Blueberry-Buttermilk Wheat Pancakes

When I try out a basic recipe for something and have great results, I tend to use it as a baseline for creating many new recipes. I use the same basic chocolate chip cookie recipe with many variations, and now, this Buttermilk Pancake recipe. I first made the recipe back in February, and have since made it many times. When blueberries were abundant at the Farmer's Market this summer, I knew they would be destined for pancakes. Though the recipe isn't unhealthy, I did want to make a small changes to make it healthier. I did this by simply subbing half the flour for whole wheat pastry flour. I also added a tsp. of vanilla extract, just for a bit more flavor with the blueberries. These pancakes were still light and fluffy, full of sweet berries, and perfect for Saturday morning breakfast!

Blueberry-Buttermilk Wheat Pancakes

1 c. unbleached all purpose flour

1 c. whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 eggs, slight beaten

2 tbsp. canola oil

2 c. lowfat buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 pint blueberries

Heat griddle over medium (about 350*)

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together salt, baking soda and flours.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together oil, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.

Add dry ingredients to wet, stir until moistened.

Add blueberries to batter and stir gently, careful to not break berries.

Spray griddle with nonstick spray, ladle batter onto griddle.

Cook for 3-4 minutes, until bubbles form all over pancakes, flip and cook for another 2 minutes.

Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve with pure maple syrup and butter.

Note: These keep well in the freezer in a food storage bag. To reheat, just place in a foil packet and cook at 350* for 10 minutes.

Blueberry-Pomegranate Yogurt Ice Pops

I've seen countless ice cream recipes on other blogs that leave me craving the sweet, creamy deliciousness... but when I scan through the ingredient list and see cream, half and half, egg yolks, sugar... I just can't do it.  I know if I have a batch of homemade ice cream, there will be zero self-control. So I like to indulge by getting a scoop when I'm out every now and then... and leave my homemade concoctions on the healthier side. 

I recently received a package of POM Wonderful Pomegranate-Blueberry juice to review. The POM Wonderful people are always so generous, and I am more than happy to enjoy the juice in a mocktail (club soda, splash of juice and a lime). However, I was craving ice cream, and had this juice at my disposal, so I figured I'd make a healthy, icy treat! 

These ice pops were so simple, healthy and delicious. In the future, I might use vanilla yogurt rather than plain because the juice is fairly tart, so the ice pops we sweet, but quite tart. These ice pops come in around 30 calories a pop (they're about the size of a dixie cup). They filled my homemade, cool, sweet treat void without breaking the calorie bank! 

Blueberry-Pomegranate Yogurt Ice Pops

8 oz. POM Wonderful Blueberry-Pomegranate Juice

1 c. plain or vanilla yogurt

1/2 pint blueberries

Whisk together juice and yogurt in a pourable measuring cup. 

Place straws in the center of ice pop molds, place 5-6 blueberries around the stick to hold it up.

Pour about 1/4 c. juice mixture into each mold.

Place in the freezer for 2+ hours, or until solid.

Makes 8 ice pops.

Summer Berry Crumble

I have a big confession to make. I am a food hoarder. This past weekend could have put me in a mental hospital. First, Whole Foods tweeted that cherries were on sale for $1.99/lb for one day only. Ok, so I'll stop by WF after work and pick up what, maybe 20 lbs? Ok, ten. Then, I opened up the Publix ad and found that Blueberries were 2/$3, raspberries were 2/$4 and blackberries were 2/$5. Plus, I had coupons for $1.50/1 carton of berries. That's FREE blueberries. Fifty cent raspberries! One dollar for a large carton of blackberries! And it was a store coupon, so I could print it as many times as I wanted and go back to Publix over and over and over. Then I discovered that it was pickin' time at the local blueberry farms. Let me take you back to last summer's blueberry picking...12 lbs. in an hour.  Like I said, I have a problem.  

See, when you know your absolute most favorite foods are super cheap with the smallest carbon footprint of the year (cause of course, you can still buy raspberries in January, but they're shipped halfway around the world and cost a fortune), you MUST stock up. 

So that is what I did. I went to Whole Foods, bought 12 lbs of cherries, and then fought with myself to not go back an hour later and get more. I compulsively printed coupons and stopped by Publix every time I left the house. And now I have pounds and pounds of berries and cherries. I'll probably eat about half of them in their true form, maybe 1/4 will go in oatmeal or yogurt, but I also wanted to do a tiny bit of baking. I have to admit, frozen berries are almost as good as fresh in baking, but fresh just always wins out. 

