Something Borrowed, Something Blueberry

Blueberry Jell-O Salad

2009-08-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

One of the first recipes I found for this blog was from a web site called Mom's Best Recipes. Shirley has almost 1400 recipes on her blog - from soup to nuts, as the old saying goes.

She has nicely allowed me to post one of her recipes (click on the name of her site and it will take you to all of her blueberry recipes). This reminds me of a recipe from the Church Supper Cookbook. Homey comfort food.

Blueberry Jell-O Salad (by Shirley McNevich)

1 - 6oz. box black cherry Jell-O
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 - 16oz. can Dole crushed pineapple (drained)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 - 16oz. sour cream
1 - 8oz. Philadelphia cream cheese (softened)
1 cup chopped pecans (toasted)

Prepare Jell-O according to box directions. When Jell-O is cool to the touch, refrigerate about 90 minutes or until it starts to gel. Remove from refrigerator and add blueberries and drained crushed pineapple--stir to mix. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9" glass baking dish. Refrigerate overnight. The next day use a greased cookie sheet with a lip--spread chopped pecans evenly in a single layer on the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow them to cool--set aside. After pecans are cooled use a mixer--add white sugar, cream cheese--beat. Add sour cream--beat. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over the top of the cold Jell-O mixture in the baking dish. After pecans are cooled, sprinkle them over the top of the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Keep refrigerated.

Blueberry Orange Bread

2009-08-05T21:26:00.000-07:00

There are some great blogs out there with blueberry recipes on them right now. One that I stumbled across the other day is called Welcome to Prosperine written by J.K. from Missouri. Her blog is much like our farm blog - a farm journal with snippets of every day life thrown in. She gracefully has allowed me to share her Blueberry Orange Bread recipe with you. Seeing as how I have about a gallon of fresh blueberries hanging out in the 'fridge, I think I might try out this recipe this weekend. Oh, and of course I'll take pictures.
P.S. With only two tablespoons of melted butter in it, this bread is very low fat.

Blueberry Orange Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, combine egg, orange juice, water, butter and orange peel. Add to dry ingredients just until combined. Fold in the blueberries. Pour into a greased and floured 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pan to a wire rack.

Wisten's Blueberry Cobbler

2009-08-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

It was The Mossyrock Blueberry Festival this weekend. That is where my sister and brother-in-law's family has been growing blueberries since 1940. Because of this, my sister is often called on to bring a "Blueberry Dessert" for community events and has come up with this quick, easy and never-fail recipe for Blueberry Cobbler.

Wisten's Blueberry Cobbler

Oven at 375-400 degrees - use a 9 x 13 inch cake pan.

Combine:
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
A "dash" of cinnamon and
a "trace" of salt

Pour over and toss with:
8-12 cups of fresh (or frozen) blueberries that have been mixed with
3 Tablespoons of lemon juice and
1/4 cup of melted butter

Pour your berry mixture into the 9 x 13 baking dish and put in the oven and bring to "bubbly" - about 20 minutes or so until the mixture is juicy and the berries have begun to burst.

Take your pan out of the oven and add the cobbler topping mix below:

For the topping mix:
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking power
2 Tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Combine with:
1/2 cup melted butter (don't have it so hot that it "cooks" the egg mixture)
1 egg beaten in 2/3 cup milk.

DON'T ADD THE LIQUID INGREDIENTS TO DRY INGREDIENTS OF THE TOPPING UNTIL RIGHT BEFORE YOU ARE READY TO PUT IT OVER THE BERRIES.

Drop in tablespoon-fulls over the berry mixture and bake another 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with ice cream.

I know they aren't blueberries - but

2009-07-25T17:56:00.000-07:00

These beets from The Shepherd's garden are so pretty (and they were very tasty!)

Blueberry Tortilla Wraps

2009-07-23T22:01:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe in an old magazine - I will admit I haven't tried it, but I think that it might be quite a tasty treat to take along on a picnic for dessert.

The recipe was co-sponsored by Mission 98% Fat Free Tortillas and the US Highbush Blueberry Council . I haven't poked around their website much but they seem to have some unique recipes for anything blueberry that you could want - beverages, breakfast, desserts, main dishes, salads, sauces and soups - make sure you take a look!

