A motorcycle ride adds to any adventure.
Center Hill Berry Patch is owned by Rick and Bonnie. They make picking easy and fun. No preparation needed to pick blueberries. You just show up. Buckets are provided. Bonnie drove us out to the farthest row and pointed out the different varieties (Jewel, Emerald, Windsor and Star).
We picked blueberries here a couple years ago at the end of the season. Even though we got plenty of berries, we had to hunt through a lot of bushes. This time we were amazed at how loaded the blueberry bushes were.
Bonnie mentioned that the berry patch is free of chemicals, so we could eat the berries while picking. Of course, I had to taste-test to make sure I was getting the sweeter varieties.
I noticed dragonflies hovering overhead. It wasn't the blueberries that attracted the dragonflies, it was the irrigation system. They were drinking water.
After you are done picking, there is a lovely shaded area under a large Live Oak where you can rest, review your harvest and wait for a ride back. Our berries were weighed (we both picked 4 1/2 pounds) and paid for.
There are lots of animals on the farm...emus, cows, rabbits. Bonnie called the emus, lawn ornaments. They were as curious of us and our motorcycles as we were of them.
At home I cleaned the berries, laid them out on sheet pans and put them in the freezer. Brian requested a blueberry pie. I like to check out recipes at allrecipes.com. The site has some great recipes and helpful suggestions in the reviews. I used this recipe with a few suggested modifications.
I used 5 cups of blueberries, 1 1/4 cups of sugar (which I will reduce to 1 cup next time(, added a dash of lemon juice, baked at 400 degrees for 50 minutes and covered the edges.
For the crust I used a recipe from Ten Dollar Dinners host, Melissa D'Arabian. It is a easy recipe using a food processor, plus how can you go wrong with 2 sticks of butter.
Oh my, the pie is so good, I might need to get more berries. I don't think I have enough for blueberry muffins, blueberry pancakes, blueberry cobbler.
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