See that one lonely ripe blueberry next to all the green ones still on the verge? It’s like the older girl in PE class in elementary school. She’s already shopping for training bras while everyone else is begging mama for something other than a T-shirt.

This one Type A over-achiever is ahead of the curve, but all those others are going to mature at once and hopefully, bring forth a major crop of blueberries. We’ve got the bushes draped with netting to keep the birds at bay. (Thanks Corinne Fay for snapping that for me.)

I love blueberries. I often will eat a pint while shopping at the market or in the car on the way home. Blueberries are good and good for you. Blueberries bring to mind fingers stained purple-blue, fruity pies and cobblers, and warm, fresh-from-the-oven muffins. (Check out my Blueberry Cobbler with Honey Peach Ice Cream in this month’s Taste of the South.)

It seems that’s how it is when you grow your own. Famine or Feast. Bust or Bumper Crop. Runt or Ripe. Not sure what to do with the summer bounty heading your way?

Guess what? I’ve got the book for you.

It’s Ripe: A Fresh, Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables by my friend and colleague, Food Writer Cheryl Sternman Rule & Food Photographer Paulette Phlipot. Ripe was hailed as “one of the summer’s best cookbooks” by NPR.

I adore Cheryl’s smart, award-winning writing and the photography in this sweet book is beautiful. Ripe is a petite book, but packed with great recipes and ideas. Pardon the pun – it’s ripe for the picking.

The colors and concepts are made even more bold by the organization of the book. The food is grouped by color. Red. Blue. Green. White. Orange. I love it. It’s downright fun.

This book does what cookbooks are meant to do – it makes you want to cook, it makes you want to eat. It makes your mouth water. It makes you hungry.

This week, in honor of the forthcoming bumper crop, I’m going to share some blueberry recipes including one from Cheryl and my blueberry jam recipe with a bit of candied ginger. Lastly, at the very end I’ve included a slew of links – a bucket FULL of blueberry recipes!

Bon Appétit, Y’all
VA

Ripe’s Blueberry Nutmeg Cake
Serves 8

According to Cheryl, this cake tastes especially amazing when baked one day ahead.

2 cups(220g) blueberries
3/4 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 cup plus 21/2 tablespoons (190g) granulated sugar, divided
1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, divided
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 pound (1 stick, or 113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9-inch (23-cm) springform pan and line the bottom with parchment.

In a medium bowl, toss the blueberries with the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of the nutmeg, and the salt.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and 3/4 cup (187g) of the sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer on low, beat in the sifted ingredients. Do not overbeat. Scrape into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Scatter the berries and any juices over the batter. Stir the remaining 11/2 tablespoons of sugar and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg together and sprinkle over the berries.

Bake in the center of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean and the cake just begins to pull away from the sides. Cool in the pan for 30 minutes.

Spring the cake free then finish cooling completely. Slide a wide, thin spatula under the cake to transfer it to a large plate. Wrap tightly with plastic, and, if you can stand it, let mellow at room temperature for several hours, or overnight, before eating.

Tip: While the cake may appear dry when freshly baked, it takes on a fantastic dampness after an overnight rest, and continues to improve with age. (The blueberries become almost jammy as the cake matures.) After 24 hours, I store any leftovers, tightly wrapped, in the fridge.

Recipe reprinted with permission from RIPE © 2012 by Cheryl Sternman Rule, Running Press, a member of the Perseus Book Group. Photography © 2012 by Paulette Phlipot.

PS: Here are a couple of other blueberry recipes I thought you might enjoy:

Lemon Pie with Blueberry Meringue by Erin Jean McDowell
Buttery Blueberry Ginger Biscuits by Nathalie Dupree
Buttermilk Blueberry Pie Bars by Dorie Greenspan