Something about fresh, vibrant, mouthwatering seasonal berries really gets me excited. Especially when I visit The Glass Knife cafe and see the abundance of light desserts with berries.
Plentifully available at the front of grocery stores, farmers markets and even farm stands as you drive through farm heavy lands, berries are the decadent treats of the fruit world. Not only bursting with sweet flavor, but also packed with loads of body-benefiting vitamins and antioxidants, they’re a powerful daily staple.
Few seasonal fruits spark my creativity and have as much impact in my house as blueberries.
One of the times each year that I truly yearn for a visit to my homeland (New England) is summer, partly due to for the blueberry picking season! I have so many memories from my childhood to my teen years of visiting hilltop blueberry farms, deep in the woods off long dirt roads, and following my mom down endless rows of bushes with their branches bowed low due to the heavy clusters of luscious powdered blue fruits.
We’d fill up buckets of these little beauties, battling the bugs and baking under the summer sun, and lug our treasure back home with dirt on our faces and big smiles on our faces. Some berries would just be cleaned and popped in the fridge, but most would be washed and stored in the freezer so that were stocked with fresh blueberries into fall.
I haven’t found a blueberry farm here in Florida that come close to my memories, but we still have access to lots of this favorite fruit.
They’re a favorite on cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, as a standalone and in a myriad of baked goodies. One of my favorite ways to amp them up is a super simple blueberry sauce that can be poured on pretty much anything for from breakfast to dessert.
Whipping some up using a Power Whip is as simple as making pancakes and never ceases to impress friends and guests (or myself for that matter). It’s also a great way to use up any blueberries that are on the verge of going off. Slightly squishy, but still edible? Perfect!
Since this sauce is just loaded with flavor, they pair splendidly with a simple pancake, including a paleo friendly recipe.
Saucy Blueberry Syrup
Makes 2-3 servings.
Ingredients:
- 1 pint of Blueberries
- 1/2 cup of Water
- 1 tsp of cornstarch
- 2 tbsp of Real Maple Syrup
Directions:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, toss in your blueberries and water and allow to heat up.
As you stir occasionally and the liquid heats up, the berries will begin to burst from the heat and the water will turn a pretty purple.
Once it comes to a boil, add your teaspoon of cornstarch to thicken it all up, along with your 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, just to give the fruit’s natural sweetness a little extra oomph.
Stir frequently as your bubbling mixture cooks and thickens for about 8 minutes, or until the sauce visibly shows thicker gloopey bubbles and a syrup-like consistency (It should hang onto your spoon a bit).
Remove from the heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Now is a great time to make your pancakes!
Paleo-friendly Panckaes
Makes about 4 medium sized pancakes.
Ingredients:
- 1 Medium Banana
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Directions:
Mash up a ripe banana (doesn’t need to be brown, just soft enough to smoosh) with a fork and add in your two eggs, and a half teaspoon each of the baking soda (which will give the pancakes some body and allow them to puff up a bit) and vanilla extract.
I used a whisk to really mix them into a tizzy so everything was fully combined.
Then just heat up a flat skillet over medium heat, spray the oil of your choice (I love the TJ’s spray coconut oil) and pour your mixture onto the hot pan to make a medium size pancake. (Or you can pour a couple of plate sized ones – totally your call.)
Heat through minute or two on the first side and then flip and heat through the other side for a minute (they cook fast as they’re light and mostly egg). They won’t be super thick, but will have a nice fluffy texture.
Finally, just plop you pancakes on a plate and drench in as much syrup as you want.
Small little islands of pancakes in a sea of luscious blueberry syrup? Oh yeah.
When you’ve stared at long enough to admire this plate of beauty, just dig right on in.
You may find it quite a battle to not lick your plate. No one looking? Just go for it.
No judgement here. After all, berries are good for you!
Yum! Will definitely try…thank you for sharing! Love you!
Let me know what you think when you try them!
Blueberry pancakes are my all time favorite. Yummo.
You had me at blueberries!!!!
YUMMMMMMM!!! #eatalltheblueberries
My thoughts exactly! 🙂