Blueberry Pie and Other Delights!

Sadly, I missed blueberry picking season this year, but have been picking up pints at the farmers markets and it has been wonderful to have fresh blueberries around. They are definitely my favorite berry next to the strawberry. One of the amazing things about blueberries is the gelatin like substance it creates when blended and set. This first recipe takes full advantage of this phenomenon. One of my amazing friends made this pie for me and shared the recipe, so when there were enough blueberries in the fridge, I had to try it. This is a no cook, no bake pie, so it is perfect for those hot summer days.

Fresh Blueberry Pie

crust:

2 cups raw almonds or 1 3/4 cups almond meal

1/2 cup dates, seeds removed

pinch sea salt

Grind almonds in a food processor until fine. Add the dates and salt and process again until you have a mixture that sticks together when you press it with your fingers. Dump into a glass pie plate and press to form a crust covering the bottom and the sides.

filling:

4 cups fresh blueberries (I used 2 pints and had enough)

2 average size bananas

1 1/2 Tbls raw honey

Set aside a little over a half of a cup of blueberries. In a food processor place remaining blueberries along with the bananas and honey and process until smooth. In a bowl or in the food processor container after taking out the blade, stir in the whole blueberries setting aside a small handful. Pour into pie crust and garish with remaining handful of blueberries. The filling will be runny, but it will gel up in the fridge. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours and serve.

There was a pint of blueberries left and some of the almond crust mixture, so I decided to create a breakfast cracker. My kitchen was overflowing with leftover almond crust because I had soaked the 2 cups of almonds which caused them to swell. As a result there was more crust than needed and it also was not sticking together well because it was so wet. Soaking raw almonds overnight removes the enzyme inhibitors in the skins so that they are easier to digest. When using almonds in raw food recipes it is recommended to soak them and then dehydrate them until crunchy. It really does make the almond taste better in my opinion.

For the breakfast crackers I used raw buckwheat, ground up into flour and then mixed with water to create a batter. The blueberries were put in the food processor with one banana and a handful of dates and processed until smooth but a bit chunky. The blueberries were incorporated into the buckwheat batter along with a half a cup or so of the almond mixture and spread it onto dehydrator sheets lined with parchment paper.

I dehydrated them for about 12 - 18 hours at 104 degrees F until crunchy and then broke them into pieces and put them in a covered container in the refrigerator. They don't taste that sweet by themselves, but Matt and I have come up with a couple ways to enjoy them.

Matt prefers spreading organic strawberry all fruit jam on top. I prefer a raw chocolate spread. Love Street Living Foods makes an amazing chocolate coconut spread. It is delicious topped with some sliced bananas and makes a great light breakfast.

Experiments will be continued with this breakfast cracker recipe. Sprouted buckwheat would make it more nutritious, so I would like to try sprouting and dehydrating the buckwheat before grinding and mixing it up into a batter. Hopefully there will be a perfected recipe for you all in the near future.

How do you love to use blueberries? I would love to hear from you!