Blueberries

Cranberry-Blueberry Crisp

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Kid friendly baking! They may need help chopping those pesky cranberries.

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Cooking demands attention, patience, and, above all, a respect for the gifts of the earth. It is a form of worship, a way of giving thanks... ~Judith B. Jones~

I don’t think I’ve ever considered cranberries and blueberries together. (We’ll soon see I’ve lied.) There’s an excellent reason for that and it’s because the two don’t exactly show up or ripen during the same season. Blueberries are summer; cranberries are fall. Blueberries and strawberries? Of course. Blueberries and peaches? Sure. Cranberries with apples? Always. But blueberries and cranberries? It just doesn’t jive. I mean, we feel as if there’s a little wiggle room here because we’re still getting Fed Ex blueberries at the store in November when the royal red cranberries begin to show up. And we’ll continue to get some for a bit– but this doesn’t exactly happen in real time, does it? There are other ways to get such a combination, like freezing one kind berry until the other appears or drying a few cups or even canning a batch (as did my mom) and storing them until needed. Even so, I don’t remember mom, a fine baker, mixing and matching summer and fall fruits. Anyone? This November, though, perfectly gorgeous, firm and bloomed Peruvian blueberries seemed to be everywhere in Colorado Springs at a great price. I bought two big packs; best sous and husband Dave came home with another one. I meant to freeze some — my typical modus operandi when we’re flush with any berry–and somehow didn’t. Taking a little fridge inventory the other day, I realized it was bake something with blueberries or die. And…I wondered: Why not mix them up with cranberries? So I did. And a star was born. 😘 Sorry, Mother Nature. Politics (maybe global economy?) makes for odd bedfellows. Or is necessity truly the mother of invention?

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Blueberry Pie

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My guess is the world doesn’t need another blueberry pie recipe. I mean, you can google and find … well… too many. (And which one is good?) You might even go old school and open a cook book or a baking book to see what you find. Is mine the very best? Probably not to some. But it’s the one that baked in my kitchen and it’s the one I know well because it got eaten right here. Quickly. And with big scoops of creamy vanilla ice cream, naturally. Is mine messy Bessy? You bet, for sure, and it looks darned homey, right? (Hint: It’s really hard to over bake or burn a pie. Sometimes, in order to get a golden brown crust, the filling may bubble, bubble, toil, and trouble right out of the slits or edges. Like in the photo above.)

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KIDS BAKE MOTHER’S DAY: Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake

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Are homey cakes best? Try mine and see!
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Wasn’t it just New Years? Or at least Valentine’s Day? I only yesterday took the Easter runner off my piano. Geez, Alyce. After a month away from home, hearth, dog, and blog, I was –after getting a little reacclimated — amazed to see Mother’s Day coming up quickly on the heels of Cinco de Mayo. The time simply runs. Perhaps you, too, have yet to make the first plan for Sunday, May 12, 2024, but you might start right here with nearly the simplest of sweet treats, my Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake–which you can throw together and slide into the oven in truly a few minutes. If you are a really good soul (and you are, right?) and are baking with a local kiddo, it might take a few more. And if you’re skipping Mother’s Day all together, go ahead and bake this for yourself or have a favorite neighbor in for coffee. Don’t wait. Everyone should have a 9″x 13″ coffee cake in their back pocket and if you’ve not yet found yours, claim this one now. It’s fast, inexpensive, easy, flexible, and requires no chopping of fruit since it’s made with toss-in-the-bowl blueberries. Frozen work as well as fresh; just rinse and use — no thawing necessary. One thing about this cake is: it’s really a cake, by golly. This isn’t bread masquerading as cake. There’s a bu** load of sugar and even more fat than that and you’ll darned well like it when you eat it, I promise you. Diet another day and make sure the coffee is hot, good, and strong (just like mom!) while you’re at it.

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KIDS BAKE EASTER: A Very Berry Ricotta Coffeecake

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KIDS BAKE recipes–easy for kids to make with help but great for adults without extensive baking experience.

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I’m not a big cake baker and certainly not much of a cake eater, but lately I find myself working on cakes. There are probably a few reasons but one is the number of impressive cakes posted on Dorie Greenspan’s engaging and active facebook group, BAKE AND TELL. Some of these folks bake their kids’ favorite chocolate birthday cake (more my speed) and others create pastry visions (think marzipan) unseen at many professional bakeries. Yikes. But it’s all fun and there’s lots of learning and togetherness– the internet at its best. Another thing going through my mind has been finding a cake my good friend Tony can eat and still stay on his healthy regime, which means no white flour, no dairy, and not much sugar. (I’m nearly there on that one; a pan of cake with his name on it is in the freezer for the next time we play Pinochle. We’ll see what he thinks.) This last Sunday, I woke early to drink coffee and exercise (I know–me?!) and saw a few cartons of sorta sad-lookin’ berries (Poor babies.) in the fridge when I got the milk. There was also a container of ricotta — couldn’t even remember what I’d needed that for, but it passed the sniff test. What could I make with berries and ricotta? Well, folks, that’s what Google’s for, isn’t it? Up came Ina Garten’s “Blueberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake.” Luckily I have the book it’s in (Go-To Dinners) and read it through twice thinking about how Alyce would make and bake this cake. And here’s what happened; I changed it as I went along…

