Recipe: Snowballs! Most Certainly Not Just for Winter!

One August, about ten years ago, I traveled up north to visit my aunties and their families as well as my grandmother in the state of Washington. My trips up north were always so refreshing. I loved experiencing gardening and having fields of berries at my fingertips. Except for that one time that I dropped an entire flat of hand-picked raspberries in the dirt and wound up acting like a crybaby.  For the most part I loved the slower-paced lifestyle while gazing at the snow-capped Cascade mountains off in the distance. It was always a nice breather for me to get away and experience something a little different than the smog-filled, cement-covered place I called home. It was up there that I first learned about composting, and I think that was the first and only place I ever got to mow a lawn with a riding mower. Never mind the fact that I hit a tree and for years that immature fir tree grew at an 80 degree angle, compared to his other companions. (The tree is fine now, finally.  It seems I had some real coordination issues, doesn't it?)

On that particular trip up north, my aunts and I made our way over to a magical piece of land where someone had once planted and ran a U-pick blueberry farm. The man had since passed away and his heirs were not choosing to maintain it, leaving a delicious, antioxidant-filled gift for those who stumbled across it on their morning walk.  Of course, finding a bit of land such as this was unusual for this Los Angeles girl.



We picked for maybe an hour in that large space, bringing back maybe two gallons of huge, perfect blueberries.  The following recipe is the deliciousness that we enjoyed later on that week. This is the perfect recipe for summertime, but I make this for my family or friends whenever blueberries happen to be on sale, even in the dead of winter. This recipe accommodates all kinds of dietary needs: High-fat, high-sugar American diets (that's supposed to be a joke), gluten-free diets, vegan diets, diabetic diets (just adjust the serving size and omit the sugar) and the best part is that you can accommodate all of these needs simultaneously since each person basically makes their own cup of Snowballs. Each time I have served this people moan and groan and proclaim that they are going to make this for their own guests, just as I did the first time I tried this at my aunt's house. You are going to want to double, triple, or pentadecadruple this recipe if you can find that amount of blueberries. If you are into the whole berries and cream thing, that is.

For each serving of Blueberry Snowballs you will need:

* 1/2 rounded cup of fresh blueberries.  You are going to freeze these.  (Sorry, but store-bought frozen blueberries won't work, too much crystallization has already taken place and those will taste nasty, imo.)

* 2.5 Tablespoons of your milky fat of choice: either heavy cream (yes, please!), half & half, or coconut milk. Your preferred milk, especially almond or soy, will also work, but it doesn't taste as good and you will want to use slightly less of it. While using milk is not as dessert-y for this recipe, I believe it would sure make a tasty breakfast on a hot day.

* 1/2 Tablespoon of sweetener, or to taste: Brown sugar, granulated sugar, sucanat, maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar.

Preparation:
1.  Start off by taking your fresh blueberries. Give them a good rinse.

2.  Dump them in your salad spinner and give them a good dry.  If you don't have one of those,  or if you're using it to store some washed greens in the fridge like I was, just take a freshly washed dishtowel, dump out the blueberries onto it and gently pat them dry instead.  Whatever you do,  make sure that NO water droplets are left clinging to the blueberries and do not smash them.

Oops, I missed a spot.  You get the idea.

3.  Sort out any disgusting mushy blueberries. Set aside if you're into that kind of thing.

Bleh!

4.  Next, take a cookie sheet (for a large quantity) or freezer bag (small quantity) and spread out the blueberries in a single layer and place the whole thing in your freezer.  Making sure the blueberries are completely dry will ensure that the blueberries, when frozen, will not stick together.  You are going to need all the frozen surface area you can get!

5.  Let freeze for at least good 12 hours.  I usually go 24 hours just to be absolutely certain they're ready. You are going to want to use these soon after freezing to avoid the ice formations on the berries.  If you've placed these on a cookie sheet for the initial freezing and you don't intend to use them quite yet, place them in a freezer bag, pronto!

6.  After your blueberries are completely frozen and you are ready to eat them, get ready for the fun.  Place about 1/2 a cup of frozen blueberries in a mug or dessert bowl and grab a spoon.  Next, place your sweetener (approx. 1/2 T, or to taste) in the same container as the frozen blues and toss with a spoon to evenly distribute the sweetness.

Just before tossing!

7.  Next, drizzle a thin, slow, steady stream (about 2.5 T's) of your chosen fat over the blueberries as you gently stir. Be careful not to dump in all of your fat all at once, otherwise you will have a frozen blueberry-dotted cream iceberg at the bottom.  The goal is to coat each blueberry with a little bit of whatever you happen to be using.  Something magical will happen while you do this- the blueberries will turn white as the fat freezes to the surface!

Keep stirring!  If your blueberries look like this you need just a little more of the white stuff.

Yup, there might be just a tiny bit too much cream, but I can deal with it.  This photo shows Brown Sugar Cream Snowballs.

 Creamy Granulated Sugar Snowballs.

 As soon as everything looks like it's coated and gently incorporated?  STOP STIRRING, SILLY!   If you keep going, everything will just melt.

8.  Eat immediately.  If you must, you can place your cup or bowl in the freezer for a few minutes, but I recommend eating this asap.

Now if you're going to be serving this for a group of people what I usually do is dish up all of the blueberries in cups and hold them in the freezer until we are ready to go.  Then I get out all of the sweeteners and creamy fats and place them on the serving table.  All you need to do is hand people a spoon and a cup filled with frozen blueberries and let them do their own thing to meet their own dietary needs and preferences.  They love it! You don't necessarily have to measure your ingredients, this is a great recipe for eyeballing.

This is one fine treat, during summertime heat, or even on those snowless nights.  Just don't throw these at anyone.  That would be a total waste....unless you're throwing it directly into my mouth.