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Blueberry pancakes showcase garden gems

Recipe: Blueberry sour cream pancakes with homegrown blueberries

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED MAY 22, 2022

Blueberry pancakes on a plate — These pancakes feature homegrown blueberries.
(Photos by Debbie Arrington)

My four blueberry plants have finally started bearing enough fruit to actually make something!

Anyone who has tried to grow blueberries in Sacramento understands the high cost of this spring fruit.

Every blueberry is like a precious little gem, tickled off of clusters one by one by hand. That allows the green berries more time to mature, but also means the plants need to be monitored almost daily. (Otherwise, birds may take all the ripe ones.)

Usually, my blueberries get eaten immediately in the garden; with only one or two ripe ones a day, why not? But this spring, my Sunshine Blue bush produced beautiful, large blueberries that were too numerous to just nibble. When my harvest measured 1 cup, it was time for blueberry pancakes.

Sour cream gives these thick pancakes a rich, soft texture that’s a perfect cushion for the delicate blueberries. They’re sweet enough that syrup is optional (but really good).

Blueberry sour cream pancakes

Makes 7 to 8 (5-inch) pancakes

Blueberry bush — Blueberries ripen on a Sunshine Blue bush.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup sour cream
¼ cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup blueberries, washed with any stems removed
Butter for grill

Instructions:

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a smaller bowl, mix together sour cream and milk. Add egg.

Flip the pancakes when small bubbles

start to appear on the surface.

Blend sour cream mixture with dry ingredients just until combined. Add oil or melted butter, then vanilla. It will be a thick batter but still can be poured from a spoon; add a little more milk if needed.

Pick over blueberries to remove any stems. Gently fold blueberries into batter.

Heat pancake grill or frying pan to medium. Melt butter to cover the cooking surface. Ladle batter onto grill, allowing about ¼ cup of batter per pancake. Each pancake will expand; space them well apart.

Cook until little bubbles start to appear on the surface of each pancake, about 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and cook until done, about 2 more minutes. Pancakes should be golden on each side.

Serve immediately with more butter and syrup or dusted with powdered sugar, if desired.

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RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

recipes gardening Sacramento berries cooking breakfast backyard produce produce management farm to fork blueberries

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Garden checklist for week of April 12

After these storms pass, get to work on spring clean-up.

* Weed, weed, weed! Take advantage of soft soil and pull them before they go to seed.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.

* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant heat-resistant lettuce seedlings.

* Feed roses and other spring-blooming shrubs.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds. Avoid "volcano mulching" -- be sure to keep mulch a few inches away from tree trunks or the stems of shrubs. This prevents rot and disease.

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