Very Berry Blueberry Pancakes

This past fourth of July week was a lot of fun. Along with the barbeques, fireworks and beach action, my mom and sister came to stay with me. I love having family come and visit. It feels so homey, just like the old days growing up in Connecticut, even though home is now on Long Island.

Also this time of year is when our rasberry crop comes in and my mother loves picking them when she comes out. It reminds her of growing up in Sweden, where she would pick berries in the local woods when she was a young girl.

She told me it was a great way to get away from doing family chores. The woods were quiet and she had time to herself and her mother couldn't help being that mad at her when she showed up at the end of the day with a bucket full of berries.



I got to go berry picking once with her while we were in Sweden back in 1997. We drove up into the mountains outside of Stromsund. That's my mother's home town where she grew up. It's in the northern part of Sweden, in the region called Jamtland. That's just a few miles south of Lapland and the
arctic. Temperature are cool up there even in August.

The woods in northern Sweden are beautiful. Miles and miles of evergreens. Lush, quiet and green, green, green. It's like the land of Narnia come to life. We picked blueberries all day long, always keeping one eye out for bears, who also love berries. 



               My mom picking rasberries in the garden


Luckily bears aren't a concern on Long Island. Here we grow rasberries in our garden. We've already gathered at least three large half gallon tubs and there's more coming in. There is also a great place to pick blueberries in Flanders off of Birch Creek Road on the way to the water. It's a dirt road and just before the water there are some woods off to the left and in there are bush after bush of blueberries. But you have to bring bug spray, because ticks and mosquitoes are a big problem there, as it's very damp and marshy.

So with blueberries and rasberries in clear abundance, we made blueberry pancakes last weekend. It was great. Saturday morning with my mother and sister in the kitchen, just like old times.

I remember as a child helping my mother cook pancakes on the weekends. She would make the batter up, then I would ladle it out onto the hot skillet, forming the pancakes, then flipping them. It's one of my fondest memories. Calling everyone to the table and digging into a stack of golden pancakes, smeared with butter and dripping with maple syrup. Yummy, yum!

So we made up the batter, which is super easy, then threw in tons of blueberries and some raspberries as well for good measure. With this pancake recipe you can basically add anything you like; fruit, chocolate chips, plus they're also great plain. Simple, filling and so delicious. Enjoy.