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08/13/2007
Fruitful DessertsSweeten the pot with fresh produceSpecial to the Record-Eagle 
Karen Buchan of Buchan’s Blueberry Hill and two of her homemade specialities: Southern Peach Cream Pie and True Blue Poof. Her husband, Norman Buchan, is the fifth generation to farm the patch of land on the Old Mission Peninsula. There is nothing quite like popping a handful of sun-warmed blueberries in your mouth or biting into a juicy fresh-picked peach. Seasonal fruits like these are the perfect end to a summer meal, either eaten out of hand, incorporated into mouth-watering desserts like pies, crisps and cobblers or frozen into refreshing sorbets. This time of year, the fruit of northern Michigan is spectacular and readily available at farm markets, roadside stands and in grocery stores. Fresh fruit is not only a delicious dessert, but it is good for you. Loaded with fiber, vitamins and minerals, fruits contain relatively few calories per serving. A cup of blueberries, for instance, contains just 80 calories while the same serving size of blackberries has 60. Eat a large peach and you've only consumed 68 calories. At Buchan's Blueberry Hill, a U-pick farm on Old Mission Peninsula, there is a steady bucket brigade into the rows of bushes laden with the purple-blue fruit from late July to early September. Often families will visit the farm several times during the season to take advantage of the seasonal fruit and will pick enough to eat fresh now and freeze for the upcoming year. At the checkout, customers always will find a blue recipe sheet to take home showcasing blueberries. "People donate them to us,” said Lori Buchan. "A lot of times they have really good recipes and they'll ask if we want them and of course we say yes.” The all-time customer favorite is a dessert recipe that has been circulating for years, she said. "It's purely fat and sugar and just awful for you,” she said with a laugh, "but people keep asking for it.” It's called "Lavonda's True Blue Poof” and combines cream cheese, nondairy whipped topping and blueberries into a sweet, fluffy dessert that is lovely to look at. The Buchans also grow peaches. They are partial to a peach pie that came from Karen Buchan's friend Dorothy Gunnett. The sweet treat incorporates halved peaches and a custard-type topping. Betty and Richard Popp own Popp Farm near Northport, where they grow a variety of fruit such as raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, peaches and apples. Their fruit is available at their farm stand on Omena Road, and Betty Popp travels to the various Leelanau County farm markets. During the busy growing season, she typically eats fruit fresh. "I don't have time to bake this time of year, but we make up for it in the winter,” she joked. She finds peaches especially tasty in pies or cobblers and for an extra treat, she suggests adding a handful or two of blueberries to your next peach pie. "There's nothing better,” she said. She typically makes blueberry pies. Another favorite is a raspberry Jell-O dessert that they call Raspberry Delight. "You can make it with fresh or frozen raspberries and it's really light and nice,” she said. The key to a delicious fresh fruit dessert is to use ripe fruit, then decide how you want to prepare it. Two simple and delicious American classics are the crisp and cobbler. Both can be made with what is ripe at the moment. Don't be afraid to experiment with combinations like nectarine and blueberry, apricots and blackberries or sweet cherries and blueberries. A crisp is typically a mixture of flour, butter and sugar sprinkled over fresh fruit and baked. You can experiment with the topping by incorporating chopped nuts, oats and spices like cinnamon. A cobbler is more like a spoon pie with dollops of dough dropped onto the fruit and baked. Both are delicious served warm with ice cream, fresh whipped cream or drizzled with a little half and half. Now is the time to experiment with the versatility of seasonal fruit. Whether it is eaten with the hand, a fork or spoon, it is a must-have finale to any summer meal. Southern Peach Cream Pie
Cover bottom of crust with halved peaches, cut side down. Cream sugar with butter. Add flour, egg and vanilla. Pour that over the peaches. Sprinkle nutmeg on top. Bake at 325 for one hour. — Karen Buchan, from friend Dorothy Gunnett Lavonda's True Blue Poof
Blend softened cream cheese and powdered sugar until creamy. Add yogurt and food colorings. Blend well. Fold in Cool Whip until well-mixed. Finally, stir in berries. Spoon into serving bowl and put large berries on top. Garnish with mint leaf. Chill at least 2 hours. — Karen Buchan Raspberry Delight
In a bowl, combine flour and sugar; blend in butter with a wooden spoon until smooth. Press into an ungreased 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan. Bake at 300° for 20 to 25 minutes or until set (crust will not brown). Cool. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, confectioners sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over crust. For topping, dissolve gelatin in boiling water; stir in raspberries. Chill for 20 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Spoon over filling. Refrigerate until set. Cut into squares. Yields 12 to 16 servings. — Betty Popp Blueberry PieDough:
Filling:
Make dough by mixing all ingredients with pastry blender until crumbly. Press into pie pan. Mix together filling ingredients and pour into crust. Bake at 400° for one hour. — Betty Popp Clearing the Record
Due to incorrect information received by the Record-Eagle, the recipe for "Lavonda's True Blue Poof" originally listed 2/3 c. blueberries. It should have read 2 to 3 c.
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