This fruity Blueberry Avocado Salsa is a refreshing snack or a delightful side to grilled meat and fish recipes. You can spice it up with some jalapeno or add more sweetness by doubling the strawberries. Either way, it’s going to make your meal!
Combining delicious blueberries and strawberries from Barrie Hill Farms is the perfect way to celebrate summer and you’ll find that entertaining has never been this easy. The kids will love this too and it’s such a wonderful way to get those necessary nutrients into them during those important years of growth.
How do you cook your fresh picked blueberries? Share in the comments section or tag us #barriehillfarms on social media with your creations. We’d love to share your inspiration with our readers!
More Blueberry Recipes from Barrie Hill Farms
Balsamic Blueberry Steak Crostinis
Barrie Hill Lemon Blueberry Cashew Cake is that irresistible combo of lemon and blueberry. It’s creamy, delicious and healthy!
Ok, on to the dessert – these pictures were taken on the fly because my friend, Paula and I were both so busy chatting that I forgot about taking more pics but these will give you a good look at her super delicious treat. This was the first taste test of her experiment and we were both delighted with the results.
Paula used Barrie Hill Farms frozen blueberries for this recipe and we both agreed that they are amazing. When you open up that package, the wonderful aroma of fresh berries greets you and you feel as though you’ve picked them that morning. Fabulous!
More Blueberry Recipes from Barrie Hill Farms
Mixed Berry Crisp is very light and super easy to make. So even if you’re not very experienced in the baking department you’re going to love it.
More Berry Recipes from Barrie Hill Farms
Quinoa Lentil Salad with Blueberries and Toasted Pecans
With the holidays and first day of winter coming up soon, there’s no better time to plan out a lovely dinner of local food recipes that will bring together your family and friends. From appetizers to dessert, we have all your local food bases covered in a delicious grouping of Ontario asparagus, strawberries, blueberries, and apples.
It’s chilly outside, but your house is warm from the oven and filled with the mouth-watering scent of home cooked foods. Your family and friends arrive, cheeks red from the snow and ravenous from the drive – but don’t worry, you’re ready and waiting with two amazing appetizer options. The first is a Strawberry Jalapeno Salsa that pairs perfectly with your favourite cracker or some corn tortillas. It’s sweet and spicy flavours combine in a unique and tongue tingling way, and best of all you only need strawberries, Jalapeno, red onion, cilantro and lime.
If you think that your guests are amazed at your culinary prowess now, just wait until they see your Balsamic Blueberry Steak Crostinis. These delightful bite sized snacks are a perfect combination of sweet and savoury, and are completely customizable. This crostini recipe includes steak that’s as spiced as you want, your favourite soft cheese, a tangy green such as spinach or arugula, and an Ontario blueberry balsamic dressing. Not only does this dish make an impressive presentation and taste delicious, but the blueberries provide some amazing health benefits as well.
Everyone has settled in by now, the wine and conversations are flowing and you’re ready to unveil the next dish – a winter chill-defying Asparagus, Spinach & Garlic Soup. This simple dish is made using only a few ingredients, but never fails to impress with it’s elegant presentation. You can add in milk or Ontario potatoes if you want to make it creamier or thicker, and the garlic in the recipe lends an extra savoury note to this humble but warming dish.
It’s time for the main event, and in a fresh twist on a classic dish you’ve prepared Oven Roasted Chicken with Apples & Grapes. The combination of meat and fruit will surprise not only your guests, but their taste buds as well. The addition of sweet Ontario apples and tart grapes brings out the natural flavours in your chicken and adds additional juiciness to the entire dish. This healthy and deceptively simple main course shows amazingly on your table and will definitely spark a conversation.
Nestled beside your chicken is the fantastically colourful Autumn Kale, Apple & Quinoa Salad that combines some of our favourite tasty superfoods. This salad looks complex but will only take you a couple minutes to prepare, and can be customized in a couple of ways to suit your taste. Barrie Hill Farms grows a variety of Ontario apples, all of which can be picked yourself from our fields. The Zestar! apple was chosen for this recipe because of its sweet-tart taste that can be compared to a Honey Crisp. It’s firm crisp flesh holds up very nicely if you want to make it ahead of time for dinner.