Creamy Minted Blueberry Tortilla Wraps (serves 8)

Combine in a small bowl and beat until well blended (set aside):

8 oz. Philadelphia brand "Light" cream cheese (the original recipe calls for "fat free", but seriously, that stuff is like rubber!) (make sure it's at room temperature)
2 Tbsp lime juice (roll your lime on the counter before you cut it and you'll get more juice from it. You might also use a little itty bit of lime zest here too)
2-3 Tbsp. chopped FRESH mint (or less to taste)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
A couple tsp. of sugar or honey or Splenda if desired

Toss together in a smaller bowl:

3 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup diced mango or pineapple, drained

Heat an ungreased skillet or griddle over medium heat. Take your tortillas (one at a time) and warm for about 10 seconds on a side - you want them pliable, not toasted .

4 Mission 98% fat free Burrito Size Flour Tortillas

Spread each tortilla with one quarter of the cheese mixture then distribute one cup of the blueberry mixture over the bottom three-quarters of the tortilla, leaving the top with the cheese only. Gently press the fruit into the cheese. Fold in both sides of the tortilla about one inch then roll up snugly toward the cheese end. To serve, slice each wrap in half on a slight diagonal cut. If you are going to pack them for a picnic, wrap each whole one in waxed paper or plastic cling wrap and cut when you get to your destination.

Ideas for additions or changes -

Use lemon juice instead of lime juice -

Add a tsp. of poppy seeds instead of the mint.

Sprinkle the filling with sunflower seeds (shelled, of course!) before you wrap it.

Use diced peaches instead of mangos

Blueberry Galette

2009-07-11T21:54:00.000-07:00

When Marie Antoinette said "Let them eat cake" maybe she was really talking about Galettes. The definition of galette is from the French and designates a type of "free form" pie or tart. Sweet or savory, these rustic and easy to make "pies" leave your family or guests thinking that, like the lady who splashes flour on her face after making Rice Krispie treats, you have slaved for hours over a hot stove. In all actuality, they are "as easy as pie" only easier.

If you have a favorite pie crust recipe, make it, but you also can grab a pre-made crust - the type that comes from the refrigerator case - let it sit out for a bit so it become pliable - you don't want it to crack and let all the good juices from your fruit filling out!

Blueberry Gallette

Turn your oven on 375 degrees.

Make (or take out of the fridge) One pie crust for single crust pie. Lay it out on a large baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper. If you have a pizza stone even better - but remove all the traces of pizza from it first - no one wants a piece of blueberry tart that tastes like garlic......(like the iced tea with lemon that I got at Arby's the other day - they had, apparently cut their lemon slices on their food slicer - pretty smart idea - all your slices will be uniform - but a bad idea if you have just sliced the onions and NOT cleaned the slicer first - Onion iced tea doesn't hold a candle to that with raspberry stuff...) Sorry, I digress.......

In a medium sized bowl, toss
2 1/2 - 3 cups of fresh (or frozen) blueberries
1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar, depending upon how sweet your berries are
(if your berries are kind of bland you could add a little lemon zest or a tablespoon of lemon juice here)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp of cornstarch

Mound your berry mixture onto the middle of the pie crust leaving at least a 3 inch border all the way around. Carefully fold up the crust around the berries (leaving a saucer sized hole in the center - your dough will not meet in the middle.) This is why you want to make sure that your crust is at room temperature because if it is too cold, it will crack around the folds and all the juice from your tart will run out! If you want to, sprinkle a little sugar around the edges.

Bake galette at 375 degrees for 35 minutes (if you are using a refrigerated pie crust, I would suggest 350 degrees for 40 - 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and run a thin spatula under your tart and carefully transfer it to a service platter. A nice touch is to make a little powdered sugar glaze with 1/2 cup powdered sugar and about a tablespoon of water - drizzle this over the galette and serve. (you could also sift a little powdered sugar over the top - ala Emerill - you know "Bam"

Some recipes I found for galettes said this made 12 servings - egads - I was thinking 4 at the most!

You can also make this with any kind of fruit that you might have on hand - apples, blackberries, plums, apricots, peaches, singularly or a mix of two or three. Try layering them on top of some sweetened cream cheese, or go savory with an onion jam and sliced almonds or maybe sauteed spinach, mushrooms, onions and feta cheese. Now, doesn't that sound tasty? Enjoy!

Blue Blueberry Muffins

2009-06-15T22:11:00.000-07:00

I have recently been reading Joanne Fluke's "Bakery" mystery novels. The third book in the series (there are 11 to date) is called "The Blueberry Muffin Murder" - and the murdered woman is found with one of bakery shop owner Hannah Swensen's new Blue Blueberry Muffins in her hand - a lively search for the murderer ensues - all I can tell you is that the muffin did NOT do it.

