Now I was born in Sudbury in Northern Ontario, where wild blueberries are abundant. When my parents were first married, they used to pick berries after work and take the 11 quart baskets down to the CN station and sell them at the station to be shipped to the folks in Southern Ontario. Growing up, I spent many hours picking this lovely “blue gold” and our pantry was filled with preserves for the winter. They are my favourite berry, especially the wild ones, since the flavour is amazing.
I still go up to Sudbury in the summer and pick some berries, but I must admit, that come the winter, I will purchase farmed berries and mix them in with some of my frozen ones to make desserts. That is the nice thing about blueberries; once they are cleaned, you can just freeze them whole with no sugar and then use them frozen in all your baking. When I use them as a topping for a cheese cake, you would swear that they had just been picked. All that and good for you to boot!
The Blueberry Crisp pictured here was made with fresh farmed berries and some of my cache of frozen wild berries and it is delightful.
Blueberry Crisp
Serves | 5 - 6 |
Ingredients
- 4 Cups blueberries (farmed or wild or fresh or frozen or a combination)
- 1 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 Tsp cinnamon
- 1 Tsp grated lemon rind
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup or 1 tsp of white sugar
- 1/3 cup soft butter
- 2/3 cups brown sugar
- 2/3 cups flour
Optional
- 1/3 cup chopped almonds