Summer Share Week 6 - Berries!!!

 Raspberries, blueberries, not to mention peaches and cherries are all over. This is my favorite part of the year, when I munch away at the wonderful fruit in season. Of course, it started weeks ago with the strawberries, but now we have moved on.

My out of town guests are no strangers to picking fruit here in the U.S. During their last visit, I took them apple picking. This time, it was blueberries - 11 pounds worth!! A drive out to Jones Family Farm was a treat for all of us. The "berry ferry" took us out to the fields where we stayed for about an hour. The bushes were full of berries in all stages of ripeness. Following instructions to pick only the very dark blue ones, we filled container after container, dumping them into the large basket again and again.
Of course, we had to taste as we went along, though not so much that our fingers were blue.

 Once home, I found a recipe that could make a dent in the mounds of blueberries:

Found a nice one in the August issue of Food and Wine. With the berries the first of the season, they were a little tart, so we all found the recipe lacking a little sugar to compensate for that. Note to self: taste fruit and amend recipe accordingly.

I am making another dessert tonight, an Italian Blueberry "pizza", one of my favorite recipes. You can make this with any fruit.



1 1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup whipping cream
8 oz. mascarpone cheese (you can also use cream cheese)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon peel
4 cups fruit

Crust:

Combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter until mixture looks like course crumbs. Press into 11-13" pizza pan. I used a large pie pan for this as I don't have a pizza pan. Bake in 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, until crust is light brown. Cool completely.

Before serving, whip cream in mixing bowl until soft peaks form. Add cheese, sugar and lemon peel. Beat until fluffy.

Spread mixture on cool crust. Top with fruit of choice. For an added treat, shave chocolate on the top.

While you can make this ahead, it must be kept cold.

 Next up: Kale chips, Take 2.