Blueberry Lemon Tea Cake

I found this in an article on blueberry reicpes - I have not made it, but it looked very good, and it is very low in fat. To tell you the truth, I'm unsure what they mean by "1 large and 1 tsp grated lemon zest", maybe 1 tablespoon & one teaspoon? That seems like a lot to me, so I'd just go with the one teaspoon only. This would be an ideal recipe for using up some of the frozen blueberries that you have in your freezer. I'll bet that the lemon glaze on the top really gives it a zing! Let me know if you try it.

Blueberry-Lemon Tea Bread - 16 Servings

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/4 cup fat-free buttermilk
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 large egg whites
1 large and 1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 cup blueberries
DIRECTIONS
In a bowl combine 1 1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas , 1/4 cup fat-free buttermilk, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 Tbsp canola oil, 2 large egg whites, 1 large and 1 tsp grated lemon zest. Stir flour into mixture then stir in 1 cup blueberries. Pour batter into 9x5x3-inch loaf pan coated with baking spray; bake 1 hour. Cook in pan on wire rack 15 minutes. invert ;invert again. Cool 10 minutes. IN a bowl combine 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, 2 tsp lemon juice ,and 1/2 grated lemon zest. Spread over top loaf; cool completely.
Presented by: Redbook Magazine
Copywrite 2007, all rights reserved
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
1 serving: Calories 183; Carbohydrates 38g; Fat 2g;

Farmgirl's Blueberry Breakfast Bars

One of my very favorite blogs to read is Farmgirl Fare. Susan has a wonderful way with words and her photographs of her Missouri farm are beautiful. The stories of all her many animals are most entertaining and a great way to start the day.

She is also a very good cook and has a blog about her kitchen garden and a blog that she shares with two other bakers called A Year in Bread. All three blogs have lots of yummy recipes in them. How she manages to find time to do all this and run her farm, I'll never know, but she has graciously given me permission to reprint her Blueberry Breakfast Bar recipe. They are a great way to start the day and even better after dinner with a scoop of French Vanilla Ice Cream.


Farmgirl's Blueberry Breakfast Bars (Makes 12 to 16 large bars)

Bottom Layer:
2 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (she uses Heartland Mill organic)
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 Tablespoons (1 stick + 2 Tbsp/5 ounces) butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Top Layer:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick/four ounces) butter or natural vegetable oil sticks (she uses Earth Balance, I used real butter)

Middle Layer
3-1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (1/4 tsp. if freshly ground)

For the Bottom Layer:
Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a 9" x 13" pan. In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Press this mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan with your fingers. (You can use the bottom of a stainless steel measuring cup to help make the crust flat and even.)

For the Top Layer:
Place the flour, brown sugar, and butter or vegetable oil sticks in a small bowl and use a fork, pastry blender, or your fingers to combine until the mixture resembles large crumbs (some pea-sized clumps are okay). Set aside.

For the Middle Layer:
Place the blueberries in the bowl you mixed the Bottom Layer in and toss them with the almond extract. Pour them evenly over the Bottom Layer in the pan. Combine the sugar and flour and sprinkle it evenly over the blueberries. (Even when wet or frozen, the sugar/flour mixture wouldn't stick to my big fat blueberries when I tried tossing it with them. If yours will, just toss the sugar/flour mixture with the blueberries and then pour the whole mixture over the Bottom Layer in the pan.)

Sprinkle the Top Layer evenly over the blueberry mixture. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is golden, and the edges are starting to brown. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Store in a cool place or refrigerate. Bars may also be frozen.

Susan has also experimented using other fruit instead of all blueberries - these versions make a more "fruity" bar less suited to eating out of hand than the plain ones. To use apple follow the following for the middle layer: 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, 3 generous cups unpeeled chopped apples (about 5 small/19 oz), 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (1/2 teaspoon if pre-ground)

For a peach version, use two cups of small peach chunks and three cups of blueberries. They will take slightly longer to bake and should be refrigerated to keep from getting too mushy.

Thank you, Susan for letting me share your Blueberry Breakfast bars with my readers!
Recipe and photograph Copyright 2006 FarmgirlFare.com

Fresh Berry Smoothie

Pick up just about any magazine these days (especially during the summer) and you will find a recipe for a fruit or berry smoothie. The recipes are quite similar - take your blender, a couple of ice cubes, some yogurt, a shot or two of milk, a couple of handful of fresh or frozen fruit - and there you have it breakfast (or which ever meal), in a glass. As a nutrition specialist called it - Goodness on the Go. Full of calcium and protein from the milk and yogurt, and depending upon the fruits you use - antioxidants, potassium and fiber, you may also get almost your whole day's serving of vitamin C - and kids love them too -

Using frozen berries makes your smoothie even slushier - which for me, the slushier the better - I've been freezing our blueberries as soon as my DH brings them in from the patch - I just pour them into a dated freezer bag and pop them in the freezer - that way, next winter I can just open the bag and pour a few out for the recipe I am making, and I don't have to worry about them getting pushed to the back of the fridge and getting "lost"(if you know what I mean). As long as the berries are free from debris, don't even wash them - the water will freeze and make them stick together and I don't think they don't last as long either.

MIXED BERRY SMOOTHIE - One serving
1 - 6 oz. container low fat raspberry yogurt (you can use any flavor you like)
1/2 cup 1% milk
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
One or two ice cubes
Combine all ingredients in a blender. Cover and blend until smooth. You may have to add a little more milk (or use some orange juice) if it isn't blending up easily. Pour into a tall glass and serve immediately - Enjoy!

