueberry paradise - Creekside Farm is bursting with blueberry bliss from May through August - acres and acres of multiple varieties starting with the early sweet O'Neals to the amazing gumball sized, super sweet Powder Blue in late summer. I discovered the farm at the Clayton Farm and Community market last year, picked twice last summer and am absolutely hooked on these berries.

Washing the berries

Washed and ready to eat

Yesterday I drove over for my first pick of the season - O'Neals are in season right now - a sweet, average size berry that the farm owner says is a real challenge to grow because the bushes will die for no reason at all. More than other varieties, this bush is very sensitive to soil conditions, temperature, weather. Fortunately Creekside Farm seems to be doing it right as they have managed to keep several rows of the O'Neal variety alive - and they are loaded with sweet berries. I picked for about 45 minutes yesterday - naturally testing each bush before I picked - and got about 3.6 lbs of berries.

When I got home I washed and de-stemmed the berries and put them in the refrigerator to munch on at my convenience. Blueberries make for the perfect summer snack!

I had 1.5 pints of blueberries left from my Produce Box. They are good, but they can't beat the ones from Creekside Farm. I already had a plan in mind for my Produce Box blueberries - a delicious blueberry crisp! I got the recipe from Yankee Magazine (and halved it for 1.5 pints). The lemon juice and lemon zest along with the oats and cinnamon really give this crisp a great flavor. I used Bella Gluten-Free All-Purpose Mix instead of flour. Those sensitive to oats can substitute certified GF oats, but I just used regular ones. Needless to say, my Sunday started and ended with blueberries - delicious from start to finish!

**I should add that blueberry picking makes for a pretty good thigh workout - my thighs are so sore today from all the berry-picking squatting and knee-bending!**

Fresh out of the oven, blueberries still bubblin'.

A nice portion!

Bowl-cleanin' good!