Does a post like this even needs words? Can’t we just stare at the beautiful pic overload? I absolutely love going out to Jubilee Orchards every year with the family, but there was something more special about it this year. When you’ve been cooped up in your house and yard for weeks, to get out on a beautiful, post rain, breezy day – it just felt like social distance heaven. It was good for our souls. Jubilee Orchards, located at 12008 Miccosukee Rd, 32309, offers picking by the pound with paper bags provided, or pre-picked grab-and-go options.
I hadn’t seen my mom in SO LONG, so she decided to join in on the pickin’, but with an alligator between us. She rode in her own car to meet us there and kept a safe social distance from all of us, but close enough where we could still catch up. Spending time with her was so nice, I haven’t seen her much since we were in my grandpa’s hospice room the night he passed away several weeks ago, so this was some much appreciated quality time. I know she was happy to be around her grand babies, another bonus for our mental health day.
Why is blueberry picking so addictive??? Once my husband filled his bucket, me and the kids kept trying to leave, but you can’t pass all those big beautiful blueberries on your way out without constantly picking more and throwing them in your bucket. There was no stopping us. Then somehow, we made it to the checkout stand, and the boys were no where to be found! They got hung up on a row picking more blueberries and in the end, we filled three buckets to the very top.
There are massive amounts of blueberries for the pickin’, and as you can see, many new ones still coming in. Jubilee Orchards now has weekday hours so that people can spread out their hours for social distancing. They also have marked lines in the grass at checkout so people are not piling up in their checkout line. It was the perfect spring day!
Find Jubilee Orchards at – Website, Instagram, and Facebook.
Bake It Forward
My husband had a fun “bake it forward” idea for the Tallahassee Foodies Home Facebook group. What we did was make a massive amount of blueberry muffins, left two on our neighbor’s doorstep along with a cup of blueberries. They sampled our treats, are going to bake something with the cup of blueberries we gave them, give us a sample of their baked goodies, pick more at Jubilee Orchards, and give a friend a sample of their baked goods along with a cup of blueberries.
If you don’t have time to pick for bake it forward, Jubilee also offers grab-and-go pre-picked options. Or, feel free to bake it forward with any other local farm fruit or vegetable. Check out my favorite recipe for blueberry muffins with a cinnamon crumb topping below, and then check into our home group soon to see what my neighbor came up with for her cup of blueberries.
Blueberry Muffins With Cinnamon Crumb Topping
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup milk or more as needed
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup butter cubed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
- Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and add enough milk to reach the 1-cup mark. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
- To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.