A Great Garnish

Fresh blueberries are everywhere right now - bring home a pint from the store, and kept in the refrigerator, they'll be OK for about 10 days (if the snackers don't get them first...)

Having salmon for dinner? Garnish your plates with some sliced cantelope and a handful of blueberries. Or the same fruit would look tasty (and brighten up the plate) beside a slice of quiche. Many grocery stores sell cut halves of melons in the produce department or the deli so you don't have to buy a whole one.

Toss a few on a bowl of ice cream and top it with some raspberry pancake syrup. Yum!

Here are a few hints on "Selection & Storage" from (of all places)The Cooperative Extension Service for Sarasota County, Florida.

• Look for fresh blueberries that are firm, dry and plump, smooth skinned and relatively free from stems and leaves. Size is not an indicator of maturity, but color is. Berries should be deep purple -blue to blue-black. Reddish berries aren't ripe but may be used in cooking.



• Stay away from containers with juice stains which may be a sign that the berries are crushed and possibly moldy. Soft watery fruit means the berries are overripe. Dehydrated, wrinkled fruit means the berries have been stored too long. Handle your blueberries with care, touching them as little as possible.



• Fresh berries should be refrigerated immediately, covered and washed just before using. Use within 10 days of purchase. To freeze blueberries, transfer to an airtight container and do not wash before freezing. Properly stored, frozen blueberries will last a year.

Blueberry-Orange Onion Salad

The Washington Blueberry Commission is forecasting that this year's crop statewide will be around 20 million pounds, up from 18 million in 2006. Holy cow, that's a lot of pies! And I'm sure that only includes the WBC members, as there are a lot of "mom & pop" u-pick farms, etc. - even our own six bushes have produced probably 10# so far and there are more berries coming on.

My DH is kind of a meat and potatoes kind of guy - and if he has salad, the dressing is french or honey mustard, so I knew I was walking on thin ice making this salad, but what the heck - you know, he could always just go feed it to the chickens - but he didn't - so, there you go. I found this in the Taste of Home Contest Winning Recipes - one of those recipe books you buy on impluse at the checkstand... and since I'd like to try at least some of the recipes I post here, I decided that we'd have it with our pork chops on Saturday. John didn't like the raw onion (& I only used about a tablespoon of really thinly sliced onion) - and I also used (refrigerated) well drained mandarin oranges (very tasty and a lot easier than peeling and slicing up a real orange - trust me).

This would be a very nice salad to serve for a luncheon. It is very refreshing.


Blueberry-Orange Onion Salad
Yield: 4 servings

3 cups torn salad greens
2 medium navel oranges, peeled and sliced
4 slices sweet onion, separated into rings
2 cups fresh blueberries

Blueberry Sour Cream Dressing
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon crushed blueberries
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Arrange greens on four salad plates. Top with the orange slices and onion rings. Sprinkle with blueberries.

In a small bowl, combine dressing ingredients and stir until blended. Drizzle over salads. Serve immediately.

Copywrite 2007, Reiman Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Did you know....

"Because of their low calorie count, berries are a good diet treat. their antioxidants - natural compounds that protect cells from damage-causing free radicals - help the body fight a variety of diseases, including lung, skin, and cervical cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, and age-related mental decline" (Aug. 2007 Better Homes & Gardens)

• One of the antioxidants found in blueberries (Pterostilbene) is linked to lowering cholesterol.


• Bluberries contain only 84 calories per cup.


• One cup of blueberries contains 16% DV of fiber.


• Blueberries are a source of Vitamins A and C, potassium and folate.


• Blueberries are very low in fat and sodium, and high in dietary fiber and potassium.


• Composition of a blueberry: Water 84.61% Protein 0.67% Ash 0.21% Lipids 0.38% Carbohydrates 14.13%

Blueberry Buckle

If you "Google" Blueberry Buckle, it comes up with 133,000 entries! It is the first blueberry recipe that I made, and probably the one I have cooked the most. This particular one is from All Recipes.com, a fantastic collection of recipes, menus, tips & ideas all under one "roof"

The Blueberry Buckle recipe I made originally came from the "Betty Crocker" cookbook. I probably own over 50 cookbooks, and that is still the one I reach for the most. That recipe always seemed a bit 'heavy' to me, I'm not sure if I mix it too much or what - but I have two cups of fresh blueberries just waiting in the 'fridge to try out this recipe tomorrow -

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 9" baking pan.

INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 cups fresh blueberries

TOPPING: (*Mix this up before you start your cake mix - put it in freezer so it's nice & crumbly)
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup cold butter

DIRECTIONS
In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in the egg. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Fold in the blueberries. Pour into greased 9-in. square baking pan.

For topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over blueberry mixture. Bake at 375 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright 2007 Allrecipes.com

Editor's notes: Out of curiousity, I checked out the Betty Crocker recipe this morning - this is exactly the same recipe for the cake, but the author of this recipe made more struesel topping - which I always did too. I also doubled the cinnamon in the topping. The other thing that was different was mixing the milk & the dry ingredients alternatively. Mine baked for exactly 49 minutes. See how the berries seem to just "melt". It was very tasty.

Welcome to Our Blueberry Blog

Hello, my name is Parker and my grandmom and grandad raise blueberries in Lewis County, Washington. My great aunt Tina is going to find all kinds of yummy blueberry things to share with you on this blog. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Love, Parker