This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Fresh from Florida for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
Spring has sprung in Florida and it has gotten really warm. We’ll be venturing in the pool for the first time this weekend. It’s finally warm enough! I’ve also been doing lots of Spring cleaning. I spent most of yesterday cleaning, and am planning on lots of yard work today. I need to clean up my flower beds and do some planting. Nothing livens up a yard in the Spring like pretty colorful Spring flowers.
We’ll also be headed to some u-pick farms late this afternoon. It was just strawberry season, and now it’s blueberry season here in Florida! I can’t wait to go pick a ton of fresh blueberries with my family. We eat as many as we can fresh and then freeze some for smoothies, make them into blueberry jam, sauces and jellies. They are so good!
This morning I took fresh Florida blueberries that I got on sale at my local supermarket and made this amazing fresh blueberry sauce for biscuits. My husband and I went to a local very popular restaurant this past week and got breakfast with biscuits. And let me tell you they were horrible, just horrible. I can’t believe they even had the audacity to call those undercooked chewy lumps of goo biscuits. So to satisfy our craving, I made some simple Southern biscuits (made correctly) to pair with my beautiful blueberry sauce.
These biscuits are really simple to make. But if you like working the dough like I do and making pretty biscuits, the recipe follows.
To make this sauce, you just add a pint of fresh Florida blueberries and a cup of water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add just a touch of sugar. I added 2 tablespoons, but you can a little less or more. Fresh Florida blueberries are sickening sweet, you really don’t need to add any sugar at all.
Bring this mixture to a boil and turn heat to simmer. Let the berries cook down until thickened, about 20 minutes or so. After they’re done you can finish this sauce by adding a little vanilla extract or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Lemon juice is such a perfect pairing for blueberries.
It’s so easy to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables all season long here in Florida, our mild temperatures allow for us to have the freshest fruits and vegetables all year. Eating these fresh, seasonal items means foods are fresher and tastier, and the nutritional value is optimized. It also encourages a diverse diet that is often more economical and harmonizes with nature’s production cycle.
To find the freshest foods, make sure to look for the Fresh From Florida logo shown below. This way you’ll be sure that the produce is local and fresh. You can find this logo in the produce department, the seafood department and in your favorite local Florida restaurants.
So what’s in season right now? Lots of stuff! In April we have fresh:
You can find lots of great recipes like this one at Fresh from Florida. Be sure to check back often because they update the site with seasonal recipes. Or, next time you are dining out or shopping for groceries, look for the Fresh From Florida logo to make sure that your food selections are fresh, healthy and support your local community.
Also be sure to connect with Fresh from Florida on Twitter and Fresh from Florida on Facebook too!
Yield: serves 6
For the blueberry sauce:
For the southern biscuits:
For the blueberry sauce:
Add fresh Florida blueberries, water and sugar to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce heat to a simmer. Continue to cook until sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes. At the end add vanilla extract or lemon juice.
For the southern biscuits:
Heat oven to 450°. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in butter with a fork or pastry knife. Make a well in the flour mixture in large bowl and add milk. Mix just until mixture comes together, about 16 strokes.
Turn dough onto floured work surface. Add a little flour to the top of the dough and roll out dough. Fold over and roll out again. DO this five times and them cut out biscuits and place on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake biscuits at 450° for approximately 15 minutes, or until golden brown.