It’s nigh on blueberry season.

Smile.

There’s bushels of nutrition benefits in this bluesy fruit,  and these summer superstars are so versatile in all sorts of recipes from summer salads to muffins, crisps, pies and buckles. They’re a colorful staple in fruit salads and smoothies, and just plain pop in your mouth good – right after a good rinse.

I’m the first to admit, I find the work of picking a tad tedious, and you’re more likely to find me wandering among the bushes with my camera than my bucket. Still, I love these friendly, little berries and try to make the most of their time in season.

Since one of my summer goals is to eat more fruits and veggies, I’m thinking more about eating this year’s blueberries raw,  tart, and fresh and less about just-baked and juicy.

So what about these salad combinations?

Use blueberries and either baby spinach or spring mix as your base and mix in:

• mandarin oranges, feta cheese, and slivered almonds
• raw chunks of summer squash and zuchinni, red onion, turkey, and cheddar cubes
• shelled peas, cherry tomato halves, carrot sticks, and freshly-shredded parmesan cheese
• pick just about any other fruit to sidekick with your blues in a salad: strawberries, honeydew melon balls, watermelon, grapes, pineapple, or dried cranberries
• other healthy toppings: walnuts, pine nuts, flax seed, sunflower seeds or a sprinkle or two of shaved coconut

This blueberry vinaigrette recipie looks luscious

You can also visit the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council for creative recipes as well as freezing, jamming, and canning tips.

Really. They’re a rough and tumble bunch of berries and ready for just about anything.

Go blue!

Our family houseguests arrived late yesterday afternoon.

Before their arrival, there were the usual preparations: the tidying, of course, and the laundering of linens.

I also spent a lot of time thinking about how to make our guests most comfortable, and that trail of thought led me to Vermont and the inns we’ve been fortunate enough to guest in.  Hospitality experts, all … and great role models for helping people feel at home away from home.

How do they do it?

I think it’s all about the breakfast.

Every single innkeeper welcomes you to their breakfast table with pretty table linens, fresh flowers – probably plucked from the gardens on the grounds – and hefty mugs of coffee.

Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, but at home – it’s the meal we make the least amount of time for.  I don’t know about you, but for us, breakfast feels catch as catch can … a little random, almost always hurried, and grab and go – if eaten at all.  We never eat at a table, on plates, with conversation, and a tall glass of orange juice.

So here’s a sampler of where we’ve stayed and our breakfast inns-piration:

The Inn at Manchester 

A regular point of conversation between my husband and I – weeks now after our last visit: What do you think Frank is making for breakfast today? It’s fun to speculate on the innkeeper’s specialties. Cottage cakes? Scrambled eggs with Vermont cheddar? Waffles?

Hill Farm Inn

We visited Hill Farm Inn years ago, but I still remember the basket of mini muffins we’d wake to every morning.

Crisanver House 

We were first-time visitors to this Yankee Magazine recognized inn last month. Every morning’s breakfast began with colorful, fresh fruit piled high and luscious.

So our guests will wake this morning to these peanut butter, banana, and chocolate chip mini-muffins. This amazing granola. Some yogurt. And piles of fresh strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries we picked ourselves. There’s coneflowers on the table and the prettiest summer tablecloth.

What’s on tomorrow’s menu?

Frank’s cottage cakes – of course