BLUEBERRIES, BLUEBERRIES, BLUEBERRIES

Right now, it's hard to go anywhere in New Bern and not see blueberries.  The Farmer's Market has locally grown blueberries from several farms.  Prices range from $3.00 to $3.50 per pint.  Last week, I found organic blueberries at Harris Teeter, usually $4.99 per pint, marked 2/$3.00, and they were fresh. Wal-Mart has some good prices on blueberries, but they're not as fresh as I would like.

The best overall price for day-to-day shopping in New Bern is at the Lowe's Blvd. stand.  They're selling Nelson's blueberries 2/$5.00, and he's having a hard time keeping them in stock.  If you want some, better go early.  (Please note that Nelson's does use pesticides.)

If you stock up on blueberries and have too many, you can always freeze some for later.  It's easy:  just put the pint container in a freezer bag and freeze.  Never rinse blueberries before freezing!  When you're ready to use the blueberries, take out the amount you want, dump them into a strainer and rinse under cool water.  Blueberries don't stick together in the freezer and the quality of the berry doesn't change much.  They don't get terribly mushy the way strawberries do.

If you want some good blueberry desserts, I've collected some of my best recipes for you.
Lemon Blueberry Cheese Tart,  

Blueberry Swirl-Lemon Shortbread Bars, 

Blueberry Cheesecake Bars, 

Cook's Illustrated Blueberry Pie, 

Bon Appetit's Blueberry Sour Cream Pie, 

Blueberry-Raspberry Crumb Pie, 

Wholegrain Blueberry Cobbler, 

Blueberry-Coconut Muffins with Pecan Streusel Topping, 

America's Test Kitchen Blueberry Muffins, 

King Arthur Flour's Classic Blueberry Muffins, 

Buttermilk Berry Muffins

 and Limoncello Apple-Blueberry Pie  -- 

these are all recipes that I've tried and given top ratings.  Click on this link to find all the recipes.  Well, what are you waiting for?