All of the books come complete with the recipes for the tasty treats that Ms. Swenson sells in her shop, The Cookie Jar. I haven't tried these out yet, but they sounded good - heavy on the butter and sugar, how could they not be?

Blue Blueberry Muffins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees - rach in middle position.

3/4 cup melted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 cup sugar
2 beaten eggs (whip them up with a fork)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, do not thaw)
1/2 cup blueberry pie filling
2 cups plus 1 Tblsp. flour (no need to sift)
1/2 cup milk

Crumb topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup softened butter (1/4 stick)
**Now here's where I would add about 1/2 tsp of cinnamon - it would really be good with this muffin)

Grease the bottom only of a 12 cup muffin pan (or line the cups with cupcake papers). Melt the butter. Mix in the sugar. then add the beaten eggs, baking powder and salt and mix thoroughly.

Put one tablespoon of the flour in a plastic bag with your cup of fresh or frozen blueberries. Shake it gently to coat the blueberries, and leave them in the bag for now.

Add half the remaining two cups of flour to your bowl and mix it in in with half the milk, then add the rest of the flour and milk and mix thoroughly.

Here comes the fun part. Add 1/2 cup blueberry pie filling to your bowl and mix it in (Your dough will turn a shade of blue, but don't let that stop you - once the muffins are baked, they'll look just fine. When your dough is thoroughly mixed, fold in the flour-coated fresh or frozen blueberries.

Fill your muffin tins three-quarters full and set them aside. If you have dough left over, grease the bottom of a small tea-bred loaf pan and fill it with your remaining dough.

For the crumb topping, Mix the sugar and the flour in a small bowl. Add the softened butter and cut it in until it's crumbly (you can also do this in a food processor with hard butter using the steel blade)

Sprinkle the crumb topping over your muffins and bake them in a 375 degree oven for 25 - 30 minutes (the tea bread should take about ten minutes longer than the muffins.

When the muffins are baked, set the muffin pan on a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes. They will come out of the pan much easier that way.

The author suggests freezing the rest of the blueberry pie filling in paper cups filled with 1/2 cups measured out in each one - Keep them in a plastic freezer bag and that way the next time you want to make some muffins just thaw out one of the pre-measured 1/2 cups for your next batch.

If you are looking for some fun summer reading, bake up a batch of these Blue Blueberry Muffins and sit down with a cup of tea and one of Ms. Fluke's delicious murder mysteries - you won't know where the day went.

Recipe copyright Joanne Fluke, 2002.

Blueberry Bliss

2008-08-30T18:43:00.001-07:00

One of the very best web sites for baking is the Land 'o Lakes site and their collection of blueberry recipes is outstanding. There are 52 fantastic blueberry recipes and you can access it by clicking here and typing in blueberry as the key word in the search bar!

Lemon-Blueberry Cream Pie

2008-07-09T23:25:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe out of a Better Homes & Gardens magazine years ago before blueberries were the "favored fruit" - It is, quite honestly, one of the best pies I've ever had. Fresh blueberries are folded into a thick lemony filling that's been given a little more tang and richness with sour cream. Best eaten the day it's made, make your best pastry pie shell for this pie, but if "push comes to shove" I think that a graham cracker crust would be OK too.

(BTW, If you don't have a microplane grater, get one. If nothing more, just for grating lemon rind. Then grate all the rind off the lemons as they come in the house - put it in the freezer wrapped in plastic wrap - it will last for a month or so - put it in salad dressings, on chicken or fish - works on limes, oranges too - and although I've never used it - fresh nutmeg) Anyhow, I digress - here is the recipe for Lemon-Blueberry Cream Pie

LEMON BLUEBERRY CREAM PIE

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
1/4 cup butter, cut up
1 Tbsp finely grated fresh lemon peel

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 8oz. carton sour cream
2 cups fresh blueberries

1 9-inch baked pie shell

Sweetened whipped cream (optional)
Lemon slices, to garnish (optional)

To make the filling:

In a saucepan combine 1 cup sugar and cornstarch. Add milk, egg yolks, butter or margarine, and 1 tablespoon lemon peel. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice. Transfer to a bowl; cover with plastic wrap and cool. When cool, stir sour cream and blueberries into mixture; pour into baked pastry shell. Cover and chill at least 4 hours. If desired, stir a little lemon peel into sweetened whipped cream. Pipe or spoon atop pie. Garnish with lemon slices.