So I decided for dessert to make something that was going to let the fresh, juicy berry shine. I thought a simple crumble with a vanilla bean ice cream would do just that. To make the crumble healthier, I used a bit of butter, but then mixed in applesauce, which worked perfectly. Simple, healthy, summer. 

I apologize for the sub-par photos, they don't do the crumble justice. However, I simply could not wait to eat it. Also, I would probably double the crumble mixture next time, I wanted it to be thin and light, but it was so delicious I wish I had made more.

Summer Berry Crumble

(serves 4 normal people, I could eat the whole pan)

1 lb. cherries, pitted and halved

1 pint of blueberries

1 pint of blackberries

1/2 pint raspberries

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. cornstarch

pinch of salt

1 tsp. almond extract

1/2 c. rolled oats

1/4 c. white whole wheat flour

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

Pinch of salt

1 tsp. baking powder

2 tbsp. butter, cold

1/4 c. unsweetened apple sauce

1 pint vanilla bean ice cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 325*

In a mixing bowl, toss together berries, sugar, cornstarch, almond extract and a pinch of salt. 

Pour into a baking dish.

In a small bowl, mix together oats, flour, brown sugar, salt and baking powder.

Use a fork or pastry cutter and cut in butter.

Add applesauce and stir to combine.

Use fingers to crumble mixture on top of berries evenly in small blobs.

Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

*To pit my cherries, I use a straw, you can see photos here. Maybe one day I'll get a real cherry pitter! http://ashleescooking.blogspot.com/2008/07/cherry-rhubarb-cobbler.html

Blueberry Almond and Cranberry-Orange Muffins

For brunch, I decided to make 2 types of muffins. I'm a big fan of cranberry-orange, but I know some people don't like cranberry, so I also made blueberry. Our internet was down, so I couldn't look up an recipes, so I grabbed my go-to baking book, "Baking From My Home to Yours" by Dorie Greenspan (the Tuesdays with Dorie book). She had a recipe for Orange Blueberry Muffins, so I adapted it to make both recipes. The muffins came out a bit on the dry side, so next time I might undercook them for a little less time.

Blueberry Almond and Cranberry Orange Muffins

adapted from Dorie Greenspan

Blueberry Almond:

1 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

3 tbsp. honey

1 stick of butter, melted and cooled

1/3 cup sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

1 tsp. lemon zest

1 tsp. almond extract

Raw sugar, for dusting the tops

Cranberry Orange:

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

Juice of 1 orange

1 stick of butter, melted and cooled

1/3 cup sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries

1 tbsp. orange zest

Raw sugar, for dusting the tops

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line a 12 cup muffin tin (or 2 if making both recipes).

Add sugar to a bowl, add zest and rub zest into sugar with fingers.

Add buttermilk, eggs, honey or orange juice, extract and melted butter to the bowl. Whisk well.

In a seperate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.

Add wet ingredients to dry, whisk until just incorporated.

Add berries, fold in with a spatula.

Divide batter evenly into muffin cups.

Bake for 10 minutes, sprinkle the muffin tops with sugars.

Bake for another 11-13 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack, store in an air tight container.

Blueberry Scones

Yes, another Blueberry recipe! I still have about 5 pounds to go... so look for a few more!
I love scones, I wish they weren't so fattening! I googled and found this recipe from Martha Stewart. I don't think I've ever used one of her recipes before, so this was a first.
I have to say, not very impressed! I think my blueberries are a bit tart, but these scones weren't sweet at all! Now I know, I am used to Starbucks scones and they tend to be sweeter than most, but only having 3 tbsp. of sugar in the whole recipe just wasn't enough. I did use organic raw sugar, but it shouldn't really matter what kind of sugar is used.
I think next time I'll look for another recipe with just a bit more sweetness!
Blueberry Scones by Martha Stewart

Sour Cream Blueberry Pancakes

With impending rain, heat, and bugs, Vickie and I decided to go blueberry picking at 7am. We picked for about an hour, so when I got home around 8:30, JJ was still in bed. I was ready to dive into the berries, and thought I might lure JJ out of bed with some pancakes. I had already packed up all my cookbooks and didn't feel like looking up a recipe, so I just made one up. I wanted to make it something special, with a twist or two, so I added lemon zest and sour cream, and rather than have maple syrup (because we were out) I made a lemon blueberry sauce. These pancakes were fluffy and delicious, but the berries got so hot, when we bit into them the juice burned our mouths - be careful!

