I try to think of fun things to do with my 8-year-old granddaughter Olivia. It is a little more challenging during this time of sheltering in place since we also want to be safe. I was happy to learn that Duckworth Family Farm in Sebastopol was opening for blueberry picking. They are a certified organic farm that employs social distance safety protocols. They have a fabulous hand washing station as well as port-a-potties should you need them. Masks are required.
Olivia and I went on Saturday, June 13, the opening day. It was wonderful being outdoors in God's lovely creation. We enjoyed the sights, including the sheep grazing near the blueberry field, which is fenced.
We got a lovely surprise when we went to pay for our haul - they were selling homemade blueberry ice cream. So delicious!
We spent a little over an hour picking and enjoying the lovely surroundings.
Then it was time to head home and clean our berries.
I had asked Facebook friends for their favorite recipe using blueberries. We decided to make a blueberry coffee cake recommended by Olivia's godfather, Robert. You can find it here:
We followed Robert's recommendation to double the amount of streusel topping.
Olivia was really into making the coffee cake, so we will show you most of the process in pictures. This shows you that children can easily be involved in making this recipe.
Gather the dry ingredients for the topping and measure them into a bowl, then mix.
Add in the softened pats of butter, then mix by hand until you have the topping completely mixed.
Next you make the coffee cake batter. Mix the dry ingredients and get your milk ready. You will also use eggs and the lemon zest. Olivia wore her kid safety gloves when grating a lemon for the lemon zest.
Now use your hand mixer to combine your ingredients.
You need to hand fold the blueberries into the batter mixture.
Put your batter mixture into a 9" x 9" greased pan and add the topping mix.
Then it is baking time.
The blueberry coffee cake came out of the oven and sat for 20 minutes; shortly thereafter it went on a plate.
All family members gave this recipe a thumbs up. We will definitely make it again. We hope you enjoy making it.
Know that Duckworth Family Farm is going to be open on Saturday, June 27, if you are interested in picking. We recommend you go early.
Continued blessings,
Diane