Number of servings: 8

SALMON WITH CRANBERRY-BLUEBERRY VINAIGRETTE AND BABY GREENS

2008-06-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe in a newsletter I subscribe to - It sounded awfully good - I tweaked it a little to suite my family's tastes. I have not tried this, but I think if you were to double the dressing recipe and use part of it to lightly brush on the salmon before it bakes, it would make a nice marinade. Make sure you keep the marinade part separate from the dressing you put on the salads though, so your salad dressing is not contaminated with unbaked fish.

SALMON WITH CRANBERRY-BLUEBERRY VINAIGRETTE AND BABY GREENS
Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
For Dressing:
6 tablespoons Ocean Spray® 100% Juice Cranberry & Blueberry
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 salmon filet, 20-24 ounces
1 lemon - slice into 8 slices (removing the ends first), divided
Lightly sprinkle with Garlic salt

4 cups mixed baby greens
1/4 cup blueberries

DIRECTIONS:

Whisk together juice, 4 tablespoons olive oil, vinegar, honey, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in small bowl; set aside.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper, with enough on the ends to meet in the middle and seal. Spray with cooking spray. Place the salmon filet skin side down, in the center of the sheet. Sprinkle with garlic salt and place 4 of the lemon slices down the center. Fold the foil (or parchment) to the center and seal, folding up all edges to create a packet. Bake for about 25 minutes per pound (aprox 40-45 minutes for 24 oz. filet or until the salmon flakes easily) Slow baking at a lower temperature makes the fish stay moist. When the fish is done, replace the baked lemon slices with fresh ones (sliced 1/2 way through and twisted so they look pretty) Divide the salmon into four portions and place on dinner plates.

Divide greens between plates and drizzle greens and salmon with vinaigrette; sprinkle with blueberries.

Makes 4 servings.

The Power of Blue

2008-06-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

Blueberries rank No. 1 in antioxidant benefits compared to 40 other fresh fruits and vegetables (USDA Human Nutrition Center). Antioxidants help neutralize harmful "free radicals" that can lead to cancer and other age-related diseases. The total antioxidant capacity of blueberries is twice that of spinach and three times that of oranges.

Blueberries are also rich in pectin, a soluble fiber that has been shown in several research studies to be effective in lowering cholesterol.

Live Longer, Live Better - Eat Blueberries!

Blueberry Jello Salad

2008-05-31T17:11:00.000-07:00

The blueberries are blooming! I'll try & get out to take some pictures of them in the next day or so - they have very pretty little bell shaped flowers. Hopefully the bees are busy too - without bees, there would be no berries (or apples, or cherries etc. etc. etc.) Blueberry honey is very good - just a very faint fruity fragrance to it.

I found the following recipe in "The Church Supper Cookbook" It is a collection of over 375 great potluck recipes from families and churches across the country. It was originally published in 1980 as "The Yankee Church Supper Cookbook" and was edited by David Joachim. It has a lot of those recipes like Four Bean Salad that you can't find in cookbooks today (trust me, I have a LOT of cookbooks and one day I looked & looked for that recipe - finally found it in a homemade cookbook from the UU church in Bellingham - aptly named "The Garden of Eatin") - anyhow, there are a half dozen blueberry recipes in this cookbook, so I'll share some of them with you in the coming weeks. I haven't made this recipe, but it looks awfully good. (of course you have to remember I come from a little town in Eastern Washington and a Scandanavian background - no potluck was complete without at least 3 or 4 jello salads)

I would think that you could save out a little of the gelatin mixture and mix it in with the cream cheese mixture for a very lovely shade of lavendar. Wouldn't that be pretty?

BLUEBERRY SALAD Serves 8-10

2 ea (3 oz each) packages black raspberry gelatin
2 cups boiling water
2 ea (20 oz) can crushed pineapple
1 ½ cups fresh blueberries
½ cup water

8 oz. package cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
½ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup chopped walnuts

Mix gelatin with a little bit of cold water for 3-5 minutes, then add boiling water and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Add pineapple (with juice) and fresh blueberries with the half cup of water. Pour into a 9” x 13” pan and chill until set. Beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla, and spread over the gelatin and fruit mixture. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Refrigerate until time to serve.

From “The Church Supper Cookbook” Edited by David Joachim copy write 1980
Marcia Fletcher, St Anne’s Episcopal Church, Calais, Maine

Blueberry Sour Cream Cake

2008-04-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

Although I don't have any pictures of this cake, I've made it and remember that it was delicious. It is made in a spring form pan So it is somewhat like a coffee cake but more a dessert, I think.

