Blueberry Boy Bait

So once I had made Smitten Kitchen's rhubarb snacking cake, you knew it was only a matter of time before we had to try all of the "summer everyday cakes", right? I had left over blueberries from the lemon yogurt blueberry cake and so it was perfect timing to move on to the blueberry boy bait and I made it for my Robber boy. Predictably, he loved it and was super happy to eat all of it, and weirdly I didn't love it and felt it rather boring and burdensome calorically. This could be because it was a) super hot in the Cubby and I was very very sweaty and b) I had just re-weighed myself and found that I had gained two pounds since the last time I weighed myself perhaps over a month ago and c) I'm just harder to impress these days for whatever reason and d) the blueberries didn't pop out to me so I felt they were wasted. But all the reviewers on Smitten Kitchen loved loved this recipe as do their boys and my boy so maybe there is just something wrong with me? Sadly for the Robber, I may need a little time before I move on to the raspberry buttermilk cake and strawberry summer cakes.

Notes: Due to the few (and very far between) reviewers on Smitten Kitchen who felt the cake itself was bland and too sweet, I reduced the white sugar by 1/4 C. and added 1 tsp. vanilla, about a 1/2 tsp. lemon zest, and a few generous dashes of nutmeg to the batter which probably helped and certainly didn't hurt. I also tripled the cinnamon (it's one of my basic rules of cooking.) One reviewer added cardamom which sounds intriguing as a possibility but I wasn't that bold this time. The recipe below is as it is written on Smitten Kitchen, not as above.

Originally from a 1954 Pillsbury Bake-Off, adapted by Cook's Country, and most recently by way of Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/07/blueberry-boy-bait/

Ingredients:

For the cake: 

2 C. plus 1 tsp. all-purpose flour

1 T. baking powder

1 tsp. table salt

16 T. unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened

3/4 C. packed light brown sugar

1/2 C. granulated sugar

3 large eggs at room temperature

1 C. whole milk or buttermilk

1/2 C. blueberries, fresh or frozen

For the topping:

1/2 C. blueberries, fresh or frozen (do not defrost)

1/4 C. granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

2. Whisk two cups flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. 

3. With electric mixer in a second large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium-high speed until fluffy, about two minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated and scraping down bowl. 

4. Reduce speed to medium and beat in one-third of flour mixture until incorporated; beat in half of milk. Beat in half of remaining flour mixture, then remaining milk, and finally remaining flour mixture. (I don't use the mixer for this step, but rather mix it by hand.)

5. Toss blueberries with remaining one teaspoon flour. Spread 1/2 batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Add 1/2 C. blueberries to remaining batter and gently stir in. Add remaining batter to pan and spread evenly. 

6. Scatter additional 1/2 C. blueberries over top of batter. Stir sugar and cinnamon together in small bowl and sprinkle over batter. 

7. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. 

8. Cool in pan 20 minutes, then turn out and place on serving platter (topping side up). Serve warm or at room temperature. (Cake can be stored in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.)

Lemon Yogurt Blueberry Cake

I made this recipe for some afternoon visiting teaching and everyone loved it. True to its advertisement, this cake has excellent moist texture and a wonderful lemony flavor. The blueberries were delicious also of course. And yet, except for the texture, I didn't find it particularly remarkable. Maybe I'm just feeling humdrum in general. Perhaps one of the variations suggested by Smitten Kitchen (see below link) would prove more noteworthy? Certainly good enough to make again, and perhaps a good base for poppyseed bread, if I ever decide to make that.

Adapted from Ina Garten by From Smitten Kitchen: 

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/04/lemon-yogurt-anything-cake/

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C. + 1 T. all-purpose flour (if you’re skipping the fruit, you can also skip the last tablespoon of flour)

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 C. plain whole-milk yogurt (I used sour cream)

1 C. plus 1 T. sugar

3 extra-large eggs (I used large eggs)

2 T. grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 C. vegetable oil

1 1/2 C. blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed (miniature wild blueberries are great for this, and pose the least risk of sinking)

1/3 C. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

2. Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt into one bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. 

3. Mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 (+) minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

4. Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

5. When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping out onto a cooling rack. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in (a pastry brush works great for this, as does using a toothpick to make tiny holes that draw the syrup in better). Allow to cool.

Blueberry Compote

I made this and ate it with Greek yogurt and toasted nuts and it was satisfying just like that. Not anything fancy, and I'm sure I didn't follow directions exactly-- I think because the blueberries took longer to burst than the recipe indicated, and I probably added some cloves in for fun.

From Epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Blueberry-Compote-101038

Ingredients:

2 1/2 C. blueberries, fresh or frozen

1/3 C. sugar

1/3 C. water

Directions:

1. Combine 1 1/2 cups blueberries, sugar and 1/3 cup water in heavy small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until berries burst, stirring often, about 10 minutes.

2. Add remaining 1 cup berries. Cook until compote coats spoon, stirring often, about 8 minutes.

(Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.) Serve warm.

Maple Oatmeal Scones

Just because I had some aging blueberries. Not that this recipe calls for them, but why not throw them in? One of the few Annie's scones recipes I haven't tried yet. Don't worry, there are only two more to go in the bunch. Also I froze them all, but the batter with the blueberries was delicious. Naturally because I froze them I didn't try the glaze, and probably won't since I will bake them one at a time with the other frozen scones, but I include it below.

Here's the link:

http://annies-eats.net/2007/05/07/maple-oatmeal-scones/

Ingredients:

For the scones:

1 ¾ c. all purpose flour

½ c. whole wheat flour

½ c. quick cooking oats, plus additional for sprinkling

1 T. baking powder

1 T. sugar

1 tsp. salt

½ lb. (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, diced

¼ c. cold buttermilk

¼ c. pure maple syrup

2 eggs, lightly beaten

(Approx. 1 1/2 c. fresh blueberries)

1 egg beaten with 1 tsbp. water for egg wash

For the glaze:

½ c. + 2 T. confectioners’ sugar

¼ c. pure maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flours, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt. Blend in the cold butter with an electric mixer on the lowest speed and mix until butter is in pea-sized pieces. (If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.) Combine the buttermilk, maple syrup and eggs and add quickly to the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just well blended. The dough may be sticky.

3. Dump the dough onto a well floured surface and be sure it is combined. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough ¾ to 1 inch thick. You should see lumps of butter in the dough. Cut into 3-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with egg wash.

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are crisp and the insides are done.

(I didn't roll these out, I just dumped portions on to pieces of plastic wrap, gently teased them into round 1 inch thick shapes, and wrapped up the plastic wrap and stored them all together in a freezer bag.)

5. To make the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. When the scones are done, cool for 5 minutes, and drizzle each scone with 1 tablespoon of glaze. Sprinkle with some uncooked oats for garnish.

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes (with or without oatmeal)

This week I have been reveling in fruit. I bought strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mango, kiwi-- green beans, tomatoes. I have been eating fruit by the bowlful for breakfast and dinner, plain or mixed in with Greek yogurt or whipped cream. Amazing. But I also had some left over buttermilk and so many blueberries that when I perused my Gmail draft of recipes to try and saw this buttermilk blueberry combo option I decided to give it go. Also, I'm trying this new thing about making food in advance and freezing it-- aka my great scone project, more on that to come-- and Ms. Shulman swears you can do it with pancakes like Annie does with scones so I thought I'd make some for lunch and freeze the rest. We'll see how that turns out.

In the meantime, these were good-- nice and fluffy as I find all of Ms. Shulman's pancakes are. Still, they weren't my favorite as I think I've decided I don't much like the buttermilk/wheat flour combination. It makes the wheat taste grittier to me in a way I don't like. If I try these again I will probably just use regular milk. I also added an additional 1/2 cup blueberries, like I do to everything that wants berries in it. I just think more is better in these cases. Also I just mix them in directly, not dropping them in delicately as she describes.

Ms. Shulman also has a version that is exactly identical to this one, only it adds 1/2 cup rolled oats and 1/2 cup milk in addition to the buttermilk. She also wants you to let the batter sit for one hour or refrigerate overnight and I was much too hungry to wait. The links to both from the NYTimes are below:

Without oatmeal:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/health/healthspecial2/15recipekids-pancakes.html?ref=kidsedition

With oatmeal:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/health/nutrition/10recipehealth.html

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 T. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 T. canola oil
1 cup (1 1/2 cup in my case!) fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat a griddle.

2. Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt.

3. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the buttermilk and whisk together. Whisk in the vanilla extract and the oil.

4. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and quickly whisk together. Do not over-beat. A few lumps are okay.

5. If necessary, spray the hot griddle with pan spray. Drop by half ladlefuls (three to four tablespoons) onto the hot griddle. Place six or seven blueberries on each pancake. Cook until bubbles begin to break through, two to three minutes. Turn and cook for about 30 seconds on the other side, until nicely browned. Remove from heat and continue until all of the batter is used up.