Dinner is over and everyone is sated, smiling and nestled down by the fire to chat and laugh, but you’re not done yet! You have one last showstopper of a dish to finish out an amazing and delicious night: a Sugar-Free Strawberry topping. This super simple, three-ingredient dish is sugar free and can be eaten on its own or on top of any number of desserts. Pairs perfectly with a drink and some entertaining stories from the past.
This is the time of year when we gather to celebrate the past 12 months, and what better way to do it than with local foods gathered from the fields in your neighbourhood. Here at Barrie Hill Farms we’re eagerly looking forward to spring, but until then are making use of our winter stores of fresh produce to create some delicious recipes for family and friends.
Balsamic Blueberry Steak Crostinis are the ultimate sweet and savory delight. Caution though – these easy appetizers are very addictive!
They are messy and sloppy and you’ll want to rip into them so be sure you’re serving them to friends and not the boss or someone you want to impress. But oh man, are they delicious!
You can do this with any type of steak and it doesn’t have to be spiced with peppercorn but it certainly adds that extra bite. Likewise with the greens – I used spinach leaves but feel free to use anything you have handy. Arugula would be a scrumptious substitute.
I added some fresh herbs to the goat cheese and whipped it to give it some fluffiness. The blueberry/balsamic sauce came together in 4 minutes with a simple addition of maple syrup.
Some fresh chives on top with a few pea tendrils strewn about make for an attractive presentation, don’t you think? Along with the herbs, the blueberries are fresh picked from Barrie Hill Farms and were beyond delicious. I’m smacking my lips again just thinking about the taste!
Another bonus about making these delectable little bites is that you can convince the grill master in your family to help out. The more, the merrier – right?
I’ve been told by American friends and family that we have too many long weekends in the summer. Is that really possible?! Americans need to lobby for that extra August holiday – we celebrate summer on the first long weekend of each August. And I suppose it’s also a celebration of surviving our winters, ha! Cheers, everyone!
More Blueberry Recipes from Barrie Hill Farms
Blueberry picking is another hallmark of a summer well-lived. The whole experience of taking the wagon to the blueberry patch, filling your baskets with these delicious blue gems, followed up with a tasty blueberry treat, is one to revisit every single year.
Blueberries ripen in July and August at blueberry farms in Ontario. They come in wild and highbush varieties. What’s commonly known as ‘wild’ is a berry that comes from a native stand of lowbush variety. These bushes aren’t intentionally planted, but are cared for with pruning and pest management. Highbush blueberries are cultivated and generally produce larger berries.
The striking blueberry not only packs a visual punch when you’re preparing dessert or a fruity summer salad. It also has an excellent nutritional impact. It’s low in calories and is a source of potassium, Vitamins A, C and B-6, Iron and Magnesium. Use a light hand with the sugar, and you have a healthy dessert option.
At Barrie Hill Farms, there is a $5 pre-paid picking fee per person if you wish to take a wagon to the fields. This cost is deducted from your purchase of berries when you’re all done. This fee helps to support our clean and tidy farm and picnic area, and for your wagon ride. You can also simply enjoy the wagon ride if you decide not to pick! It’s a lot of fun to get out in the sunshine and explore the farm.
Blueberries are excellent to freeze because they hold their nutritional value, shape, taste, and texture well. To freeze blueberries, simply wash and dry them thoroughly, removing any stems or debris, and lay them on a cookie sheet covered with parchment. You don’t want the berries to be touching as they will tend to freeze together.
Once they are frozen, transfer the berries to a freezer bag, and you’re done! You can now use the berries for a year-round taste of local produce.
Blueberries make an excellent substitution for syrup on pancakes or french toast! To make blueberry syrup, simply simmer 1 cup of washed blueberries, 1 cup of warm water, 1 cup of sugar, a teaspoon of lemon juice on the stovetop until the berries are soft and the syrup is thickened, about 15 minutes.
Leftover syrup can also be frozen for a delicious mid-winter breakfast that reminds you of summer.
Blueberries are native to Canada, so they’re an amazingly hearty plant built to withstand Ontario’s harshest winters. This makes them an excellent choice of crop for Ontario farms. Show your support for fresh, local produce, including blueberries by spending a day blueberry picking each summer.
This recipe for sweet and savory Blueberry Pizza will have your eyes popping in surprise and your taste buds thanking you as you do the happy dance. This easy blueberry pizza recipe is baked on naan bread for a tasty shortcut.
It’s blueberry season and I love being at Barrie Hill Farms to watch everyone’s excitement to climb the wagons and get into the fields to pick. This year the berries are as big as quarters and SO juicy!