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Blueberry Scones

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Czech Easter Bread

When Easter is on its hippity-hoppity way, I often research and make some scrumptious Easter bread if only because there are so very many and they’re all so individually addictive. Once or twice, I’ve looked for a Scots version (as some of my folk come from Scotland), only to be disappointed because there really isn’t a Scots Easter bread unless you include Hot Cross Buns, which I guess you could in a pinch. (I think Hot Cross Buns are more Good Friday-ish. By the way, I made Nigella’s scrumptious version this year with a few easy twists I’ll share next Lent.) Last Sunday morning, I woke feeling a little sorry for myself –for both me the baker and me the Scot. Until I realized just WHY the Scots have no Easter bread. Who needs Easter bread when you’ve got God’s perfect bread — scones — hither, thither, and yon? (FUN FACT: Most folks in Scotland pronounce the word scone to rhyme with our pronunciation of the word done, by the way. So that’s skuhn to you and me!)

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Fourth of July Desserts: My Berry Best

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Homemade Frozen Yogurt with Strawberries and Blueberries

It came without warning. All of a sudden it was the end of June. It was nearly the 4th of July. Dave and I were both off by about a week and had no idea why. This man’s birthday is July 3 and yesterday he said to me, when I asked about a birthday dinner reservation, “What? Is my birthday this weekend??” Why, yes it is!

In the meantime, I’d been working on a risotto post for the blog. Having a fun old time making the risotto, finding the dishes, taking the photos, writing the text and recipe and so on. Except I had nothing for the immediate holiday. Necessity is the mother of disaster sometimes, but hopefully not here. (Watch this space for the risotto love coming up next week or maybe even the week after.)

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Strawberry-Blueberry Crostata for the Fourth of July; “Ok, Sweet Stuff!”

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We all need a little sweetness this Fourth.

More’s the pity, I haven’t an Italian bone in my body — unless drinking a lot of Chianti counts? But I love to cook Italian food and nothing makes this baker’s heart sing like making a crostata for dessert. A crows-TAH-tah (plural: crostate) is a freeform pie — no pie or tart pan necessary — and, filled with jam, is often the homemade dessert of choice in an Italian kitchen. There is occasionally a lattice pastry top, though not often. The French word for such a pie is a gallette and the two terms are often used interchangeably here in the states where we bake this pie full of whatever fruit happens to be ripe and in good supply. I’ve taught crostate making in both my Italian Christmas Day Dinner Class and in one-on-one pie classes. Without exception, everyone who makes it loves the finished product and feels terribly accomplished because who doesn’t like to look at and eat pie?

Pie, me oh my. I love pie.

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Blueberry-Banana Bread–Kona Inn Banana Bread Redux: Lighter and Healthier

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Sunday, February 23, 2020 is NATIONAL BANANA BREAD DAY. I had no clue, but you know there’s a day for everything. I’d love you to make my loaf to celebrate the — uh-hem — holiday, but I’ll be totally happy if you make it tomorrow or even the next day, too. The original version of the famous Kona Inn Banana Bread has been a star in my baking repertoire for at least 35 years. Sure there’ve been other banana breads I’ve cheated with and lots of other sweet quick breads….but this is the one that has passed the test of time and feels like the world standard–at least at my house. The recipe for my bread came from THE FANNY FARMER BAKING BOOK by Marion Cunningham, one of my go-to basic baking books in 1985, 2020, and all the years in between. (The book’s out of print, but there are used copies available. Don’t hesitate if you like to bake.) These days, you can also find the recipe in several places and versions around the web, even on Epicurious or Food Network!

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Grilled Chicken Breasts with Blueberry-Peach Salsa–And Other Things to Do with Colorado Peaches

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Served here on Lemony Sautéed Spinach with Quinoa

If you live in Colorado, you know from peaches, which are grown way out west on the western slope–almost in Utah if you check the map. Every year about this time, your friends in other states begin to mention, “Hey, I bought Colorado peaches in the store the other day!” You look in your store and you find California peaches and begin to think we’re exporting all our best produce. It happens. (I’ll give you that there are also great peaches from Georgia, Washington state, Michigan, and even California. I just live in Colorado.)

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