Sunday, July 08, 2007

I Picked Seventeen Berries This Year!!


Fresh Blueberry Tart with the berries from my balcony garden


Haha... This was the best I could do with the SEVENTEEN blueberries I picked this summer. (Well, actually, three unripe ones are still left on the bush.) Yes, I baked a 18 cm tart shell (recipe here, but I scaled it down), filled it with custard cream (recipe here, in Japanese), then cut out this tiny piece and put all my blueberries on it.

I know. The cream got warmer and softer while I was taking these shots. The berries in this photo look almost ready to make a landslide, don't they?

Unfortunately the berries were not as sweet as the ones I picked in previous years. I wonder why... Maybe I should have waited longer? Then I realized that I picked blueberries and used them in August in 2005 and 2006. But this year, everthing was earlier... The bush started blooming earlier, and the berries started ripening earlier. And I waited for at least 2 weeks before I picked them. But still... They probably needed to experience the summer heat to turn sweet?



But these were good, fresh berries and the tart was not bad, after all.
One good thing is that I still have the rest of the cream-filled tart shell in the fridge, so I can make a different kind of fruit tart with it. Two different fruit tarts from one tart shell. Sort of like killing two birds with one stone? (←No.) :P

BTW, this was my first time using microwave for making custard cream, but I didn't like it very much. I prefer a saucepan.


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13 comments:

Anonymous said...

All of them looks lovely.
I especially want to make oatmeal cookie. Do you mind sharing the recipe if I send you e-mail.
BTW, funnt and odd thing happend Obachan. I believe I also have Pinoko well and your past posts are real helpful. haha! No need tp reaserch! Thank you:)

Anonymous said...

Obachan,
Just lovely! Blueberries are one of my favourite berries. I know our garden everything bloomed earlier this year too. Did you put the blueberries in your refridgerator as soon as you've picked them? They will sweeten after couple days in cooler temperature. By the way, your oatmeal cookies were great! everyone loves them even my dog!

obachan said...

Ireney
Sure, email me about the cookie recipe. :)
Have you been to the hospital to check if what you have is really a Pinoko? There are several different types of ovarian cysts and the treatment differs, so I hope you see the doctor first.

Cocogirl
Oh, so it's just an irregular climate this year...
Actually I froze the berries ASA I picked them. Maybe that was a bad idea. Next summer I'll try refridgerating them.

Glad to hear that you guys incl. your dog loved the cookies (it was not really "my" recipe, though). They are real "can't-stop-eating" type cookies, aren't they?
;)

Anonymous said...

Oishii sou.... definitely have to try out some of your recipes... :)

Anonymous said...

Mmmmmm blueberries! I've tried several times to grow blueberry bushes but they just never work out.

Lia said...

i loved blueberry, ur cakes looks great ;)

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

A delicious looking tart! I love blueberries, all berries as a matter of fact...

obachan said...

mako
Oishi katta yo.

aquabot daryl
That's too bad. Is that because of the weather?

Lia
Thanks. The rest turned into cherry tart (with canned cherries).

Rosa
With you a berry happy summer! ;)

K and S said...

ooh, these look really good! and it came from your blueberry bush too, wonderful!

obachan said...

K & S
Thanx. I was really happy to get these berries this year, but I certainly don't mind getting more and more next year. (To be honest, I'm getting a bit tired of making a big deal out of less-than-a-handful berries like these ...)

Unknown said...

The tart looks great! I look on at them thinking about the sweet juiciness. I have no blueberries this year.
http://lannaelong.blogspot.com/2007/07/where-are-berries.html#links

obachan said...

Hi Lannae,
I just checked out the link. So sad. I guess I'm lucky that I had this many this summer.

 gmirage said...

looks so tempting! I love blueberries on pies! Even with only 17 is worth it, ne?