We drive across the Michigan border in our ocean green MG with the convertible top down. My sister and I squeeze into the cardboard box size back seat; we are 5 and 9 years-old. The wind tangles our hair and blinds us along with the glaring sun. Forty-five minutes later we pull up to a blueberry farm and spill out of the car.
Row upon row of high bush berries sparkle in the hot sun. We fill our bellies and containers with sweet berries before piling back into the car and driving to the dunes. Before long, we are hungry again and we stop by a small shop and buy water, dried sausages, cheese, crackers, grapes, and a baguette for an afternoon picnic. When we return home, I spoon more blueberries into a bowl with milk and sugar before I fall over in bed.
This time, instead of eating the berries with milk, I followed D’s advice who tended blueberry bushes when he was young, and rinsed the berries before placing them on baking trays in the freezer. After they were frozen, I began flipping through cookbooks and searching online for recipes. I read Mark Bittman’s recipe for No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Bars. His recipe inspired me to make a No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake with yogurt, cream cheese, honey, and vanilla covered with blueberries set in a simple graham cracker crust to bring to a Sunday afternoon cookout at my sister’s house.
Unfortunately, the cheesecake lost its solidity during the two hour drive. Even though it was runny, all was not lost. My sister made a delicious lemon yogurt cake and the runny cheesecake made an excellent topping.
adapted from Cooking the Whole Foods Way
I totally remember that, the MG and the blueberries and even the winery. This is one of my favorite childhood memories. LOL talk about car seats.