Up on a hill close to my house in Connecticut, there is a hiking trail that leads you to a blueberry patch. It’s part of the Aspetuck Land Trust devoted to preserving open space, so it’s public land and you’re free to pick up the berries.
Recently over the summer, my family and I decided to explore the area and do some outdoors activities, like hiking to this field of blueberries. In every area of this vast and quiet place, there were beautiful bushes of blueberries. These are Connecticut blueberries growing on trees just tall enough for children to reach.
Because of their tiny shape and sweet taste, blueberries are very appealing to children. “ Mommy, these take like candy!” said Bianca, my daughter, who couldn’t eat them fast enough.
Thomas, my son, only wanted to fill boxes so that we could go home and cook with it.
There is something so invigorating and satisfying about picking food straight from the source, warmed by the sun, and gathered by hand; we were all affected by this magical act. I could see in Thomas and Bianca’s eyes they were connecting to earth, right then and there. As a parent, many times I ask my self what will my children remember? For once in my life I knew the answer to this question. This! I am sure they will remember this day.
It was truly a heavenly day, with the sun shining on us, the sound of chirping birds, the rustling of the foliage, and the wind whispering. Are we in 2011? For a moment, I forgot about time, work, and our crazy lives. This place is so peaceful , it’s worth a hundred therapy sessions.
As we walked north where bigger trees align with the mountain, we saw a man with his son, sitting under a tree, probably having the same kind of joyful thoughts I was having. This was real, not a dream!
While all of us were picking, I noticed that these blueberries ripen at different times. Some were completely green and under ripe, while other berries were perfectly mature. How diverse and complex these little guys were.
As we harvested blueberries, I started to think about how many years I have been living in the US (14 years!), about my marriage, about how Brazil and the United States are becoming more and more intertwined in my heart, and how, perhaps, blueberries are becoming my little American Açaí. “I need to make a Brazilian recipe with blueberries”, I thought. In fact, I need to practice this marriage of ingredients more often. For me, food is love, and if my heart is divided between two countries, I need to tie them together. Ha! There is only one place I can do this: in the kitchen! Let’s go!
On the next entry I will post a recipe I created, called Blueberry Coconut Cake.