Sour Cream Blueberry Pancakes

1/4 c. light sour cream
1 c. milk (we have 1%)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. unbleached AP flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 c. blueberries


Syrup:
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. brown sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 c. blueberries


Preheat a griddle over medium heat.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together milk, sour cream, egg and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, lemon zest and brown sugar.
Add wet ingredients to dry and fold together. Add in blueberries and fold again.
Butter or spray griddle, ladle pancake batter onto griddle about 1/4-1/3 c. at a time.
When pancakes bubble up, flip (about 5 minutes).
Cook for another 3 minutes or so, and plate.
This recipe makes about 8 pancakes.


Heat a saucepan over medium, add butter, melt. Add brown sugar, bring to a bubble.
Add lemon juice and blueberries, cover and simmer until a thick sauce develops, about 5-10 minutes.
Pour over pancakes, serve with whipped cream if desired.

Blueberry Crumb Coffee Cake

When I first got Baking, From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan, I was amazed at how many recipes had photos. I hate cookbooks that don't have photos because I am such a visual person. When I flipped to the page that had this Blueberry Crumb Coffee Cake, I dog earred the page and knew I'd be making it at some point.

I seriously considered it for my TWD week when I was part of the group, but I know blueberries can be hard to find and expensive in the off season, so I went with the WONDERFUL banana marble loaf.

Well I'd forgotten about the recipe until I was packing up my cookbooks on Friday and saw it. Since I was going blueberry picking on Saturday, it seemed like fate. I made it as soon as I could! This recipe was good, the cake was nice, but it's the crumbs that make it something special! My cake was a bit dry, and I only cooked it for 50 minutes, so I don't know that I'd go as long as Dorie says to.

I also didn't have walnuts, so I used rolled oats instead. I think the oats made the crumble even more delicious and healthier! I served this with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Blueberry Crumb Coffee Cake

by Dorie Greenspan

For the Crumbs:

5 tbsp unsalted butter at room temp

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar (packed)

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup rolled oats

For the Cake:

1 pint blueberries

2 cups plus 2 tsp all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

2/3 cup sugar

grated zest of 1/2 lemon

3/4 stick (6 tbsp) unsalted butter at room temp

2 large eggs, at room temp

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350.

Butter an 8-inch square pan and put it on a baking sheet.

To make the crumbs:

Put all the ingredients except the nuts in a food processor and pulse just until the mixture forms clumps and curds and holds together when pressed.

Scrape the topping into a bowl, stir in the nuts and press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface.

Refrigerate until needed.

To make the cake:

Using your fingertips, toss the blueberries and 2 tsp of the flour together in a small bowl just to coat the berries; set aside.

Whisk together the remaining 2 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Working in the bowl of a stand mixer or in another large bowl, rub the sugar and zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and aromatic.

Add the butter and, with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar with the butter at medium speed until light, about 3 minutes.

Add the eggs one by one, beating for about 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla extract.

Don’t be concerned if the batter looks curdled — it will soon smooth out.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, the flour in 3 parts and the buttermilk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients.)

You will have a thick, creamy batter.

With a rubber spatula, gently stir in the berries.
Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and smooth the top gently with the spatula.

Pull the crumb mix from the fridge and, with your fingertips, break it into pieces.

There’s no need to try to get even pieces — these are crumbs, they’re supposed to be lumpy and bumpy and every shape and size. Scatter the crumbs over the batter, pressing them down ever so slightly.
Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until the crumbs are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Transfer the cake to a rack and cool just until it is warm or until it reaches room temperature.

Blueberries '09!

It appears as though I've made blueberry picking on July 4th a tradition! Last year I did it with my mom in Cincinnati, and this year, I went with my friend Vickie. I was a good little picker, check out the berries!


After eating about a pound yesterday and having the worst stomach ache last night, I've decided to maybe do some more baking and cooking with them rather than just eat them all (though I did just add a huge handful to my oatmeal...)


Anyway, any favorite blueberry recipes I haven't tried? I'm thinking about making Dorie's blueberry coffee cake, maybe some scones and/or muffins... I made some pancakes yesterday, that recipe will be up soon!

Mixed Berry Tartelettes

For the second dessert, I wanted to make little tartlettes. Since I knew they'd be outside, I had to use jam as the filling, rather than a cream or custard.
I loved the TWD Strawberry Tart, so I made them and then used some chopped strawberries and blueberries as well.
I used my sugar cookie recipe as the shell rather than a pie crust. Making the shells was a bit tedious, but they came out so cute!
1 recipe of cookie dough made 100 tartelettes.


