Hello, everybody!! Mary Jane here. We've recovered somewhat from our bout with the stomach flu. Glad that's over! I hope I haven't spoken too soon because I'm pretty sure we got it twice in a row.
Anyway, it's that time of year again....
No, not quite yet.
Still nope.
Still months away...
YES. But that's not where I was headed.
(We definitely have cherries here. These bowls are from our trees, and it was only a tiny percentage of what was ready to pick. This is why our neighbors love us- we share!)
Closer....
Closer...
(I just have to gaze at that picture again. What a great memory! We were picnicking on the coast and we brought over blueberries, and my mother brought loganberries, boysenberries, and pink raspberries, and we made a delicious buckle in a cast iron pot over the fire.)
DEFINITELY NOT. But it sure looks good...
YES.
Ohhhh, yes!!
So, in honor of blueberry season, I'm posting a few of my favorite blueberry recipes!
LEMON BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
Preheat oven to 425F
Ingredients:
4 TBS unsalted butter
2 cups flour
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
grated lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk
2.5 cups blueberries
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt, stir all sugar but 2 tbs into mix and make a well in the center. Then beat the egg, add the melted butter, lemon zest, vanilla and milk. Beat again until foamy. Pour into the well you just made in the dry mix.
Mmmmmm.......
Stir the mix until smooth, then gently fold in all the blueberries.
Pour into muffin papers until about 3/4 full, bake 12-15 minutes. Take the lemon juice and sugar and mix together, an then brush the tops of the muffins.
Taaaasty....
I like my muffins with a little bit of cold butter, so it melts as they come right out of the oven.
I love this picture! They're all so little!! I can't believe that kiddo there in the blue shorts is 3 inches taller than I am now and wears a sz 13 shoe. Gracious!
MINIATURE CINNAMON AND BLUEBERRY PIE
Usually I try to avoid the whole sugar/fruit/lard crust concotion because it's like cocaine. At least to me.
How can we have our pie and not eat TOO MUCH OF IT, too??
That is the question.
And here is the answer. Ramekins.
In case any of you are applauding my cleverness, just remember that some people in my family won't eat their pie. That means I get leftovers.
MORE PIE FOR ME!
Blueberries. Washed. Picked over. Lady bugs released outside.
Uh, oh. I spy a stem. This isn't the end of the world, but I try to get them out. If not, more fiber, right?
For 8 cups of berries, I used 1/4 cup of lime juice. I like lime better than lemon. And add the sugar. I will not say how much I put in. :) Maybe a cup. Or two.
Some people like blueberry-peach, blueberry-apricot, blueberry-raspberry. I like cinnamon in mine. I think it really brings out a deep flavor in the berries. So, for a 4 cup pie, I'd put in 1/4 tsp of cinnamon. For this batch of 8 cups I put in 1/2 tsp. Mmmmm.... Smelling delicious already.
Adding the thickener is up to you, since it will be confined to a ramekin. I added corn starch because I actually like the flavor.
Pie crust. From a box, or from the freezer section. Or using CRISCO SHORTENING in the old style recipe!! (I'm scared just reading that, but it will be worth it.) Cut into half inch strips.
Pretty.
Or an old-fashioned version if you don't have the time or coordination to make tiny lattice work pies the size of your palm.
Waitaminute. Don't I have six million kids (like Mary Curry so aptly put it)? Ah. Here's one of theirs.
I wasn't very sure how much time these would take so I set it for 15 minutes and checked them every so often. Oh, and put them on a cookie sheet. Your oven will thank you.
Super hot. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO EAT.
You will regret it and your tastebuds will never forgive you.
Oh, MERCY. Is it cool yet?????
This is my big hot mess of pie, with a few spoonfuls of homemade apricot ice cream on top.
Yes, it was good.
No, there was none left.
Haha, this is a picture of a 'I got a really sour berry' moment.
The great thing about pie is that you can make it as fancy as you want, or as simple as you want.
RASPBERRY-BLUEBERRY GREEK YOGURT PARFAIT
This dessert is about as simple as it gets!
The best blueberries for this are the sweet Toros. They don't freeze well. You pick them to enjoy, within hours.
Mix 1/4 cup honey into 1 pint of plain Greek yogurt. Some say it's fine without the honey, but as much as I love Greek yogurt, without a sweetener it tastes like sour cream to me.
Place about 6 tbs in the bottom of the glass. Add blueberries, then raspberries, then the graham cracker crumbles. Repeat until filled. Add some mint if you like!
BLUEBERRY ICE CREAM SAUCE
Home made blueberry syrup is sweet, potent, addicting.
Three cups of blueberries, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 cup water.
Heat to a boil, stirring constantly.
Add 1 tsp lemon juice and a pinch of salt.
Let boil (stirring constantly, you do NOT want to burn a pan of blueberries) for ten minutes.
Dissolve 2 TBS corn starch in 1 TBS hot water. Add to the blueberry mixture and boil for three minutes, or until thickened. Remove from heat and let cool.
BLUEBERRY MINT LEMONADE
I have to admit, I'd drink this all day instead of water if I didn't have to act like an adult and be sensible!
Two cups blueberries
3/4 cup lemon juice
half gallon of water
1 cup sugar, or to taste. (Of course, it's always best to heat the sugar and some water on the stove to make a syrup, and then add it. Otherwise all the sugar is at the bottom...)
Mix up the lemonade. Shred three mint leaves and add to the lemonade. Crush the blueberries and add to the mix. Chill overnight or as long as you can wait. ENJOY!!
Well, I'd better stop here, but can you tell I'm excited for blueberry season? I hope you get to try a few of these recipes. Let me know what you think!
Be sure to stop by my author page at Mary Jane Hathaway or Virginia Carmichael. And be sure to check out my next release "Autumn's Majesty"
right here.
