Blueberries and Puffins

On a beautiful, late July day, we hopped in the ol' Subaru and headed down to the quiet, coastal town of Milbridge, Maine, about an hour outside of Bangor where we are living. Along the way, we discovered fields after fields of deep blue, juicy jewels and just had to stop for a pic and a taste. Maine is known for it's blueberries and is the largest producer of wild blueberries in the world.

Cultivated blueberries are usually pumped with water unlike Maine's wild blueberries, making them smaller, sweeter and double the antioxidants. They are also traditionally hand harvested because of their delicate skin and are oh so photogenic.

But blueberries weren't the reason we we're headed down to the coast, we were on a mission to see the Atlantic Puffin (we're closet birders, but only the cool ones). When we first moved to Maine, there was a bucket list of things to see-lighthouses, moose, loons, lobsters, blueberries and puffins. Luckily, we killed two birds with one stone that day (no, not funny?).

After frolicking in the blueberry fields, and by frolicking I mean stepping gently through the bushes, we arrived at the Milbridge town marina and set sail that day for a three hour tour, a three hour tour. (sorry I can't help myself)

Quickly we noticed how many dang lobster traps there were in the water, they weren't kidding about that whole lobster biz. Can you imagine navigating around those things? Luckily our captain was paying attention. 

Our first bird sighting was an osprey in its nest on an island with a handful of pine trees. It tickled our fancy but we were ready for big leagues. 

Next we saw a Bald Eagle...big deal. Eagle shmeagle. 

Finally we spotted Petit Manan Island with all its feathered inhabitants! There were Storm Petrels, Razorbills, Arctic Terns, Black-back Gulls and the beautiful Atlantic Puffin! 

After drifting around the island admiring the seabirds and seals, we made our way back to the marina, spotting another beautiful lighthouse and a few thousand more lobster traps. And of course we couldn't leave the coast without having some fresh steamed lobster at a restaurant with a killer view. 

 

Another great day trip in Maine, which is quickly becoming my favorite state (watch out Utah). If you ever find yourself in the area, check out Robertson Sea Tours if you want to go on a whale watch,   puffin cruise or lighthouse tour without the larger crowds of Bar Harbor. And if you happen to take home some fresh, wild blueberries from a late July, early August trip, here's a recipe for blueberry puffins, I mean muffins...(last pun, I promise)

Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups unsifted flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2-1/2 cups large fresh blueberries
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons sugar (for top of muffins)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

In a second bowl, combine all dry ingredients. (You can use an electric mixer to combine the dry ingredients thoroughly at this point so that you won't need to overmix once the wet and dry ingredients are combined.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter and sugar mixture along with the milk and vanilla.

Optionally, mash 1/2 cup of the blueberries, and stir in by hand (this will turn batter a light shade of blue and add a touch of blueberry flavor, but this step may be skipped, if you wish). Add the remaining whole berries and stir in gently by hand.

Spray a 12 muffin baking pan with Baker's Joy (or other non-stick spray). Fill greased muffin cups.

Sprinkle sugar on top of unbaked muffins.

Bake at 375°F for 25-30 minutes. Cool in pan. Run a knife around the edge of each muffin after several minutes to free it from the pan and cool on wire racks. Muffins may be brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with sugar, if desired. 

<Taken from New England Today>