I was growing up. Every afternoon, she would sit down with all three of us kids in a small green chair to read stories like “The Big Red Ball” and “Drummer Hoff Fired it Off.” “Blueberries for Sal” was not one of my favorites. McCloskey’s world of blueberry covered hills and wild bears was foreign to a child growing up in Melvin, Iowa. Maybe it would have had more resonance if it had been called “Sweet Corn for Sal.” Still, the story stuck with me. That’s probably due to the beautiful blue ink drawings that McCloskey used to illustrate his simple story. Most striking is the scene that both opens and closes the book. It shows Sal and her mother in a gorgeous old kitchen canning blueberries for winter. The drawing is a time capsule of life in the 1940s. It was this image that inspired my morning of blueberry picking. It was with great anticipation that I dropped my first blueberries into my little plastic pail. But instead of “kuplink, Continues on Page 54
Blueberry-lemon icebox pie ice cream
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream 6 large egg yolks 15-ounce can sweetened condensed milk 1/2 cup lemon juice zest of 1/2 lemon 1 pint blueberries In a heavy saucepan bring cream to a simmer. Place the egg yolks in a bowl. Slowly beat the hot cream into the egg yolks. Pour the mixture back into the pan and place over low heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly. Don’t let the mixture boil or eggs will scramble. Remove from heat. Pour hot custard through a strainer into a large, clean bowl. Allow the custard to cool slightly. Then stir in the sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice and zest. Cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight. Stir the cold custard well, then freeze in your ice-cream freezer according to manufacturer’s instructions. Fold the blueberries into the ice cream when it is finished, then put in freezer for 1 hour to harden before serving. Source: Louisville Courier-Journal
GANNETT NEWS SERVICE
Now that you have a bunch of fresh blueberries, what are you going to do with them? They can be folded into a bowl of blueberry-lemon icebox pie ice cream.
WNCMOM.COM, THE PLACE WHERE LOCAL MOMS CONNECT
53