6. Serve hot, with butter and maple syrup.

Yield: 12 four-inch pancakes

Advance preparation: These freeze well for several weeks. If making ahead, make stacks of three or four, wrap them in plastic, then freeze in a freezer bag.

Baby Salad Greens With Sweet Potato Croutons and Stilton

I made this salad-- with my own personal revisions-- for A.'s baptismal lunch in Syracuse. I was a little bit intimidated by the salad assignment, given picnic attendee S.O.'s salad expertise, so I thought I'd better look around for something a little bit different and promising. I found this recipe in a salad slide show on the NYTimes (where else) and thought the idea of the potato croutons with the Stilton was intriguing. I'd never had sweet potato "croutons" before, but have long been a fan of Stilton and so the recipe had the elements of both challenge and familiarity. I don't have a steamer, and so I had to "steam" the potato in the microwave and then saute them, so they ended up both a little wetter and a little more burned than was ideal, but it didn't seem to deter anyone too much.

I doubled this recipe, and added to it 1 cup of candied pecans, which I used making the candied nuts recipe found in the April 2011 section of this blog. I made the recipe as originally written, using syrup instead of honey and found the nuts to be much less sticky. I also added about 2 cups of fresh blueberries to the salad, so all-in-all it was really a sweet-potato-blueberry-candied-pecan-stilton salad but it was, truthfully, so delicious and worth the extra effort of both the nuts and the sweet potato cooking. I'm tempted even to just candy a whole bunch of nuts and keep them around for the purpose of carelessly tossing into salads on a whim at any time.

Ms. Shulman says of her recipe, "Sweet potatoes contrast beautifully here with the pungent Stilton. Other cheeses that work for this salad are goat cheese and feta." Amen. Here's the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/health/nutrition/18recipehealth.html

Ingredients:

For the salad:

1 large sweet potato (10 to 12 ounces), peeled and cut in 1/2-inch dice

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 6-oz. bag baby salad greens

1 T. chopped fresh herbs, such as tarragon, parsley, chervil, chives (I used chives)

2 oz. Stilton or blue cheese, crumbled or cut into small pieces (about 1/2 cup) (I used the cranberry Stilton, but I really wanted to use the apricot Stilton, both would be good!)

(Blueberries and candied nuts!-- for the RMR version)

For the dressing:

1 T. fresh lime juice

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 small garlic clove, minced

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 C. buttermilk

Directions:

1. Steam the sweet potatoes for 5 minutes, until just tender. Remove from the heat and drain on paper towels.

2. In a medium, nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sweet potatoes and cook, shaking the pan and moving the pieces around often, until evenly browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain on paper towels.

3. Whisk together the lime juice, vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt pepper, olive oil and buttermilk.

4. Place the salad greens in a salad bowl and top with the cheese. Toss with the dressing. Sprinkle on the sweet potato croutons and serve.

Yield: Serves 4

Advance preparation: You can steam the sweet potatoes and make the dressing several hours ahead.

Blueberry Scones

In searching for a recipe for "Citrus Black Beans" for the Robber, I came across this new food blog that I am instantly in love with. First of all, it is written by a young mom who is also a doctor by day and manages to run this food blog and feed her little family by night. Secondly, she is adorable. Thirdly, her blog is adorable. Fourthly, everything she makes looks so good. I want to make it all.

And I had blueberries. So I started with this. The recipe is from Entertaining from Cook's Illustrated Spring 2009, as referenced on Annie's blog. The link to her blog is below:

http://annies-eats.net/2010/03/18/blueberry-scones/

I didn't find these to be the most amazing scone I had eaten in my whole life as Annie did, but they were definitely very good and I would make them again. They were better than the blueberry muffins I made last month, but also a lot more work. So it's a trade-off. I guess it's something I would make-- again-- for a brunch with women. (I find a lot of recipes like that.)

Note: I used half-and-half instead of whole milk. Don't think it made a difference. The scones were very tender, as one would expect from the sour cream, and thus less scone-y and more biscuit-y. I also used turbinado sugar for dusting on the top, which always gives such a pleasing effect. I didn't find that I needed a dough scraper. The dough was easy to manipulate with my hands.

Ingredients:

8 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen whole
1½ cups (7½ oz.) fresh blueberries
½ cup whole milk (I used half-and-half)
½ cup sour cream
2 cups (10 oz.) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
½ cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
2 T. unsalted butter, melted (1 T. is probably sufficient)

Directions:

Adjust an oven rack to middle position and preheat to 425˚ F. Grate the frozen butter on the holes of a large box grater. Place the blueberries in the freezer until needed.

