Cooking, Foraging, and Farming: A Blueberry Muffin Story

My neighbor said
don't mix them so much 
next time but good
level of taste.

Lately, I’ve been getting into cooking more of my own food, which means trying new recipes and sharing them with anyone interested enough to read about it. The other day, I made blueberry muffins and realized that if I could make one type of muffin, I could probably make others too. That’s how I think about camp cooking—it’s all about substitution within broad categories of food. Once you know how to make a good base, you can adjust and modify it in countless ways.

In this case, I made blueberry muffins because I had some frozen blueberries that needed to be used up. Every once in a while, it’s worth digging into the bottom of your freezer to see what’s hiding down there and doing something with it before it gets too old. I used some protein flour to make the muffins a bit healthier, along with sugar, honey, blueberries, vegetable shortening, and a few other ingredients—simple and easy to make.

During the summer, when I’m out hiking, I like to keep an eye out for wild berries. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone—getting outside and finding something delicious to take home. Sometimes you can stumble upon a good patch of wild berries and turn them into a pie or a jar of homemade jam.

The blueberry, native to North America, first became a cultivated crop in 1893. I’ve always believed that good ideas lead to good things. In northern Michigan, there are many abandoned small farms, which could be great opportunities for anyone interested in growing berries, pine trees, maple syrup, and other natural products. I’d recommend looking into land in Delta County—it would help increase the number of healthy, working farms in the area nestled in the woods. It’s unfortunate that so many farms went out of business in the 1970s and 1980s, but I believe organic farmers could bring new life to them again. 

Foraging for Berries

The History of the Blueberry

Blue Berry Muffin Recipe.