Saying Goodbye to the Winter Blues with Blueberries

I am fortunate to live in a town that has one of the best You Pick Blueberry Farms in the state of Washington. Each year around the first of August Bybee Farms Blueberry Farm opens for a short season that usually only lasts about two weeks. For the last 10 plus years I have been there on opening day first thing in the morning with buckets at the ready to fill with the beautiful dime size blueberries that are bursting on the plants. As a family we eat a lot of blueberries year round, in smoothies, muffins, on yogurt for breakfast and of course in blueberry pie. For this reason we pick between 40-50 pounds of blueberries on opening day and then process them to store in the freezer in 2 cup bags to be enjoyed until it is blueberry season again.

Today I want to share two recipes that are perfect for frozen blueberries.

Blueberry Tequila Sour Cream Pie

Begin by putting 4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (if using frozen, thaw and drain really well) in a bowl with 2 Tbsp fresh chopped mint, 1 Tbsp lime juice and 1/4 cup of silver Tequila. Mix well and let it set for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. For this recipe I used a Blanco Tequila from Tequila Corcel.

Prepare 1 deep dish unbaked pie crust with your favorite pie crust recipe or a store bought pre-made pie crust.

Filling:
2 Tbsp flour
3/4 cup raw sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Topping:
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tbsp cold butter
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare pie crust by covering the crust’s edges with foil. This will help to keep the edges from getting too brown.
To make the filling, combine sugar and flour together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat in sour cream, egg, vanilla, salt and nutmeg over medium speed for about five minutes. Carefully fold in the blueberries. Pour batter into pie crust and bake for 30 minutes.
While pie is baking, prepare the topping by crumbling together the flour, sugar, and butter with a fork.

Remove the pie from the oven and sprinkle on the topping. Return to the oven and bake for 10-15 more minutes until topping is golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool thoroughly before slicing.

The rich creamy Tequila Blueberry Sour Cream Pie pairs perfectly with a Syrah wine or a similar red like this Ruah Proprietary Red Blend from Washington Winery Desert Wind. With a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Syrah, this Ruah offers cocoa notes that linger on the finish, with a mixture of plum and vanilla bean flavors.

Blueberry and Pink Peppercorn Margarita
A Blueberry Margarita is just the right winter drink to use frozen blueberries. With the addition of pink peppercorns this Margarita gets kicked up a notch. This drink has a flavorful balance of sweetness from the blueberries and peppery essence from the pink peppercorns. The pink peppercorns add a unique twist to a typical blueberry Margarita.

For this Blueberry and Pink Peppercorn Margarita I used a Resposado Tequila from Tequila Corcel.

The first step to making the Margarita is to make a Blueberry Concentrate. Combine 3 cups of frozen Blueberries with the zest and juice of 1 lime and 1 tablespoon of crushed pink peppercorns with 1 cup of raw sugar in a medium saucepan. Over medium heat, while stirring bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until blueberries have broken down, continue to cook on low heat for about 15 minutes.
Strain blueberry mixture through a cheesecloth or fine sieve; let cool.

Margarita Ingredients for one drink:
1.5 ounces of tequila
1 ounce of lime juice
1 ounce triple sec
1 ounce of Blueberry Concentrate
½ cup of ice
Garnish: Wooden skewer of blueberries and salt with crushed pink peppercorn rim

Instructions:
In a cocktail shaker add tequila, lime juice, triple sec, blueberry concentrate, and ice.
Shake and pour serving into glass with salt and peppercorn rim. Top off the margarita with a splash of club soda.
Garnish with blueberries on a wooden skewer

Now all that is left to do is sit back and wait for Spring to arrive. Cheers!

Images and content ©Drink In Nature Photography/Drink In Life Blog