Whisk together the milk and sour cream in a medium bowl; refrigerate until needed. Combine the flour, ½ cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the grated butter to the flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated.

Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula just until combined. Transfer the dough to a generously floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour, and knead with well floured hands, 6-8 times, just until the dough holds together in a ragged ball. Add small amounts of flour as needed to prevent sticking.

Roll the dough into a 12-inch square. Fold the dough into thirds like a business letter (a dough scraper really helps with these steps). Fold the short ends of the dough into the center in thirds, to form an approximate 4-inch square. Transfer the dough to a plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Return the dough to the floured work surface and roll into an approximately 12-inch square again. Sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the surface of the dough, and gently press down so that they are slightly embedded in the dough surface. Using a dough scraper, roll the dough up to form a tight log. Lay the log seam side down and press the the log into a 12 by 4-inch rectangle. Using a sharp, floured knife, cut the rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet.

Brush the tops of the scones with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with sugar. (If freezing ahead of time, flash freeze on the baking sheet for 20 minutes, then wrap individually and store in a freezer bag until needed.) Bake until the tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Steel-Cut Oatmeal and Blueberry Muffins

I've been on this new-breakfast-food kick ever since looking at an NYTimes slideshow of breakfast foods, always my downfall. I even went through and made a little Gmail draft list of all the recipes I want to try, with links to all of them. This is one I tried because I had blueberries that were going to go bad if I left them in New York for two weeks. But first I have to ask-- what is the big deal with being "steel-cut"? I feel like everyone else on the planet has figured out this secret rage and I have not. Sad. :( I just made these with regular old oatmeal and I think they were just fine. Hmmmmph world.

That being said, they lacked just a little pizazz. I can't quite put my finger on it. More vanilla? Some cinnamon? The oatmeal background made a nice neutral-ness for the delicious blueberries, but what if you are making these in California where you can't get East Coast blueberries? Then what? I think go with adding some cinnamon.

The good news about these were that they had great texture and felt healthy as they went down, so you will probably at least enjoy eating them no matter what. I am likely to make these again, with modification.

Complete recipe by Martha Rose Shulman here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/health/nutrition/04recipehealth.html?_r=1&ref=recipesforhealth

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup cooked steel-cut oats (I used 1/2 cup dry oats with 1 cup water to make my oatmeal)
1 cup blueberries tossed with 1 teaspoon flour

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with the rack positioned in the upper third. Oil, spray or butter 12 muffin cups.

2. Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, beat together the eggs, buttermilk (or yogurt and milk), canola oil, maple syrup and vanilla. Quickly stir in the dry ingredients with a whisk or a spatula. Do not beat, just mix, stirring up from the bottom until you can no longer see flour. A few lumps are fine. Fold in the cooked oats and the blueberries.

3. Spoon into muffin cups, filling them to just below the top. Place in the oven, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until nicely browned. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool for 10 minutes before unmolding. Cool on a rack, or serve warm.

Yield: Twelve muffins, depending on the size of your muffin tins.

Advance preparation: These keep for a couple of days out of the refrigerator, for a few more days in the refrigerator, and for a few months in the freezer.

Nutritional information per muffin (based on 12 muffin yield): 197 calories; 1 gram saturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 32 milligrams cholesterol; 30 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 310 milligrams sodium; 6 grams protein

Lemon Sugar Blueberry Muffins

This recipe is from my mother. I don't know where she got it from, but I do remember eating these sweet treats occasionally and wishing every muffin was this way. I got up early last Wednesday to make these for an eager PBL group, who received them with gusto. Quick and easy, these make a regular breakfast into an occasion.

Note: The recipe as given makes 18 muffins, I 1 1/2 the recipe for 24 muffins, I find that this make a slightly bigger (and more satisfactory) muffin with a rounder top for sugaring.

Ingredients:

Muffins:
2 2/3 C flour
1 T baking powder
1 ½ tsp. salt
½ C sugar
2 eggs

1 C milk

2/3 C cooking oil
1 ½ blueberries
½ T lemon zest (or 1 tsp lemon flavoring)

Topping:
4 T butter
½ sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Wash and drain blueberries. Pat dry in a paper towel or dish towel.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in one mixing bowl.

3. Beat eggs slightly. Add milk, eggs, and oil to flour mixture and mix just barely enough to combine. Do NOT over mix! (Muffins will be tough.)

4. Add blueberries and mix only very slightly to avoid crushing blueberries. Immediately put into greased muffin tins. Bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes.

5. Allow muffins to cool five minutes. Melt butter. When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the tops first in melted butter and then into the sugar. Serve warm.