My Love (Addiction) for the Jersey Blueberry

copyright 2009, Maria Liberati
One of my favorite things about summer is being able to eat fresh  blueberries from New Jersey… particularly South Jersey. But the season that you can get fresh Jersey blueberries is a short one and the best ones begin appearing at local farm markets just about now… soon to dwindle down till end of August.
Since I am on the East Coast in months of June and July -shopping for fresh blueberries almost every day is one of my obsessive habits,  so much so that I had my assistant add some dedicated time in my daily schedule that I can have an hour to go get my blueberry supply.
While it’s not always easy to find the blueberries from New Jersey, some are from many other states and have traveled days to get here, but besides reading the label you can spot the Jersey blueberries by the size of the berries; they are bigger than blueberries from other States.
Full of antioxidants, they are not only delicious but provide a wealth of antioxidants and health benefits. Unfortunately my only regret is that I am in Italy for their last month-August- and miss that last month of blueberries.
Once so distraught I took a pound of blueberries with me on the flight over… it was first week in August, I knew when I returned in late September they would be gone and not to see again for almost another year…thought I could get my fill before leaving. Not such a great idea, ended up with a blue mouth and blue stains on my shirt upon arrival, this did not make such a ‘bella figura’ on arrival at Leonardo DaVInci Airport in Rome…
Unfortunately, in Italy blueberries  are not always easy to find and are very small, not supersized like the Jersey blueberry…hmm… beginning to wonder why the Jersey ones are so supersized!!
I recommend eating them fresh and just plain, but if you’d  like to try them in a recipe too, here’s one of my favorite:
A mixture of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, but you can use all blueberries if you are a blueberry fanatic like me!
Berry Crepes

30 minutes total

15 minutes prep time

Serves 8-10 crepes

Ingredients

16 ounces strawberries or berries, a mixture of wild (black berries, blue berries, raspberries and strawberries)

1tablespoon brown sugar, packed

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1 cup flour, unbleached

2 eggs

1 tablespoon oil, not olive

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 cups skim milk

Cooking spray

Directions

Rinse and slice strawberries into a bowl. Pour lemon juice on top and toss.

Add brown sugar and toss until well coated; set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk all ingredients together until there are no more lumps.

Over medium heat, heat crepe pan or non-stick frying pan.

When heated, remove from heat and spray with cooking spray

Pour a 1/4 cup of the batter in the pan. Quickly lift pan and tilt and turn until batter evenly covers the bottom.

Cook over medium heat for 30 – 45 seconds until the edges are dry enough to get a spatula under to flip.

Cook for another 30 seconds on the other side.

When lightly browned, remove from pan onto a plate.

Spray pan with cooking spray and repeat for the rest of the batter.

Stack crepes with wax paper between so they can be easily separated.

Down the middle 1/3 of the crepe spread one or 2 heaping spoons of berry mixture.

Fold one side of the crepe over the mixture and then the other side over first side.

Top with a spoon of berry mixture.

Can also be frozen wrap first in wax paper then put into plastic bag and then foil.

They stay moist if this is done when still slightly warm.

For more delicious recipes get your copy of the bestselling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking at https://www.marialiberati.com

 Hope to see you at some of my appearances coming up:
July 9th, 6:15 PM  Whole Foods, Jenkintown, Pa- The Basic Art of Italian Cooking School presents The Outdoor Kitchen- foods for the picnic, the beach or dining al fresco. Call the store at 215-481-0800 or email events@marialiberati.com
July 16th-Whole Foods Annapolis, Maryland
http://www.prlog.org/10256011-celebrity-chef-maria-liberati-cooks-for-the-crowd-at-new-whole-foods-market-culinary-center.html
July 18th-Whole Foods Fairfax/ Fair Lakes, Virginia
http://cuisinewire.org/10256021/maria-liberati-cooking-demonstration-and-wine-pairing-at-whole-foods-market-fairfaxfair-lakes.html
July 31-August2-Atlantic City food and wine festival
http://www.prlog.org/10264998-celebrity-chef-maria-liberati-emeril-lagasse-guy-fieri-at-atlantic-city-food-and-wine-festival.html
Get your copy of the bestselling book The Basic Art of Italian cooking at https://www.marialiberati.com
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