Iced Blueberries

It doesn't get more Canadian than a toque full of blueberries. We spent Thanksgiving weekend at my Dad's place near La Ronge. A late berry season combined with relatively early snowfall made for some interesting conditions. During an 8 km turkey burning hike up the Don Allen trails, we spotted blueberry bushes sagging with fruit and glazed with snow. Perfectly ripe and frost-sweetened, they made an excellent trail snack. The rest of the group ate a couple handfuls and kept moving. I was transfixed and flummoxed. All these berries and no place to stash them! Fortunately, my new toque (from Robertson's Trading, my favourite store in the world and subject of a future blog entry) was equal to the task.

It's hard to explain my berry picking obsession to those who aren't similarly afflicted. Some people think it's kind of nuts to head into bear country armed only with ice cream pails and bug spray but to me it's the most enticing of excursions. Consider it thusly. How fast would a mechanic move if you told him there were scads of prime auto parts, free for the taking, lying in a field somewhere? Or a musician, if you mentioned a warehouse full of give-away, mint condition instruments? For a cook who values freshness and taste, wild berries have a certain siren song. "Come and get me," they croon, "No one has sprayed me with chemicals or shipped me hundreds of miles. I'm full of nutrition and if you don't pick me I'll simply drop to the ground in despair!" Now you know the scope of my obsession...berries talk to me.

But I'm not the only one. There are oodles of women (my Mom included) whose faces brighten at the very mention of berry picking, who never, ever get rid of plastic containers with lids and whose hearts hold memories of convivial days spent in the bush swatting mosquitos, solving life's problems and listening to the satisfying plink, plink, plunk of blue gold dropping into a pail. And in case you're wondering, the average toque holds about four cups of berries!

Wild Blueberry Tomato Sauce:

2 handfuls blueberries
3 stalks celery, diced
small red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 big, ripe tomatoes, chopped, unpeeled, unseeded
(or a big can of diced tomatoes)
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt to taste
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. each garlic powder and onion powder
3 splashes red wine or balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
3 to 4 Tbsp. canola or olive oil or a combo

* Heat oil in pot then add garlic, onion and celery. Cook, stirring, until garlic is kind of crispy. Deglaze with the wine, then add tomatoes, sugar and spices. Simmer until tomatoes moosh and flavours mingle. Then, carefully, reverently incorporate your precious blueberries. Cook about 15 minutes more, not mixing too much. Add a bit of hot water if mixture is too thick. This is wonderful with bison meatballs and over pasta.