BLUEBERRY SOUR CREAM CAKE - serves 8 - from the kitchen of M.T.

CAKE BASE:
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup butter, soft(room temp)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

2 cups fresh blueberries, picked clean of any stems, etc. Rinse if they are dusty (**do not confuse dust with the white, waxy coating on the outside of blueberries which is called "bloom." This is part of the berry's natural defense mechanism, which protects the berries from sunlight, holding in valuable moisture and extending their shelf life. Bloom is completely natural and not at all harmful. You should not try to wash it off your berries. Raspberries sometimes have bloom as well, though it's not as prevalent as with blueberries.)

CUSTARD:
2 cups sour cream (I would NOT use fat free)
2 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease (with butter) a 9 or 10 inch springform pan.

1. Combine flour and baking powder - set aside.
2. In a medium size bowl, cream the butter & sugar until smooth. Blend in the egg and vanilla, then blend in the flour mixture.
3. Pour the batter into your springform pan.
4. Top the batter with the blueberries
5. Make your custard topping by combining the sour cream, eggs, 1/2 cup of sugar and the tsp of vanilla. Blend well; pour over the blueberries.
6. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees or until the edges are lightly browned. Let it sit for at least an hour at room temperature before you remove the outer ring of your springform pan.

** Info on the white coating on blueberries came from QueryCat.com where you can search for over 5,000,000 questions and answers - quite the neat site, I think.

Vickie's Blueberry Upside Down Cake

2008-02-10T19:05:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from the blog The Moveable Feast. Vickie is a personal chef, a teacher, a spinner & knitter. I always enjoy reading her blog. She kindly agreed that I could share her Blueberry Upside Down Cake with you.

"The recipe came from one of my old faithful books Farm Journal's Country Cookbook. I have had this book for years and years. The recipes in the book are pretty simple and I do think that sometimes that less is more and simple is right. There is a reason for KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). Cake mix makes this a quickie dessert"

-Blueberry Upside-Down Cake Serves 9
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened blueberries, thawed
2 tsp grated lemon peel (divided in half)
1 (8 1/2 oz) pkg. yellow cake mix
1/2 cup heavy cream (whipped)

Melt butter in 8" square baking pan. Sprinkle sugar evenly over butter.
Mix blueberries and 1 tsp lemon peel; sprinkle over sugar. Prepare yellow cake mix according to package directions, stirring in 1 tsp of lemon peel at end of mixing. Spread batter over berries. Bake in moderate oven (375) for 30 minutes or until cake tests done. Let stand 10 minutes. Turn out on platter. Serve warm. Top with whipped cream at the table if you wish.

Editor's note - your standard box cake mix is anywhere from 16-18 ounces, so if you're going to use all of a "regular" cake mix, I would think that you should double your fruit, butter & sugar AND use two 8" baking pans or a standard 9x13 cake pan.

Blueberry ebelskivers

2007-11-25T15:13:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I inherited from my mom was our family's ebelskiver pan. What the heck is an "ebelskiver" you ask? It is a little round pancake made in a pan with "dimples". For the last several years, our friend Nancy has had a wonderful New Year's brunch at her farm, and I have made it a tradition to make ebelskivers - with homemade applesause they are just yummy but Williams and Sonoma have come up with some new ebelskiver recipes, including one using blueberries for the filling. I think this year I'll make the Blueberry ones. Here's their recipe.

Blueberry-Filled Pancakes
Known as ebelskiver in Denmark, these light, fluffy pancakes make a delicious breakfast treat paired with lingonberry or raspberry jam.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 Tbs. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Zest of 1/2 lemon
3 egg yolks plus 5 egg whites
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
5 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1 pint blueberries
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

In a batter pitcher or bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, granulated sugar, salt and lemon zest. Set aside.

In another bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks. Whisk in the buttermilk and ricotta. Whisk the yolk mixture into the flour mixture until well combined; the mixture will be lumpy. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff but not dry peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir the whites into the batter in two additions.

Put 1/2 tsp. butter in each well of a filled-pancake pan. Place over medium heat and heat until the butter begins to bubble. Pour 1 Tbs. batter into each well, place 4 blueberries in the center of the batter and top with 1 Tbs. batter. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, 3 to 5 minutes. Using 2 wooden skewers turn the pancakes over and cook until golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter and blueberries.

