It's blueberry season, and I just made it back from a short trip to Michigan with 15 lbs of blueberries. In other words, I'm in heaven. Every time I grab a handful of fresh Michigan blueberries, I'm transported back to my childhood, when my mom would take my sisters and I blueberry picking every summer. We'd strap on our gallon buckets and head out to the fields, with more blueberries making it into our stomachs than the buckets. There's no food that evokes summer so quintessentially as blueberries, and nothing but Michigan blueberries will really do for me. Luckily I'm still close enough to Michigan that I can find a way to get my fix each season!
Since 15 lbs is a tall order for one person to consume in a week, I froze many of them (which will still be amazing for some recipes that I have planned). I also ate blueberries for almost every meal of the day this week, tossed into granola and yogurt for breakfast, plain for lunch, and sometimes mixed with yogurt and some chocolate chips for dessert. I made my grandma's fresh blueberry cream pie, and I also made this blueberry compote. The compote is simple to make (and quick), and it was heavenly on waffles. I had a little leftover, so I stirred it into some vanilla yogurt, which was also delicious. Fresh Michigan blueberries are so good that only a touch of sweetening is needed, and the lemon gives it a light summery zest. The chia seeds are a cool way to thicken up the compote (making it quicker to cook), and also add a nutritional boost. You could make this with any other berry you could get your hands on, of course, with equally tasty results!
Ingredients
2 heaping cups of fresh blueberries, washed
zest and juice of one lemon
2 Tbsp clover honey
1 Tbsp chia seeds
Directions
1. Cook blueberries, lemon juice, and zest in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
2. After blueberries have cooked down (5-10 min), add chia seeds, and continue to cook until mixture has thickened (another 5-10 min).
3. Serve warm over waffles or pancakes, or allow to cool and stir into yogurt or spoon on top of ice cream. I made a smaller batch and ate it all in one evening, but it should last for a week in a sealed container in the fridge.
Serves four
Serves four
Shauna,
ReplyDeletewhat does the chia seeds accomplish? I made a sauce using corn starch and sugar instead of honey and chia seeds. will be trying your recipe, once I get my hands on these seeds. . .
The chia seeds gel up when they come into contact with water, so they help to thicken the mixture (much like cornstarch and arrowroot). I wouldn't use them for everything (I don't think they'd have the same effect in a meat gravy, for example), but for fruit sauces/compotes, they work well and add protein, fiber, and several micronutrients that cornstarch doesn't have. I also use them in granola and energy bars, among some other things. If you don't have chia seeds sitting around, though, cornstarch will work fine!
Delete