The paleo (Caveman) Diet

A Paleo diet, also known as the caveman diet, is all about natural foods to have better health. The human body evolved for more than 2 million years with the food found in nature: game meat, fish, vegetables, wild fruits, eggs and nuts.  Blueberries are a great snack food for this diet.  In this diet it is recommended to eat mostly fruits low in sugar and high in antioxidants like berries. Blueberries are a wonderful source of high antioxidants.   

To learn more about  the Paleo diet visit:

http://paleodietlifestyle.com/paleo-101/

Organic Blueberries vs. Conventional Blueberries

Blueberries grown organically had a significantly higher sugar content (fructose and glucose), malic acid, total phenolics, total anthocyanins, and antioxidant activity  than fruit grown conventionally.
 Blueberries in general have health benefits, but are organic blueberries even better than conventionally grown ones?A collaborative project between the US Department of Agriculture and Rutgers University attempted to answer that question, and the results came in the form of a recent publication in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

The results where : 

Cultivation Method	Fructose (mg/g)	Glucose (mg/g)	Citric Acid (mg/g)	Malic Acid (mg/g)	ORAC (mg/g)
Organic	97.06	45.53	3.47	0.043	46.14
Conventional	79.26	29.72	3.14	0.029	30.76

These results do suggest that organic blueberries are better for you.

To find out more information about organic vs. conventional visit http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2008/07/are-organic-blueberries-better-for-you.ars

Blueberry cream cheese coffeecake

Ingredients

1 cup fresh or frozen SVO blueberries, rinse if fresh
1/4 cup apple juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into chunks, plus more for butter in the pan
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 large eggs
6oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup sliced almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a 1 to 2quart pan over medium heat, bring blueberries in Apple juice to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until blueberries have released their juices, about 3 minutes. In a small bowl, blend cornstarch and 2 teaspoons water. Add to blueberry mixture; stir until it's simmers and thickens, about 1 minute. Let cool to room temperature.

  2. In a bowl or food processor, mix or whirl flour and 3/4 cup sugar. Add butter to flour mixture. Cut in with a pastry blender or pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1/2 cup; pour remaining into a large bowl and stir in baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon peel.

3. In a bowl, mix yogurt, vanilla, and one egg until blended; stir into flour baking powder mixture until Incorporated. Spread batter in a buttered 9 inch round cake pan with a removable rim.

4. In a bowl or food processor beat with an electric mixer on high speed or whirl cream cheese, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, remaining egg, and lemon juice until smooth. Spread over batter in pan, leaving a 1/2 inch border bare. Gently spread blueberry mixture over the cream cheese mixture leaving some cream cheese visible. Stir almonds into reserved flour mixture and sprinkle over cake, concentrating most around edge of batter.

5. Bake until center of cake barely jiggles when pan is gently shaken and top of cake is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool on rack for 15 minutes, then remove pan REM. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Blueberry Crumble

Ingredients

3 pints SVO blueberries
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1.4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Zest of 1 lemon
Lemon Juice (optional)
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Combine berries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and zest; toss gently. Add lemon juice if berries are not tart enough. Spoon fruit mixture into a greased 2-quart casserole dish
3. Combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or two knifes until mixture resemble  coarse meal. Sprinkle over fruit.
4. Bake until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly in the center, about 45 minutes. Serves 6

Pruning On The Farm

Every year in January, here on the farm, the crew takes on a big project, pruning our Blueberry bushes.  It is done at this time of year because the plants are dormant. Annual pruning is required to maintain blueberry plant strength and productivity. Proper pruning balances the production of strong, new wood while maintaining good fruit production. When pruning it’s important to take about 50% of the fruit buds out. This allows more energy to focus on the new bud growth to let them flourish. Removing all the smaller twiggy branches is an advantage to new growth because it’s gives bigger twigs that have more diameters more energy and room to grow. Weak twiggy wood generally has few buds and produces small berries.

Easy Steps to take when pruning:

1. Remove low growth that would touch the ground when loaded with fruit. Cut of short, soft, new shoots that developed from the base of the plant late in the season.

2. Cut out weak, twiggy wood from the top, middle and outer parts of the plant. Remove enough wood from the top to let light down into the plant center.

3. If your plants tend to overbear, thin the fruit buds by trimming back some of the small shoots carrying 

heavy load of flower buds. Blueberry flower buds are near the tips of the past season’s growth.

Location of fruit buds and vegetative buds (leaf buds) on dormant blueberry plants:
Fruit buds-large, plump and located on the terminal 2
to 3 inches of shoots
Vegetative buds (leaf Buds) -small, pointed and located on the basal part of shoots

1 Pruning severity may need to be adjusted to balance the production of good, high quality crop adequate growth for ensuring year’s crop. Bob Wilt (owner) has been pruning for 35+ years, so its second nature for him. Experience is the best guide on how much to prune. Weak bushes require more pruning then vigorous bushes because pruning stimulates vegetative growth.

Crew Member Pruning Blueberry Bushes

2Source

Grilled Blueberry Upside-Down Corn Cake

Ingredients
1 stick (4-oz) unsalted butter
¾ cup brown sugar
1 ¼ cup SVO Blueberries
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 large egg

1.  In a 9-inch cast-iron skillet, melt 4 tablespoons each butter and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until dissolved, about 3 minutes. Stir in the cherries.

2. Preheat a grill to medium. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining ½ cup brown sugar, the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in the buttermilk and egg.

3. In a microwave, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Stir onto the batter until smooth. Spoon the batter on top of the blueberries and spread evenly. Place the skillet on the grill and cook, covered, until the cake is springy to the touch and golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.

4. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert onto a platter. Let cool completely before cutting.