Guest Author - Launa Stout
Union, Maine, hosts their annual blueberry festival in conjunction with the Union County Fair during the last full week in August. They begin each day with a pancake breakfast, served by the “Blueberry Queen’ and her “princesses”.
Later in the day they host a pie-baking competition and also a pie-eating contest.
This event celebrates the agriculture in the state of Maine. There is entertainment and also a variety of activities for every age group. Families love to come and spend the entire day at the fair and festival. There is much to see in the surrounding areas and many folks travel a fair distance to enjoy several days in the Mid-Coast area.
Be sure to check out “Wild Blueberry Corner” - the Blueberry Acres booth provides information on Maine’s official State Berry.
There is a video that shows cultivating and harvesting methods for Maine’s wild blueberry.
Free informational brochures, cooking tips, recipes and other information will be available. Best of all you can try a sample of wild blueberries. They will give away posters, balloons, and t-shirts on Friday – which is Wild Blueberry Festival Day.
Also check out “The Wild Blueberry Hut”
They provide a variety of wild blueberry delights – muffins, coffee cakes, pastries and wild blueberry pie. On the actual Wild blueberry Festival Day the hut will cook and serve thousands of individual wild blue berry pies – free to all fair patrons.
There is also a Union Fair Souvenir Booth where you can find a wide variety of wild blueberry items for sale: t-shirts, sweatpants, pins, key rings, hats, seat cushions, pencils, pens, decals, water bottles to name a few of the items.
Main Wild Blueberry Muffin
Ingredients:
- 1 cup quick cooking oats
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- 2 Tbsp molasses
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups Maine Wild blueberries
- 1 Tbsp flour
TOPPING-
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
Directions:
1.Turn oven on to 400 degrees to preheat.
2.In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
3.In a different bowl, whisk together milk, molasses, lemon juice, oil and eggs.
4. Using muffin method add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, but don’t over mix.
5. Toss blueberries with 1 Tablespoon flour and gently fold them into the batter.
6. Spray the muffin pan with baking grease spray.
7.Sprinkle tops of the muffins with granulated sugar.
8.Bake for 20 minutes.
9. Remove from pans immediately, cool.
Wild Blueberry Banana Bread
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup chopped nuts
- 2eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 cups Maine Wild Blueberries
Directions:
1. Turn oven on to 350 degrees.
2. Cream butter and sugar
3. Mix the eggs and the vanilla
4. Add the dry ingredients and mix
5. Stir in the bananas
6. Fold in the blueberries
7. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes until done.
Wild Blueberry Drop Cookies
Ingredients:
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg, well beaten
- 1 teaspoon lemon or almond extract
- ½ cup milk2 ½ cups flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Maine wild blueberries
Directions:
1. Turn oven on to 325 degrees
2. Stir the dry ingredients together
3. In a separate bowl cream the shortening and the sugar
4. Add the eggs to that bowl and beat well
5. Add the milk mixture to the creamed mixture and alternate with the dry ingredients
6. Gently fold in the wild blueberries
7. Drop by teaspoon on greased cookie sheets
8. Bake at 325 for 12-15 minutes.
Enjoy the day with your family!
