August might as well be named Blueberry month in Washington. They started ripening about a month ago, and it's the height of the season now. They're out just about everywhere, at your grocers, from road side stands, and at pick your own farms all over the state. Blueberries, always tasty, have suddenly tripled in popularity as people have discovered their incredible health benefits. Nat

urally high in antioxidants, blueberries may well be one of nature's superfoods. They are associated with preventing heart disease, fighting urinary tract bacteria and helping to protect against cancer. Blueberries are also a very good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K and Manganese.

Blueberries are great eaten by the handful, just as they are, but they also make fabulous juice, are super added to yogurt or cereal, are easily made into jam, jellies, sauces and syrups, and a wide variety of pancakes, pies, muffins and cakes. They can be dried for later use, but they are about the easiest fruit possible to freeze. Simply pick over the blueberries to remove any that are damaged, or not quite ripe, remove any twigs or leaves, rinse them in cold water, then let them drain and dry off. Once the berries are dry, simply scoop them into ziplock freezer bags or plastic air tight containers. I like to use the one quart size; two cups of blueberries is just about a perfect fit, and that's all you need for most recipes. Plus, you can open a bag, take out just the amount of berries you need, re-seal the bag and put it back in the freezer. Frozen blueberries, by the way, are a super easy-to-eat healthy snack and just about perfect on a hot day eaten as is or over ice cream.

Blueberries are naturally high in pectin, and are one of the easiest fruits to make into blueberry preserves or jam. Blueberry syrup is dead easy, and is a lovely way to add blueberry flavor and color to other recipes. My mom's recipe for blueberry buckle is about as easy a recipe as you could ask for, and this simple recipe for blueberry muffins works at least as well with Washington blueberries as it does with blueberries from Maine. One of the reasons to freeze blueberries is that you can add a cup or so to pancake batter, or your basic sour cream coffee cake and have that height-of-summer fresh blueberry taste even in the midst of winter.