Graceful Simplicity

It’s easy to find garden metaphors that relate to life. For instance, right now my blueberries are ripening and ready for picking—BUT, that doesn’t mean every blue berry is ready, you have to look underneath, sometimes they’re still a little pink or white and need more time; therefore, you can’t reach up for a greedy handful. In life, we can be too greedy and end up coming away with something a little sour.

The time to prune blueberries is late winter, when rest and rejuvenation is nearing its end in preparation for spring (rebirth, new beginnings and all that new-agey stuff). The problem is, in late winter, when all branches are bare and grey, it’s hard to tell the difference (for an untrained eye) what needs to be pruned and what doesn’t. This year I thought of a trick. While I pick the berries, I bring along coloured tape to mark any branches that will need to be pruned later. Sometimes we do this in life.  We mentally mark all that needs to change but we aren’t always ready to prune just yet, to do so would be too early and could cause damage to the rest of our lives.

Picking blueberries is a favourite summer activity of mine. It is peaceful and meditative (except when the deer flies find you!). My bushes provide in abundance (my freezer is already stuffed) supplying us with frozen berries all winter long. I feel gratitude with every berry that gets picked. Each is a mini prayer that passes through my fingers, like the beads on a mala, to the bucket.

A classic blueberry dessert recipe is Blueberry Crisp. I don’t need to retype such a recipe, just use any basic one (like this one) as long as you remember this tip: DOUBLE the crisp topping! It makes all the difference when using such juicy berries.

For something a little healthier, but just as tasty, try Decadent Coconut Milk Whipped Cream with Berries and Maple Syrup. Adapted from Mark’s Daily Apple. (BTW, this is a primal food site, so doubling the crisp topping on the first recipe would be a big no-no!). The only thing I changed was to leave out the chocolate and drizzled some maple syrup on top instead.

Saving the best for last. OMG, this was amazing! Best salad ever. I guess dairy really does make things taste better Adapted from Pioneer Woman’s Grilled Chicken Salad with Feta, Fresh Corn, and Blueberries (I had roasted chicken on the side).

Blueberry, Feta and Corn Salad (Serves 2)

Ingredients

• Enough lettuce greens for two
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1/8  red onion, finely diced
• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 tbsp fresh dill, minced (DO NOT omit the dill, it makes the dish!)
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp plain yogurt
• 1/8 cup whipping cream
• Juice from ½ a lemon
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• ½ (or so) cup crumbled feta
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Combine onion, corn, and dill.

For the dressing, mix together mayonnaise, yogurt, HALF the feta, and cream. Stir in sugar, lemon juice, add salt and pepper to taste. Add a few tablespoons of dressing to corn mixture to coat.

Assemble the greens on two plates. Top with corn mixture. Add blueberries. Drizzle more dressing over top and end with a generous “sprinkle” of feta.

Soooooo good. I could eat a whole meal of just the salad. Seriously, try this right now.