1 recipe of cookie dough
1 pint of blueberries
35 small strawberries
1 c. chopped strawberries
1 large jar of raspberry jam

Nutella and Black Currant Filled Crepes with Berries and Creme

For dinner this week, I’ll be making French food. My first meal is a breakfast for dinner. I’ve never had crepes, or made them, so I figured now’s the time to try them out! My younger sister always orders fruit crepes when we go to brunch, so I took that idea and also added a few others.
I read that currants and jam are very popular in French cuisine, and Nutella is a common crepe filler, so I made nutella and black currant jam filled crepes with mixed berries and crème.
I recently saw an episode of Good Eats where Alton taught crepe making, so I went with his recipe and method. I also baked some eggs with Herbs de Provence and leeks, but they're not pictured. I hope you enjoy this French brunch!

(The Stars of the Crepes)

Basic Crepes, from Alton Brown

2 large eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1 cup flour

3 tablespoons melted butter

Butter, for coating the pan

Nutella and Black Currant Jam

Whipped Cream

Mixed Berries

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours. Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone.

Fill each crepe with a tablespoon full of either nutella or jam, fold in half, then over again. Top with berries and cream.

Bistro Salad with Blueberry Vinaigrette

Ever since I saw Liv's Blueberry Vinaigrette, I've been CRAVING it. Luckily I have pounds of blueberries to use (of which most are gone....) so I made this fruity salad with Liv's AMAZING dressing. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Fruity Bistro Salad with Liv's Most Delicious Blueberry Vinaigrette

1 head romaine lettuce, chopped

10 slices of cucumber

1/2 green apple, sliced

1/4 c. dried cranberries

1/4 c. walnuts

1/4 c. Blueberry Vinaigrette, recipe follows

½ c. Champagne Vinegar
1/2 c. Olive oil
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp finely ground white pepper
Honey
2 tablespoons plain yogurt

*I used only 2 tbsp. EVOO and added extra yogurt

Arrange salad in a bowl, top with dressing

Note - I used much more dressing than the photo shows, basically I just ate a bowl of dressing :)

TWD Double Crusted Blueberry Pie

This week's TWD recipe was Double Crusted Blueberry Pie, chosen by Amy. This pie was delicious! I really liked how the filling came together. I made my pie with light butter in the crust, but otherwise followed the recipe. I think I used too many blueberries, because I didn't know how to measure pints from my 5 lb. bag :) But doesn't the oozing blueberry goodness look divine!?

Coming soon....

(This is about 5 lbs.)

11 lbs. of Blueberries. Yes, that's how I spent my 4th of July.

I decided to go home to Cincinnati for one reason alone, blueberry picking with my mom at Rousters. They're only open for u-pick for 4 hours one day a year, and that was July 5th from 8-12. I had no idea how cut throat u-pick was. I thought my mom was crazy, telling me we'd need to leave the house by 7am, getting there at 7:30 to get in line. Really, mom, a line?! Well... it was maddness. The morning was gorgeous, the bushes were full and the berries were giant, sweet, and plentiful. I ate 3 berries while picking, and picked around 11 pounds. Mom picked 10 or so, but ate 3 I'm sure, so we ended up with 18.12 lbs. together.
I can't wait to make some delicious blueberry treats this week, including pie, dressing, and many other greats. Any ideas??? Leave me some comments :)

Blueberry Oat Pancakes

Tonight I decided to tackle making really healthy pancakes. They were a great success, delicious, light, and very healthy. The wild blueberries made these pancakes especially delicious! I made up this recipe as I went along, so the water addition is a judgement call, I think I added about 1/4-1/2 c. It should look like average pancake batter.

Blueberry Oat Pancakes

½ c. oat flour
½ c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. brown sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
1 egg white
½ c. skim milk
¼ - ½ c. water
½ c. wild blueberries, plus extra for topping

Turn a griddle on medium heat.

In a bowl, whisk oat flour (I use oatmeal ground in the food processor), whole wheat flour, baking powder, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the egg white, milk, and 1/4 c. water. Whisk for 20 seconds, if it's thick, add some water. When it reaches desired consistency, add 1/2 c. blueberries and fold in with a spatula.

Drop onto griddle about 1/4 c. at a time. Cook for 4 minutes on the first side, flip and cook for 3 minutes. This should make about 8-10 pancakes.