Dust the pancakes with confectioner’s sugar and serve warm. Makes about 30.

copywrite 2007 Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

Blueberry Pound Cake

2007-11-08T23:57:00.000-08:00

Oh, Oh, Oh, I've been SO busy!

I found this recipe on Mom's Best Recipes" and would like to thank Shirley McNevich for giving me her permission to reprint it here on my blueberry blog. I haven't made it yet, but I'm gonna!

Blueberry Pound Cake - (by Shirley McNevich)

1 box Betty Crocker butter flavored cake mix
8oz. Philadelphia cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup canola oil
3 eggs
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

In a mixer add cream cheese--beat. Add eggs and canola oil--beat. Add cake mix and beat until smooth. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in the blueberries with a spoon. Pour batter into a lightly greased and floured 10" tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 min. to 1 hour. Test with a toothpick for doneness. Serve cake with Cool Whip or glaze.

By the way, this is a very lucky family - the recipes that I have read from this blog all looked great - what a wonderful legacy to leave!

Blueberry-Lime Margarita

2007-09-21T22:06:00.000-07:00

Reviews of this recipe were quite high. One person said they used 1/2 cup of tequila instead of 3 oz. The other issue seemed to be lack of "blueberry nectar" but apparently blueberry juice was readily available. I wonder what would happen if you used Rose's Lime instead of plain lime juice - I'll bet it would add a little more zing - maybe a little dash of apricot brandy on the top?

Blueberry-Lime Margarita - 2 Servings
Frozen limeade adds zing to this stellar blueberry margarita.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups ice

1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup blueberry nectar
1/4 cup seltzer
2 tablespoons frozen limeade
1 tablespoon lime juice
3 ounces tequila
1 lime wedge
Coarse salt

DIRECTIONS:

Combine ice, blueberries, blueberry nectar, seltzer, limeade, lime juice and tequila, if using, in a blender and blend until smooth. Rub rim of 2 glasses with lime wedge and dip in salt. Divide the margarita between the prepared glasses and serve.

Presented by: EatingWell.com
Total Time: 10 min
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
1 serving: Calories 125; Carbohydrates 31g; Dietary Fiber 2g; Fat 1g; Potassium 147mg; Sodium 6mg

Photograph from EatingWell.com

Pancakes ala' Williams & Sonoma

2007-09-03T00:57:00.000-07:00

About once every couple of weeks I get a "Customer e-mail" from Williams & Sonoma. They never fail to delight me with a very cool kitchen tool that I'd love to have, but either don't have room for (remember, there's all those Pampered Chef things in my kitchen) - or can't afford - face it - W&S is top drawer BUT their customer emails are anything but junk mail - They also have what I call "do-able" recipes - that is something that looks not too fussy that the DH will eat and will also be fun to make. Here's their latest offering - (and actually they called it "Maine" Blueberry Sauce - but bein' as how we're in Washington, and you might be in Minnesota, I left the state off)

Pancakes with [YOUR STATE'S NAME HERE] Blueberry Sauce

This pancake batter combines all-purpose flour with buckwheat flour, a dark flour that has a nutty, slightly sweet flavor and firm texture. A warm sauce made from fresh blueberries adds the perfect finishing touch.

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1/2 cup whole-ground buckwheat flour, sifted

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 1/4 cups buttermilk

4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 to 2 Tbs. vegetable oil

2 cups fresh blueberries

Zest of 1/2 lemon

1 Tbs. cornstarch

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Preheat an oven to 200°F. In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs on medium speed until frothy. Add the all-purpose and buckwheat flours, 3 Tbs. of the sugar, the baking powder, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, butter and vanilla and stir just until smooth. Heat a griddle over medium-high heat. Lightly grease the griddle with oil or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Using a batter dispenser, dispense the batter onto the griddle. Cook until bubbles form on top of the pancakes and the batter is set, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until golden brown on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while cooking the remaining pancakes.

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the blueberries, the remaining 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbs. sugar, the lemon zest and 1/2 cup water and stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a simmer. In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch, 1 Tbs. water and the lemon juice. Add to the berries and stir until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Serve the warm blueberry sauce over the pancakes. Serves 4.

Copywrite 2007 Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

Blueberry Lemon Tea Cake

2007-08-25T22:14:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-15T23:47:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-12T11:11:00.001-07:00

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

2007-08-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

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....

2007-08-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

"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

2007-08-04T00:23:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-03T17:37:00.000-07:00

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