Bounty

They look delicious don't they? Huge and juicy in the peak of their season. I bought a couple of pounds to freeze since we go through them like water around here. This morning I made blueberry buckwheat pancakes. On hot days we like to eat them frozen -- delicious little confections. But my favorite is to make berry syrup for morning waffles.

I hate to even call it syrup since I use so little sugar. Its more like a compote, and its one of the few things I learned to make from my mother, who doesn't cook much to speak of. Actually, she didn't actually teach me to make this compote; it's just that its so easy that I learned by watching.

Berry Compote
(blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, marionberries, all work well. I've made this with peaches too.)

Measure approximately 2 cups of frozen berries into a glass measuring cup, (like Pyrex)
Put them in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Take them out and scoop about 2 Tablespoons of sugar onto the berries (you may want to use more if your berries are particularly tart).
Add a bit of lemon juice and/or cinnamon if you like (this is optional)
Stir and mash the berries with the back of a spoon.
Put the whole thing back in the microwave for another minute and ta-da! Berry Compote.

Anyway, I was pretty excited about all my fresh blueberries and got busy washing and freezing them. I left the house for a bit to have dinner and a Mojito with a girlfriend and her new little one, and when I returned, I found this waiting for me...







Grapes, yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, a variety of hot peppers, carrots, and onions. A friend's mother raided her garden before leaving town for three weeks and brought so much to share. This is really only a fraction of everything she brought for us to devour.

If all goes well, I'm hoping to share some more cooking photos and recipes using all these yums with you all in the next few days. Delish!