Blueberry Time

Last week, my mother-in-law, younger son and five year old daughter and I all went blueberry picking, despite the killer heat.  We went early in the morning and enjoyed the ten degree cooler weather and brisk breeze out at the berry patch.  There may not be much shade, but it's always cooler twenty minutes north of town.
The blueberry picking was the best I'd ever experienced.  Between the four of us, we picked over twelve pounds of berries off only eight bushes.  each bush was loaded with berries and we just systematically worked our way down each the row, picking off both sides of the bushes.  We'll go back later this week for more.  Blueberry picking requires a couple of trips before we can get the needed pounds of berries. 
I made two batches of blueberry jam, experimented with a blueberry muffin recipe, made blueberry pancakes for breakfast a few mornings, and made a blueberry pie (my oldest son's favorite).
As soon as I came home, I dumped all the berries in the Tupperware Fridge Smart containers I pull up from the basement every Summer.  They are fabulous for storing berries.  They got my strawberries down to Zone 6 for the Fourth of July family reunion.  Blueberry storage is where those containers really shine.  I can keep blueberries in the fridge for up to eight weeks (as long as my kids don't know that they are there).
We gorge ourselves on blueberries all summer long.  I'll take as many trips to the blueberry patch as I can, inviting a different friend or visiting family member to come along with me each time.  It'swonderful to spend an hour or two in the morning with a friend, chatting and filling our buckets with the food that my family will be eating for many months to come.  We'll eat them by the handful for several weeks, then we'll eat the frozen remainder in muffins, pancakes, coffeecakes, and pies all winter long.  I freeze them the same way I do peas, on a cookie sheet, then vacuum sealed in single servings and put in the basement freezer.
Here is my standard blueberry pie recipe.  As I said, its my oldest son's favorite.

Fresh Blueberry Pie

• 4 c. fresh blueberries
• 1 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. tapioca
• 1T. lemon juice
• double crust pastry

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Mix all ingredients and let the mixture set for 15 minutes.
3. After rolling the first crust into the pie pan, add the blueberries and dot with 1T. cold butter, cut in slivers.
4. Cover the blueberry mixture with the second crust and crimp the crust.  Slit the top crust.
5. Cover the pie with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
6. Remove the foil and brush the top of the crust with milk and sprinkle it with milk.
7. Bake for another 30 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling through the vents.