CSA | Box #1| Blueberry Pancakes

Grizz got me a fantastic book for my birthday a few weeks ago: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver. Reading this book, I felt encouraged to try one more time to sign up for a CSA at Local Harvest. I found one in Silver Spring where I can pick up a box of fresh, local fruit and veg for just $30.

Included in this box were:

• Purple Kale
• Rainbow Chard
• Heirloom Zucchini x 2
  
• Yellow Squash x 2
• Cucumbers x 2
• Green beans (a bag the size of my head)
• Heirloom lettuce
• Onion
  
• Black Raspberries
• Blueberries

It was a beautiful box! Gillian McKeith would have been proud of my local, real food purchase. I felt like a champ bringing it home. I already had designs in my head for what I would do with all of this scrummy (hi KMac!) food! I shared my victory immediately with Grizz as we delicately tasted the black raspberries and the blueberries the size of nickels. I don't think I've had raspberries of blueberries that tasted that good since I was a kid in Podunk, Michigan. Right then and there, I promised myself that I would try to eat local, in-season food as much as possible. And if that means that I must forgo eggplants and tomatoes in January, then so be it. That thing formerly-known as a tomato come January doesn't hold a candle to the flavor of the tomatoes I know I'll be getting from a local farmer in August!

With visions of nickel-sized blueberries dancing in my head, I knew that I must make something that allows me to share this bounty of flavor! I decided on blueberries pancakes for Independence Day breakfast (see photo above). Pouring these babies onto the griddle and then listening as the blueberries burst into the batter turning it a juicy shade of purple, made me smile. I used a mix that I bought at the Amish Country Market a couple towns away, and always make sure that I add a little touch of cinnamon and vanilla to the mix, no matter what other fruit I might add. These pancakes? They're an amazing summer breakfast, and they tasted just like homemade blueberry cobbler. YUM!

As I continue to read this book through to the end, I hope that I'm inspired to try more and more local varieties of vegetables that are in season around here. I can't wait to try BK's recipe for Zucchini and chocolate chip cookies! Stay tuned for more!