Blueberry picking is in full swing here in Northeast Ohio until Labor Day. I have wonderful memories of blueberry picking as a child with my mother and friends. Only then we went wild blueberry picking and spent a greater part of the day “hunting” for blueberries. It was fun, we were kids, we found fun in the ordinary and simple pleasures of life; much like I do in my adult life. The simple pleasures bring the most joy.
Does anyone remember the classic book “Blueberries for Sal”? I loved this book as a child and I haven’t seen it since I was a child. I do remember reading it over and over and over. Maybe because I was a bit like Sal!
Wikpedia describes the book: “The book opens and closes with a picture of little Sal and her mother in the kitchen, the mother is canning blueberries… One sees in this opening picture Sal entertaining herself by placing the canning rings on her wrist and a spoon, a simple childlike act which helps to set the stage for Sal’s obvious child actions throughout the books. This is not to be the overly diligent or angelic girl of so many other books, Sal is a real child figure. She gets into mischief and causes her mom no end of trouble.”[2]
Little Sal’s Mother takes her to Blueberry Hill to pick berries. Sal drops three berries in her bucket, then eats them. This continues as she and her mother concentrate on the berries and gradually get separated on the hill. What they don’t realize is that a mother bear and her cub have also come to Blueberry Hill to eat berries for the winter. The book uses a number of visual and verbal techniques to compare and contrast the bear and the human families. Both families pictures are similar in compositions, but they head in opposite directions when they reach the blueberry patch. Little Sal’s Mother tells her that they can’t eat all the berries because they need to save them to can for the winter, but the bear mother tells her child to eat as much as it can to store up fat for winter. The bear’s way of preparing for winter is more natural for Sal who soon wanders off to eat.
Sal and the bear cub get mixed up and follow after the wrong mother. It takes the mothers several minutes to realize they’re being followed by the wrong child; it isn’t until the bear cub tries to eat from Sal’s mother’s bucket and the mother bear hears the “ku-plink, ku-plank, ku-plunk” sound of Sal dropping blueberries into her tin pail that they realize what happened. Ultimately each child is reunited with its proper mother and they both leave the hill. Just before leaving Sal drops a blueberry into her empty pail. The end papers show Sal again playing in the kitchen while her mother cans berries.
If you haven’t done so why not go out blueberry picking and capture the memories of your childhood? Or … take your children along and create new memories. However you get your blueberries you will love this moist lemon bread bursting with blueberries. It is over the top good! ENJOY!
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup white sugar
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8×4 inch loaf pan.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together butter, 1 cup sugar, juice and eggs. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into egg mixture alternately with milk. Fold in lemon zest, nuts, and blueberries. Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine lemon juice and 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl. Remove bread from pan and drizzle with glaze. Cool on a wire rack.
Source: allrecipes.com
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