Blueberries

Picking blueberries for healthful treatsFeeling a little blue this summer? That's a good thing if you're talking about blueberries. The pigment in the indigo fruit makes it a great source of antioxidants, which can help to prevent cancer and other diseases. For a free recipe brochure, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Healthful Treats, North American Blueberry Council, 4995 Golden Foothill Parkway, Suite No. 2, El Dorado Hills, Calif. 95762. Enjoy good-for-you temptations like Creamy Blueberry Dip: Mix 2 cups blueberries, 1/3 cup light cream cheese and 1 tablespoon apricot preserves in a food processor until smooth.

Q.Half of my 14 blueberry plants are dying. More than half the leaves dropped off or never developed. They also produced poorly last year. We use a well, so we couldn't water them during the drought. Will they recover?A.They may and they may not. Blueberries have shallow root systems and no root hairs, so they cannot tolerate dry soil conditions. The symptoms you're seeing are probably a result of the 1997 drought.Keep the plants well-watered but don't fertilize. Remove them this summer if they become completely defoliated and don't put on any new growth.

There is something idyllic about walking around a well-landscaped property, no matter what its size, and being able to casually pluck the bounty of nature from otherwise conventional-looking ground covers, shrubs and trees. What super-market could offer as much con-venience and freshness as something you have nurtured yourself? With a little extra planning, even a very small garden can provide this return to Eden with minimal expenditure of time and money.While some of the most popular edibles, such as citrus fruits, mangoes and avocados, are not compatible with our climate, and others may call for large, unconfined spaces - think of chestnuts, pecans and full-size pome fruits - the home landscaper still has a wealth of choices.

WHILE I HAVE long believed the adage that "the best fruit is at the top of the tree," I have rarely put this belief into practice. I wasn't willing to climb very high or work very hard to get the good stuff.I figured that if a fruit chose to reside in some hard-to-reach location, it was a sign that the fruit, like Greta Garbo, wanted to be left alone. I was content to feast on life's conveniently-located fruit.Until last weekend. That was when I tasted wild blueberries fetched from a remote island in the middle of a distant New Hampshire lake.

There is something idyllic about walking around a well-landscaped property, no matter what its size, and being able to casually pluck the bounty of nature from otherwise conventional-looking ground-covers, shrubs and trees. What supermarket could offer such convenience and wholesome freshness as something you have nurtured yourself? Even a very small garden can offer this return to Eden with a little extra planning.While some of the most popular edibles are not compatible with our climate (such as citrus fruits, mangoes, avocados)

Small, sweet and easy to eat, blueberries are the favorite fruit to add to pancakes and muffins; they're also delicious in pies, cobblers and cakes.But, like most summer fruit, they're also wonderful eaten plain. They can be added to salads, sprinkled over cereal or simply topped with a spoonful of creme fraiche or sour cream.Mom's blueberry muffinsMakes 12 muffins2 cups flour3 teaspoons baking powder1/2 teaspoon salt2/3 cup sugar1/2 stick butter (4 tablespoons)2/3 cup milk1 egg2 cups fresh or frozen blueberriestopping (recipe follows)

Some kitchen gardeners have only pots to grow in, yet manage container crops fruitful enough to be admired by those with acres of backyard space. Even if you're lucky enough to have a big plot to grow vegetables, there's good reason to have plants in pots in your kitchen garden.Certain herbs do best in pots: The true French tarragon must be wintered indoors, and sprightly spearmint spreads invasively if its roots are not confined. Lemon grass, essential to Thai cuisine, needs a pot because it is invasive and frost-tender.

Friends attempting to create a slice of rural life in the city once planted blueberries at the corner of their driveway. Much to my surprise, they flourished there, amid the car fumes and the blacktop.The knee-high bushes bore clusters of berries that practically fell into the bowl.And it's that time of year again. Find a pick-your-own spot. Take a bowl and position it beneath the bush. Brush a hand along the clusters of berries, and the ripe ones will drop into the bowl.Blueberries help pancakes transcend themselves.

Thurmont -- I am fickle about blackberries. I like them. Then I don't. The other day, for instance, I bought a box of blackberries at a roadside stand in the mountains of Western Maryland.I spotted the stand, called Catoctin Mountain Orchard Inc. Roadside Market, while driving along Route 15 just outside Thurmont.The market sat next to an orchard, and the rows of fruit trees stretched up toward the mountains. It was scenic. Inside the market there was also a lot to look at. My eyes darted from boxes of fresh blueberries to blackberries to cantaloupe to red and yellow plums to peaches.

They add color and flavor, and they're among the easiest fruits to prepare. Just rinse and they're ready. So it's time to stop confining blueberries to muffins or Sunday morning pancakes and experiment a little.Blueberries work equally well in fruit salads and green salads. They're a sturdy fruit that hold their shape well, so they can be tossed with abandon. Try them in a sorbet, mix them with nectarines for an innovative poultry stuffing or enjoy them simply with a little chevre on crackers.

