I never saw Violet Beauregarde

So, I went blueberrry picking for the first time, and July is the perfect time to pick blueberries in the 'burbs of Nashville. When I got to the super secret blueberry picking place, I saw the cutest little teenaged bird in the blueberry bush. I say the bird was teenaged because it still had some fuzzy feathers on its tail, it was small and not full grown, but not a baby bird. I took my photo and went on my way. I looked around for a bush with lots of blueberries. I had a soft-side lunch box with a shoulder strap to collect the berries, and I started picking the firm purple berries and putting them into the box. One for me, one for the box, two for me , one for the box, two for me, one for box, etc.Then I saw the Joe Pye weed growing up through the blueberry bushes with the stormy skies behind them. I just thought I had to take a photo of these beautiful weeds before I knock them over, rip them from the ground and clear them from the blueberry bush. All that remains of the Joe Pye weeds is the stormy photo of them. Don't think I am too cruel to plants. Joe Pye weeds compete and win over resources, and suffocate the blueberry plants. The keepers of the blueberry plants do not use herbicides, so the only way to control weeds is to do it the old fashioned way: hand pull them.After the Joe Pye weed encounter, I turned to take a look at the blueberry patch's neighbor, and I really thought how pretty the countryside is. Just look at how gorgeous this farm is while being only 20 miles from Broadway in downtown Nashville. The view of the neighbors is exactly like one would vision while reading a book about the Tennesse countryside.So back to three for me, one for the box, three for me, one for the box. After 2 hours, I was full and I had about 2 quarts of sweet, tart, flavorful berries. I took them home, washed them and air dried them. I placed the rinsed berries on a jelly roll pan and towels to dry them , then I took the pan outside to my neighbors front flower bed and took this lovely picture. This picture is a slice of what I get to see every day when I get home (a house beautiful flowerbed), sans blueberries.I made a blueberry crisp the fattening way (for the first time the fattening way) with sugar, butter, granola and flour (albeit whole wheat). I made the crisp topping part with a stick of butter, a cup of flour, 2/3 cup sugar, 2 cups of granola all crumbled together and refrigerated. The berries, I rinsed the blueberries then added 1/4 c sugar, pinch of nutmeg, pinch of star anise, 2 tsp cornstarch to coat the berries. Tossed the berries in a greased pyrex, topped with the chilled crumble topping, then baked at 350 degrees for 30 min, or until I wanted to eat it.

Granola I made from 6 cup rolled oats, 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 cup soy milk, 1/3 cup honey, raw sliced almonds, pecans or other nuts, pinch of salt - all mixed to moisten all oats, then dump onto a jelly roll pan to toast at 325 degrees for 15-20 min turning once until lightly golden. I don't buy processed cereal, I just eat my granola. I like it!

There is a skinny way to make the blueberry crisp, and that is to put only granola on top of blueberries before baking. I have always made crisps the skinny way. I use just granola with other fruit too, like apples, and it tastes just great with only the granola. I had no idea that added sugar and butter even existed for blueberry crisp until now!

The buttery way was truly a treat and devine. The skinny way, which was good when I did not know any better, is just a faint memory for me now. Now that I have been to the dark side of sugar, butter and flour to top a crisp, not just my low fat granola, I now know what is devine in the world of crisps! Oh, why did I have to go to the dark side of desserts? I was happy with just fruit and granola, but now things are different. Oh my, the sweetness of the sugar, the richness of the butter, how can I live without the fattening way of the crisp?
I finished off that fattening crisp in short order, along with the bowl of berries in the fridge. My fingers are itching to get more berries, and make yet one more blueberry crisp the fattening way. Oh the day of more berries! Please, tomorrow come so I can get more berries! Oh the fattening Blueberry Crisp calls my name!