Red, White, and Blueberry Recipes

Tags

blueberry, burger, fourth of July, salsa

I love blueberries. Every year, we visit Driving Wind Blueberry Farm and pick enough blueberries to fill our freezer for the year.

The ability to sneak a few in their mouth rather than the bucket helps keep the kiddos from getting distracted.

Since July is peak blueberry season, the Fourth of July is often a great day for picking.

We had to Driving Wind first thing in the morning and pick berries until we are hot, sweaty, and we have filled several buckets. While I freeze a lot of berries, I also like to use a lot of them fresh. It is tradition to make Red, White, and Blue Burgers. The recipe was originally inspired by this one at Diets In Review, but I have made some slight alterations.

 

Red, White, and Blue Burgers

• Cut the top off a couple of red peppers, remove the seeds, and roast them in the oven at 400 degrees.
• While that is cooking, make burgers in a cast iron skillet. Use whatever spice mixture you prefer. I like garlic, onion powder, cumin, and a pinch of ginger.
• Simmer blueberries in a sauce pan over medium heat until they start to pop and juices bubble. You can have plain blueberry sauce without adding anything else, thicken it with corn starch, add a bit of sugar or honey, or make the blueberry balsamic reduction sauce. The blueberry balsamic reduction sauce is wonderful, but I tried it without the vinegar when detoxing from potential allergens. Rather than the truvia suggested at Diets In Review, we use either honey or organic coconut palm sugar. For six ounces of blueberries, add up to a Tablespoon of sweetener, and 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar.
• When the red peppers are roasted, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool until you can cut them into slices large enough for the burger to fit inside.

• Rather than feta, I use goat cheese, which doesn’t bother my dairy allergy. One way to control the crumbles is to put them in a red pepper slice and put the burger on top.
• I wrap mine in lettuce, but toast or buns will also work well.
• When it is all constructed, drizzle the blueberry sauce on top and enjoy!

It is a bit labor intensive for burgers, but they are scrumptious and such a great patriotic dish. I serve it with home made fries and whatever other vegetable we happen to have on hand.

Later in the day, we might snack on blueberry salsa and tortilla chips or white bean Beanitos (my personal favorite). Blueberry salsa is made with chopped blueberries, red pepper, onion, poblano pepper, cilantro, lemon juice, and sea salt.

 

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