Which came first, the berry or the shortcake? No matter; they are made for each other. Berry and shortcake season is just beginning, and for several months, you will have your choice of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries picked at the peak of ripeness and dripping with sweet juice just waiting to be heaped on freshly baked shortcakes. Start your ovens, put the cream in the bowl and get ready for the feast. Biscuits are the basic shortcake, but enriching biscuits and making shortcakes that take advantage of interesting combinations - orange with strawberries, chocolate with raspberries, and cinnamon with blueberries - make every shortcake worthy of its berry.

I've heard that blueberries have a beneficial effect on the brain. Can you tell me more about this? Is the research recent and credible? James Joseph, Ph.D., at Tufts University is a leading neuroscientist and expert on the effects of berries on brain function. He has done a number of studies in both aging rodents and humans demonstrating cognitive benefits from blueberries. We see this research as highly credible (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Feb. 13, 2008). Joseph recommends frozen berries as an economical way to get the antioxidant potential of this fruit.

The 32nd Street Farmers' Market in Baltimore opened last Saturday morning with four produce farmers unloading batches of fresh blueberries for sale. Two and a half hours later, the berries were gone - undoubtedly scooped up by patrons who covet not only the seasonal fruit's sweet taste and variety of uses, but its abundance of health benefits. In fact, blueberries routinely make lists of nutrient-packed victuals commonly known as super foods. They are among the most important blocks in the food pyramid: vegetables, fruits, meats, beverages and dairy products that have helped popularize such terms as Omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and beta carotene.

A series to help you cook with the bounty of the season. It's blueberry season, a time for filling pails and pie shells. From now until the first week in August, home cooks can visit farms in just about every county of Maryland and load their buckets with blueberries for about $2 a pound. Or, if you are Carol Kressen of Ellicott City, you can step into your yard, where a half-dozen blueberry bushes planted by the home's previous owner produce more blueberries than your three children can eat - or sell.

WASHINGTON -- Raspberries and blueberries are the bonanza fruit of the day, flying out of supermarkets in teeny boxes at super prices. They're everything the modern consumer demands: candy-like, ultra-convenient, famously healthful and available year round, thanks largely to Southern Hemisphere farmers. The market is so hot that both domestic production and imports are growing and - in defiance of usual market economics - supply, demand and price are all at record highs. The berry bonanza is so hot that there's a two-year wait for plants from commercial nurseries.

Koba Cafe 664 E. Fort Ave. -- 410-986-0366 Hours --6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays; 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Sundays In and out in --2 minutes This muffin, $1.89, was sweeter than most cupcakes. It had a rich, vanilla accent with few blueberries and a good deal of sugar on top. If you're looking for a candylike muffin, head here. Know of a good carryout place? Let us hear about it. Write to sam.sessa@baltsun.com.

What it is -- Single-serving applesauce blended with blueberries What we like about it --This new blend from Mott's won raves from our 3-year-old taster, who loves both apples and blueberries. It has no added sugar and half the calories of regular applesauce. What it costs --$2.39 for a six-cup pack Where to buy --Available at grocery stores Per serving (1 3.9-ounce cup): --50 calories, 0 grams fat, 0 grams saturated fat, 13 grams carbohydrate, 0 grams protein, 1 gram fiber, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 0 milligrams sodium

Kwon's Fresh Produce Whole Foods 1001 Fleet St., Baltimore -- 410-528-1640 Hours --7 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays; 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays In and out in --6 minutes At this supermarket, you can find more exotic fruit salad ingredients with plenty of flavor, like blueberries and blackberries, tossed in with staples like cantaloupe and honeydew. Our order, which came in a bowl the same size as the one from Kwon's, cost $5.38. Know of a good carryout place? Let us hear about it. Write to sam.sessa@baltsun.

Quick breads are the answer for the cook who wants to bake an old-fashioned treat, but doesn't have the time to wait for dough to rise or the patience for fancy decorations. It isn't surprising that America, which gave the world McDonald's, was the country where quick breads began. Cooks in the 18th century discovered that pearlash (made from wood ash) could act as a leavening agent. Today, baking soda or baking powder makes quick breads rise as they bake. Chef Shirley Coleman, pastry instructor at the Baltimore International College, demonstrated a simple method for mixing muffin batter, relying simply on a spoon or spatula and the cook's strong arm. The main thing to keep in mind, she says, is not to overmix; muffin batter is supposed to be lumpy when it's poured in the pan. liz.atwood@baltsun.

I have read that sunlight is a valuable source of vitamin D and we benefit from some sun exposure each day. How much skin needs to be exposed for this benefit? Does this also work on cloudy days? Of course, being outdoors in the winter requires heavy clothing. Exposing your face and hands for 15 to 20 minutes of sunlight three times a week can provide adequate vitamin D levels even in the winter. UV rays can get through light cloud cover but not sunscreen. If cold temperatures keep you bundled up, consider a vitamin D supplement (800 to 1,200 international units)