Posts tagged ‘blueberries’
Blueberry pie
This is the pie I made for Thanksgiving Dinner this year. It’s adapted from Canadian Living’s recipe for Old-Fashioned Blueberry Pie. I’ve made it gluten free and added in more lemon and more blueberries. The overwhelming sentiment about the pie was, “Wow, that is a LOT of blueberries!” I used one and a half big baskets of blueberries that my parents picked up at Granville Island while they were out exploring, and it probably amounted to at least a cup more than what’s below. If you too want a gigantic pie with LOTS of blueberries, go crazy and jam them in there like we did.
In all three big baskets of blueberries came home from Granville Island. We enjoyed the rest with yogurt the morning after Thanksgiving dinner and then each had a big bowl of fresh blueberries for dessert that evening. Just plain blueberries – so good. The rest finally made their way into a coffee cake for breakfast this week.
Blueberry pie
Filling
6 cups blueberries
3/4 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons gluten-free flour
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pastry
2-1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 tablespoon lemon rind
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cubed
1/4 cup ice water
3 tbsp sour cream
1 egg white
Mix flour, xanthan gum, salt and lemon rind. Using pastry blender, cut in butter and shortening until mixture is in fine crumbs with a few larger pieces.
In small bowl, whisk water with sour cream; drizzle over dry ingredients, stirring briskly with fork to form ragged dough and adding more water, 1 tbsp (15 mL) at a time, if too dry. Divide in half; press into discs. Wrap each in plastic wrap; refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
In large bowl, combine blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, flour, lemon rind, lemon juice and cinnamon; set aside.
On lightly floured surface, roll out half of the pastry to fit a 9-inch pie plate. Pour in the blueberry filling and then roll out the remaining pastry. I sliced mine into strips for a criss-cross pattern, which I find much easier than trying to transfer over a whole top sheet of pastry.
Brush the top pastry and the edges with a bit of egg white and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in the bottom part of the oven at 425F for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350F and bake until the filling is thickened and the pie is golden, about 35-45 minutes. I usually put a bit of foil around the edges and top of the pie so it doesn’t burn and gradually remove it as the cooking time goes by.
Let cool on rack and serve. Ours made enough for 6 generous helpings plus a big piece leftover.
Blueberry mango spinach salad
I love fruit in salads. The combination of blueberries and mangoes get a bit of a kick from hot pepper flakes and cilantro. This salad is fresh and summery and tastes great with grilled fish and boiled new potatoes.
Blueberry Mango Spinach Salad
1 ripe mango, cut into small chunks
1-1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 red pepper, minced
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons shallots, minced
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
Juice from 1/2 a lime
6-8 cups fresh spinach
Mix together mango, blueberries, red pepper, cilantro, shallots, hot pepper flakes and lime juice in a small bowl and let the mixture rest for at least a few minutes to allow the flavours to combine. Place spinach in a large salad bowl or on individual plates and sprinkle with the mango-blueberry mixture. Drizzle your favourite salad dressing on top and serve.
Fruit and berry season is here!
Just thought I’d share a few pictures of how we’re enjoying the summer fruit season. I love this time of year when local berries and fresh fruit are so plentiful. (more…)
Blueberry coffee cake
Our big move has temporarily stalled most kitchen activities, but I did find some time last weekend for baking. Eating local means storing lots of summer produce in the freezer and I had an almost full bag of BC blueberries to use up. I’ve been meaning to make the blueberry coffee cake recipe from the Four Sisters Inns Cookbook for ages and the surplus blueberries created a perfect reason. (more…)
Best blueberry muffins
These are the best blueberry muffins I have ever made, and possibly the best I have ever tasted. I’ve been making muffins almost once a week since the age of 16, so that’s saying something! These were made with fresh blueberries and a generous helping of lemon zest, slightly crispy on the outside and deliciously moist on the inside. Yum! The recipe is adapted from the Four Sisters Inn Cookbook, which I am steadily cooking my way through as the weekends wind by.
Blueberry Lemon Muffins
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup yogurt
2 eggs
1-1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1-1/2 cups blueberries
1/2 cup flax seeds
Cream butter and sugar. Add lemon juice, yogurt and eggs and mix well. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, lemon zest, blueberries and flax seeds and gently fold into butter mixture. Spoon batter into greased or non-stick muffin tins*. Bake for 15 minutes at 350F. Makes 12 regular or 24 mini muffins.
*I recently received new muffin tins as a gift. I especially love the mini muffin tin, which is the perfect and amazing Non-stick Goldtouch brand from Williams Sonoma.
