Found My Thrill

Sing it, Fats Domino:


"I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill,
On Blueberry Hill where I found you
The moon stood still on Blueberry Hill
And lingered till my dreams came true."

I've been singing that song on a loop for the past few days. Is it possible to be this excited that a bush has borne fruit? Seems silly...but there it is.

Actually, it isn't one blueberry bush...there are 9. We got three in the Spring of 2011 and added 6 more in the Fall. There two different varieties of rabbiteye blueberries: 5 called Climax and 4 called Premier. We purchased them from the Guilford County 4-H and planted them in three raised beds. I've written more about them over on our gardening blog, Gardening With the Giants. (Click here to go there.)

Anyway, we missed whatever harvest there was last year, so we didn't know what to expect. Returning from our recent trip, I was thrilled to collect 2 whole cupsful! Yippee!! And were they ever tasty...:-)

First harvest of blueberries, 2013

Unfortunately, they didn't last nearly as long as I would have liked. About as long as it took me to look up my favorite blueberry pie recipe to confirm I would need a minimum of 4 cups...preferably 5 cups of berries. Hmmmm. Grow, blueberries, grow!

And they did. Four days...and three rains later, and I picked 6 cups of berries. Talk about a thrill!

Second harvest of blueberries, 2013

First came the blueberry pancakes for Sunday Brunch. And they were gooooood!

And then it was time to dust off that recipe for pie...yummy blueberry pie. Here are the pictures...followed by the recipe. Enjoy!

The filling

 

Weaving the lattice

 

The finished pie, just out of the oven...bring on the ice cream!

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Blueberry Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

5 cups fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 (15 ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts

1 cup sugar

4 tablespoons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

1. SPRINKLE berries with lemon juice; set aside.

2. FIT half of pastry in a 9-inch pieplate according to package directions.

3. COMBINE 1 cup sugar and next 3 ingredients; add to berries, stirring well.

4. Pour into pastry shell, and dot with butter.

5. UNFOLD remaining pastry on a lightly floured surface; roll gently with rolling pin to remove creases in pastry. Using a pizza cutter, cut 1/2" strips for a latticed-top.

6. Weave pastry strips over filling; seal and crimp edges.

7. Brush top of pastry with beaten egg, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar 

8. BAKE at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until golden. Cover edges with aluminum foil to prevent overbrowning, if necessary.

9. Allow to cool thoroughly on the counter to let the center to gel. Store in the refrigerator.

10. Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.