I’ve included pancetta on this pizza but I’m sure it would be delicious without it as well if you’re vegetarian. I don’t cook pancetta very often and every time I do I’m left wondering why I don’t add it to everything, ha. I absolutely love it!
I used mini Naan because you know I’m all about quick and easy. The kids can help with this dish and each make their own. The base is simply honey and goat cheese combined topped with the red onion, pancetta and a little thyme. Bake for 12 minutes and add the blueberries for another 5 minutes and lunch is served!
I will be making these often throughout the summer because I love the look of surprise on everyone’s face when they take their first bite – fabulous!
What’s your favourite dish for the family this summer? Do you have a go-to meal that is sure to please everyone? Share it with me on Instagram so I can share your talents with my followers. Cheers!
More Blueberry Recipes from Barrie Hill Farms
Pan Seared Scallops in Blueberry Sauce
This is not your ordinary brown rice salad, folks, this has blueberries, toasted pecans, barley, green lentils, red quinoa, scallions, mint and more! This quinoa lentil salad is packed with goodness and deliciousness! The sweet and savory tastes go well together and it packs a whole lot of flavour into each bite. Enjoy!
In a roundabout way this salad was inspired by an appetizer I did last summer – Peppercorn Steak Crostini with Blueberry Balsamic Sauce. While creating this I discovered that I absolutely love the combination of balsamic vinegar, blueberries and a touch of pure maple syrup. I definitely needed to do something with them again. The balsamic vinegar and maple syrup penetrate the blueberries perfectly and meld together to create a sweet, fruity, tart taste that is truly memorable. You can see how dark the berries get and when I was sauteing them. It was all I could do not to gobble them up!
I think some goat cheese would be delightful in this as well. You could also use almonds instead of pecans, parsley instead of mint and how about some roasted corn in there? This is a recipe that gives you the bones and you can make it your own. It’s a great side dish for any BBQ feast. You don’t even have to tell people you saw it here first!
I’d love to know what your favorite dish is this summer. Is there one recipe that your family asks for over and over again? Take a shot next time and share it with me on Instagram at #BarrieHillFarms. You know I love hearing about what you’re making. I’m nosy like that! Cheers!
More Blueberry Recipes from Barrie Hill Farms
Seared Sea Scallops in Blueberry Sauce
This Berry French Toast Casserole mixes delicious berries with an even sweeter french toast and can be made with lots of tasty additions. Anyone that likes to eat breakfast for dinner will love this sweet treat that makes a great breakfast (or dinner!). The crunchiness of the granola adds to the already wide variety of textures in this dish that everyone is going to love.
Berry French Toast Casserole is now my favorite meal! Oh boy, I could have this for breakfast, lunch and dinner! The best thing is that you don’t need refined sugar when you’ve got the sweetness from all those berries PLUS I added some pure maple syrup and freshly squeezed orange juice. Gotta love it, right?
If you’re like me and demand some texture in your food then I’ve got that for you too. A delicious maple granola tops this treat – love that extra tasty crunch! My friend, Fran, from Not Yer Granny’s Granola hand-bakes it in small batches and it’s chock full of natural, healthy ingredients. Of course, this doesn’t require three berries. If you just want to use one that works just fine, too. For a berry nut like me, I would have used 10 varieties if they were available to me!
I love it when I can create a meal with locally made products. The berries are from Barrie Hill Farms, the delicious eggs, freshly baked bread, and pure maple syrup are from local markets and the milk is from a local company, Sheldon Creek Dairy. Don’t you love the little bottle shaped like a maple leaf for the maple syrup? We’re very proud of our syrup up here, ha!
You can make this in a baking dish or let the kids help make up their own ramekins. You can also prepare this the night before and just cover and refrigerate. I simply poured the egg mixture over the bread and let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes before tossing it in the oven. The flavors were top notch so either way will work depending on your schedule.
This doesn’t have to be just for the weekends. By preparing it the night before, it’s an easy and delicious way to start your weekday as well. I especially love this recipe because it’s a year-round treat. You can even use well-frozen berries in the winter! I think we all need more french toast, don’t you?
Don’t forget to share your photos with me on Instagram with the hashtag, #BarrieHillFarms. I want to know what you’re going with your berries this summer. Cheers!
More Berry Recipes from Barrie Hill Farms
Seared Scallops in Blueberry Sauce