berries

There's been no greater way to celebrate the season's berry bounty than by dedicating each Summer month to a different berry — May for strawberries, June for cherries, July for blueberries, and now August for blackberries, which are currently at their peak.

I'm starting things off with a dessert that treasures blackberries at their freshest. I've got a weakness for whipped English desserts with funny names — and who can resist something called a fool? Don't skimp on the Calvados, as the boozy bitterness of the apple brandy adds a nice counterpoint to the otherwise sweet fruit dessert.
For the recipe — which only has four ingredients! — keep reading.

Looking for creative ways to incorporate fruit into your diet? Take this tip from FitSugar Community member Wiggle in the Snack Attack group: skip the jam.

And go straight to the berries. It's good on peanut butter too!

We'd love to hear from you, so share your snack ideas in the Snack Attack community group. Include a photo along with your post, and your snack could be featured here on FitSugar. You can even mobile blog your photos straight from your phone.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: blueberry sauce has been the most versatile kitchen basic of the season. I've loved canning the stuff and using it for everything from cocktails to French toast kebabs.

Most recently, it added natural sweetness to baby back ribs. Don't fear the combination of ingredients like hot sauce, blueberries, and garlic powder; they marry together beautifully to coat the the pork in a sticky, fruity, finger-licking glaze.
Curious about the recipe? Get it when you read more.

With nothing but blueberries on the brain this month, it's only natural that I've been playing with the little guys in my drinks, too. And this weekend, I think I found the best blueberry cocktail to date. Meet the Blueberries Gone Wild.

Despite its muddled preparation, and its Joe Francis-ish moniker, this cocktail is pure and clean. With a blush color and juicy flavor, it's a more herbaceous cosmo, only made with farm-fresh ingredients and a hint of juniper-scented gin. Like the sound of it? Then get the recipe now.

We're not the only berry-obsessed ones. Here, OnSugar blog Fresh Tart uses the berry best of Summer's bounty to bake a crumble that's bursting at the seams with flavor.

Every time I go to the farmer's market, I come home with more berries — yesterday I found strawberries still poking around, and raspberries and blueberries out in force.

Man do I love this time of year!

To see how she makes the most of the season's fruit, read on.

Fresh berries and flaky puff pastry are always a winning combination. To keep up with our berry tempting recipe series, I made mini blueberry-vanilla cream cheese pies that are simple and delicious. I was a little zealous while filling them and clearly overdid it — thus, my pies popped open during baking. Regardless, they were still mighty tasty!

This recipe is a great staple to have on hand when you want to impress guests with pastries. Feel free to substitute another berry or flavor the cream cheese mixture with citrus zest or a different extract. My next round will be raspberries with a lemony cream cheese. Get started on your own pocket pies by reading more.

When I said my new favorite basic is blueberry sauce, I was definitely not kidding. In addition to using the 15-minute compote in a lavender-vodka martini, I also took the liberty of making French toast on skewers for weekend brunch, and using the sauce in lieu of maple syrup.

I love this dish because it's fun to make and fun to eat, for kids and adults alike. Who can resist bite-sized blocks of breakfasty goodness, lovingly browned to perfection on all six sides? The answer is nobody, especially when it's laced together with wholesome blueberries, raspberries, and bananas, topped with a sprinkle of sugar, and drizzled with the incredible berry compote. For a fun weekend provision to make with the whole fam, read on.

Blueberry season is in full swing, and I love finding new ways to appreciate the fruit. But before long, these blue beauts will have come and gone, too — so I always try to preserve Summer's bounty now for later down the line. For Summer veggies, it's quick pickling; for berries, I love a basic syrup or sauce.

This blueberry compote has become a fast favorite. It takes less than 15 minutes to make, and livens up everything from pancakes and waffles to ice cream. I used it in an original vodka cocktail and even stirred some in to basic bread pudding! Or, like I did with caramel sauce, bottle it in a pretty container and give it away as an edible gift. For the recipe, read on.

Before last weekend, I was in the majority when it comes to pie: I preferred cherry pie over blueberry pie. I think it was because I had never really enjoyed homemade blueberry pie. Naturally, I had to remedy the situation by making it from scratch. I'm so glad that I did: this was my best pie yet! The filling was thick, juicy, and not overly sweet. The dough was buttery, flaky, and crisp. The awesome thing is I only experienced moderate difficulties when rolling the dough out. Thus, baking this pie has made me a more confident home cook. Want to see the recipe I used? It's after the break.

I am in produce heaven right now. Since it's Summer, the farmers markets in my area are full of fruits and veggies in every color you can imagine. For good reason everyone is going sort of crazy for strawberries and cherries. But what about the oft-neglected blackberry? Despite it being a pretty yummy fruit, blackberries are usually the last of the baskets to be picked up whenever I hit the market. Here are a few reasons to buy a basket the next time you're in the produce aisle.

• They're full of fiber. It's important that you eat 25 to 30 grams of fiber every day. Besides helping with digestion, fiber may reduce your risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer, help lower your cholesterol, prevent heart disease, and flatten your belly. Blackberries are an easy (and tasty!) way to get more fiber into your diet — one cup of blackberries equals about 11 grams of fiber.
• They're high in vitamins C and K. Eating just half a cup of blackberries gives you 35 percent of your RDA of vitamin C and 25 percent of your RDA of vitamin K.
• They're high in antioxidants. It might sound like the name of a dinosaur, but proanthocyanidins are a type of antioxidant that may prevent cancer and heart disease. Lucky for us, blackberries are full of proanthocyanidins.
• They're low in calories. Blackberries are about one calorie per berry. That means you can eat a whopping 100 berries for a nutritious and filling 100-calorie snack.