Rhapsody in Blue(berry)

By Expat Chef

By mid-summer, I have been hitting the local farmer's fresh berry supply pretty hard, perhaps too hard. I’ve made crumbles and pie, cakes and pancakes, eaten them raw on salads, cereal, yogurt and ice cream, laced with Grand Marnier and whipped cream, and just plain old plain, by the handful as I am peering into the fridge trying to figure out what else to make with them.

The dilemma was resolved with the arrival of my most recent issue of Gourmet. Right there on the table of contents page, popsicles. Popsicles! It’s 90-plus degrees here with a heat index of 102. Oh yeah, I am making popsicles.

It’s actually quite easy. Or at least it should be. When I was in culinary school, part of our final exam included finding all the pitfalls in a recipe that would cause an average home cook to mess up. I fell victim to one of these. I should have known better. When the recipe innocently states, as an afterthought in parenthesis, “Use caution when blending hot liquids,” this really means: Blend only 1/3 of the mixture at a time, or plan on repainting the kitchen. Dark blue.

Yep. I did. Boy, did I. It goes nicely with the splatter pattern on the ceiling over the stove where my husband tried to deglaze a roasting pan with red wine, and the splay of organic tomato spaghetti-O reside just behind the highchair. Lovely.

Next kitchen, I am thinking bare cement with a hose on the wall and floor drain. It’s the next hot trend, trust me.

While scrubbing the paint off the wall, (the blueberry stains remain) I wondered, what is it about blueberries that makes them so, well, BLUE? Anthocyanosides. Antho-what-cyanide? No, no. Ah, never mind. Flavenoids. A powerful antioxidant as it turns out. One that is shared by other in the berry brethren; lingonberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, cranberries and something called a bilberry. Currants and cherries are also good sources.

While the research is still being debated, there are several documented scientific abstracts out there that attest to the many health benefits of these compounds. The latest, and most interesting, is the research that shows the flavenoids in cherries actually stimulate the body’s insulin production by fifty percent. Thus, offering hope of a treatment for diabetes. Other health benefits purported include:

    * Has anti-cancer properties
    * Helps prevent cardiovascular disease
    * Protects the circulatory system
    * Reduces fluid accumulation in tissue
    * May be effective in treating chronic fatigue syndrome
    * Helps improve eye functioning and prevents cataracts
    * Helps prevent ulcers

If even one of these claims is true … well, it’s a shame fresh berries are headed out of season. Tomatoes are headed in.

Hmm, tomatoes … don’t those have lycopene? A compound hailed as effective in preventing some cancers, heart disease and macular degeneration? And also stellar for wall staining. Count me in! Gazpazcho Pops, anyone? Ugh, maybe not.

Okay, they make lousy popsicles. Nature even agrees with that one.Tomatoes, unlike berries that lose nutritional value when cooked, actually become better for you once heated. So, August Tomato Tart, anyone?

You can find the Expatriate Chef hanging out in her kitchen, scrubbing the counters and licking blueberry off the walls.

Comments

[patrick]

I'm a fan of the bare cement/hose/drain kitchen design too. Someday...

Meanwhile, I think Gazpachosicles sound like a pretty fab idea. Wasn't tomato water a hit at fancy restaurants a few years back? Why not freeze it on sticks?

[Birdsong]

I can just see this happening! Good advance warning, and I really appreciate the time you put into gathering all this good information about blueberries for us. I will definitely need to latch onto many pounds to freeze for the coming winter while the season lasts. Also looking forward to trying the tomato tart. Have you considered tomato jam?

[Expat Chef]

Thanks for the comments! Maybe I will get brave enough for veggie pops! Or jam.

A good book for recipes on both blueberries and tomatoes is the 12 Super Foods book. Some nutrition tips, surface level, but good ones. Take it with a grain of salt, just like the tomatoes. :)

[lucette]

I made tomato jam last year--it was so good I wished I'd made twice the amount.
On the concrete house--I went to a baby shower in one several years ago. There was a drain in every room! As a confirmed anti-housecleaner, I was envious.