Three Minute Thursdays #2 - Merry Berry

After last week's TMT featuring peas, this week is another freezer stand-by;  frozen mixed berries

I love these - they are so useful. 

Lots of supermarkets sell them, under various names [berry mix, forest fruits, essential berries, summer fruits etc] NOTE - aboiv the ones called 'smoothie mix' - as they often contain pieces of melon and or banana slices. They are OK, but not as useful for the ideas below.
As with peas, I decant my berries into a box - to ensure none get lost, and also to make it easier to pick out specific fruits.
So here are some ideas as to what I use these little beauties for..

Just pick out a few to garnish a dessert plate - and throw a few into a basic cake or muffin mix to add moist, fruity flavour.

 Sprinkle some on your home-made natural yogurt

Just two or three fruits will transform the colour of a beige smoothie made with your leftover bananas into a more enticing pink shade.

Put some into a jug of water to make a cool drink. NOTE - if you use raspberries, serve and drink the water promptly. Otherwise they will make the water slightly pink, but lose their colour, and float at the top looking like sinister little bloodless brains. Trust me on this one!

...blast some frozen berries in the microwave for half a minute, and make a hot sauce for vanilla ice cream
...pick out some blackberries or blueberries to freeze into your ice cubes
...put a tiara of berries round the top of a plain cheesecake or simple sponge cake
Fresh berries are delicious when they are season - especially strawberries- but a punnet of the frozen ones is a thrifty way to add just colour, taste and vitamin C throughout the year. Strawberries do not freeze well - so I usually only buy British ones in the summer, and avoid out of season imported or frozen ones.
I am still delighted to have discovered that the first blueberries grown commercially in Britain were in a nursery just 2 miles away, right here in Ferndown. And they are in season again right now.