The first thing one notices when visiting Quonquont Farm is how gorgeous it is. This 150-acre farm on North Street in Whately is studded with historic buildings, landscaped flowers and fruit trees.
Right now the farm is in the full flush of blueberry season. It offers pick-your-own fruit as well as berries to buy in its farm stand.
The farm is owned by longtime friends Allison Bell and Ann Barker and managed by Bell’s spouse, Leslie Harris, who joined the Quonquont team two years ago after retiring as executive director of Dakin Humane Society, where she had worked for 20 years. “It’s a very hard-working retirement,” she said with a laugh during a recent interview.
She wouldn’t have it any other way, however. “I love working outside. I love growing food and working with the customers.”
Harris is in charge of the orchard and farm stand; other managers handle the flower gardens and special events, such as wedding on the property or in Quonquont’s converted tobacco barn.
When blueberry season ends, Harris expects to be offering pick-your-own peaches, followed by apples.
This year, the farmers have added a new feature to their enterprise: pick-your-own flowers.
Bell says that the business has grown since she and Barker acquired Quonquont in 2000. “We feel that we’re very fortunate to live in an area where people can make a link to where their food comes from and who makes it happen,” she said.
To show off her produce the day I was there, Harris baked huge, blueberry-studded muffins. The recipe she used is adapted from the farm’s website and provided by Chelsea Colbath, a food blogger who got married at Quonquont Farm and offered to supply recipes to the farmers.
⅓ cup maple syrup
⅓ cup melted butter
2 eggs
¾ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lemon
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners or grease it with nonstick spray. Set it aside. (Leslie Harris used a large muffin tin and made 6 big muffins; you may also use a smaller tin and end up with 12 muffins.)
Combine the maple syrup, the melted butter, the eggs, the sour cream, the vanilla, and the lemon zest. Whisk to blend them. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and then the blueberries. Stir with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula just until combined. A few small lumps are ok; just don’t over-mix the batter.
Use a ⅓-cup measuring cup (⅔ cup for large muffins) to divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. They will be almost full to the top.
Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until golden and cooked through. A toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins should come out clean, and the muffins should spring back when touched gently with a finger.
Cool the muffins slightly in their pan; then remove them to a rack and let them cool completely. Store the muffins in an airtight container for up to 2 days; they spoil quickly because of the moisture in the blueberries. These freeze well.
Makes 6 large or 12 medium muffins.
Food writer Tinky Weisblat of Hawley is the author of “The Pudding Hollow Cookbook” and “Pulling Taffy.” For more information about Tinky visit her website, www.TinkyCooks.com.