More news on the blueberry's many health benefits!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/09/DDP81EMK07.DTL

Blueberry Crisp Recipe

I promised a few of you that I would post this very simple, quick crisp recipe that is a family recipe from my dear friend Andie:

In a 3 quart casserole (9x12), mix 6 cups blueberries with 2 Tbsp. lemon juice.

Combine and crumble the following over top of blueberries:

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 beaten eggs

Melt 1/2 c butter and pour evenly over top without mixing. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes until browned. Serve with ice cream.

Blueberries for Anti-Aging

Check out this article on WebMD on the tremendous anti-aging properties of Blueberries and Kale:

http://blogs.webmd.com/tasty-easy-healthy/2010/07/blueberries-and-kale-to-fight-aging.html

Great TV segment about the Ada Farmers' Market

This was on WoodTV on Friday: http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/eightwest/Ada_Village_Farmers_Market

It's fantastic what they are doing with the kids to get them involved!

Grandma Lila's Blueberry Pie recipe!

We started our U-pick today and it's a beautiful day here to pick berries. Since the season has started, we thought we share Grandma Lila's famous blueberry pie recipe for those of you who have already picked berries. It's delicious!

Our #1 favorite blueberry recipe is:

Grandma Lila’s Blueberry Pie

Ingredients:

•3/4 cup of sugar

•1/3 cup of flour

•2 teaspoons of lemon juice

•1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

•1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

•5 cups of blueberries

•2 layers of pie crust (raw)

Steps:

•First preheat the oven to 400°

•Then get out a 9 inch pie pan

•After, lay a piece of pie crust down (you may make your own or the pre-made)

•Then set that aside, get out a medium sized bowl and mix together the sugar, flour, nutmeg and cinnamon.

•Then lay a layer of blueberries (about a third of it) down on the crust in the pan

•Take the mixture of sugar, flour, etc. and sprinkle 1/3 of this on top of the blueberries you have just put down.

•Repeat this 2 more times using the rest of the blueberries and mixture. This should fill up the pan

•Then take the lemon juice and pour that over the top

•After lay the second layer of pie crust on the top of everything.

•Bake for 45-50 minutes (or until the juice is bubbling on the top)

IMPORTANT: poke small slits on the upper layer of crust before you bake!!!

West Michigan Coop

It's not too late! The West Michigan Coop (www.westmichigancoop.com) is an online Coop based in Grand Rapids. The first week of each month, all members have the opportunity to shop online from a variety of local vendors who have oodles of fresh meat, produce, bread, coffee, herbs, soap, etc. etc. An amazing variety of goodies. Place your order the first week and then on the 3rd Wednesday of each month is pickup night and you go gather your order, meet your farmers and vendors and other like minded folks who enjoying supporting local businesses. This month's shopping cycle closes tonight so you still have a chance to get in on some of West Michigan's finest!

Welcome to Berry News

Blueberries are flowering plants of the genus Vaccinium (a genus which also includes cranberries and bilberries) with dark-blue berries and is a perennial. Species in the section Cyanococcus are the most common fruits sold as "blueberries" and are mainly native to North America.^[1] They are usually erect but sometimes prostrate shrubs varying in size from 10 centimetres (3.9 in) to 4 metres (160 in) tall. In commercial blueberry production, smaller species are known as "lowbush blueberries" (synonymous with "wild") and the larger species, are known as "highbush blueberries". The leaves can be either deciduous or evergreen, ovate to lanceolate, and 1–8 centimetres (0.39–3.1 in) long and 0.5–3.5 centimetres (0.20–1.4 in) broad. The flowers are bell-shaped, white, pale pink or red, sometimes tinged greenish.

The fruit is a false berry 5–16 millimetres (0.20–0.63 in) diameter with a flared crown at the end; they are pale greenish at first, then reddish-purple, and finally blueish-purple when ripe. They have a sweet taste when mature, with variable acidity. Blueberry bushes typically bear fruit in the middle of the growing season: fruiting times are affected by local conditions such as altitude and latitude, so the height of the crop can vary from May to August depending upon these conditions.