Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Blueberry Love: 46 Sweet and Savory Recipes for Pies, Jams, Smoothies, Sauces, and More


Blueberry Love is a beautifully presented collection of recipes developed and collected by Cynthia Graubart.Due out 27th April 2021 from Storey, it's 104 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats. 

I really love blueberries. Second to strawberries, they're my favorite fruit (sorry). I love them in everything, and honestly there are some dishes which they give a star turn, such as blueberry muffins, cheesecakes, and in smoothies. I am also a keen gardener and the last few years have seen me expanding my blueberry bushes by propagating my bushes and getting starts from my gardening friends. That means the months between the middle of August to October are full of wonderful tart sweet healthy blueberries around here. Normally I make a lot of jam, but this cookbook came at exactly the perfect time for me.

An introduction contains lots of logical tips for handling and cooking with blueberries as well as kitchen notes and some comments on ingredients and pantry choices for best results. The recipes themselves are arranged roughly thematically in chapters: Breakfast, Salads & Sides, Lunch & Dinner, and Dessert.

The recipes have an introduction header and description with ingredients listed bullet style in a sidebar. Ingredient measures are given in US standard only followed by step by step directions. Required ingredients are easily sourced and will be available at any well stocked grocery store.There are a few gluten free and many vegetarian friendly recipes included. 

The photography and food styling are exceptionally well done and attractive. I found myself flipping through the recipes and having trouble deciding what I wanted to try first - they all look really good. In the end, we tried the sautéed pork tenderloin with blueberry balsamic mustard glaze and the instant pot blueberry swirl cheesecake (love my intant pot. and cheesecake. and blueberries). Both recipes were easy to follow and gave extremely good results. The balsamic glaze was -amazing- and I've tried it since then with huge success on chicken fillets. I fully intend to use it on a roast chicken and possibly on the Thanksgiving turkey. I'm not joking about the glaze - it's the best marinade/glaze I've ever done ... the author is definitely onto something here.

Five stars. This is a must have for gardeners (or readers with a pick-your-own farm or wild blueberries within driving distance) who are looking for ways to use up those glorious delicious little blue globes. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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