Fruit

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Blueberry Coffee Cake with Almond Topping

I volunteered to bring a dessert for a ladies group that meets in my home town. I was going to make my Applesauce Muffins, but then I got my latest magazine of Cooking Light and stumbled across a recipe for Blueberry Coffee Cake that was loaded with blueberries and I was hooked! Made a few minor changes and served it up to family for testing. It was well received.

Blueberry Coffee Cake with Almond Topping

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • 2 cups fresh blueberries (if you use frozen, bake a bit longer)

    blueberrycoffeecake

    Blueberry Coffee Cake

  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats.
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 1 Tbsp. whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 2 Tbsp Safflower oil (or other light oil)
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 tsp. grated lemon zest
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Put it All Together

  1. Heat the oven to 375.
  2. Wash the blueberries and drain thoroughly.
  3. In a small bowl mix 1 Tbsp flour, cinnamon, sliced almonds, and rolled oats. Pour the 2 Tbsp. butter over the dry ingredients and mix. Set aside.
  4. In a medium bowl, mix the 2 cups flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Remove 2 Tbsp. of the flour mixture and toss with the blueberries. Set the blueberries aside.
  5. In a large bowl, place the granulated sugar, 1/4 cup of butter, and safflower oil. Beat until well mixed. Add the egg and beat well.
  6. Add the buttermilk and flour mixture alternately to the sugar mixture. Begin and end with flour mixture. Stir in the lemon zest and juice.
  7. Coat a 9 inch square pan with cooking spray. Place 1/2 the batter in the pan and spread out with a spatula. Evenly put 1/2 the blueberries on top. Add the rest of the batter mixture and then top with the rest of the blueberries. Sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar-almond-oatmeal mixture from step 3.
  8. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. You may need to use the outside edges as there are so many blueberries that the toothpick always comes out pretty messy :-). I use the outside edges for the toothpick and then bake a bit longer to accommodate for the middle of the pan.
  9. Cool in pan for 10-15 minutes on a wire rack. Loose around the edges with a knife and remove from pan if you wish.

I haven’t tried it yet, but did think that substituting raspberries or blackberries would also be good — or even a mixture of berries. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream if you wish. Hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

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Berry Crisp

I’ve always liked Apple Crisp from when my Mother and Grandmother used to make it when I was a child…. fond childhood memories, comfort food and all that goes with it!

My daughter recently made a Berry Crisp when we were visiting her – it was sumptious. Got the recipe from her and adjusted to what we had on hand. The fruit measurements are close to what I had available. You can use any combination you have on hand just so you have 4 1/2 – 5 cups of fruit – even if it’s only one or two kinds. I’ve been thinking of using peaches or nectarines for one of the fruits sometime.

Berry Crisp

Ingredients – filling:

  •  1 1/2  cups sliced/diced strawberries

    Berry Crisp

    Berry Crisp – fresh out of the oven. One helping removed before it even cooled!

  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 1 1/2 cups blackberries
  • 1 cup raspberries
  • 1/4 cup sugar (I’ve been using raw cane sugar)
  • 1 tsp. lemon zest
  • 1 tsp. lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon (I love Penzey’s Vietnamese cinnamon.
  • 2 tsp. corn starch

Ingredients – Topping:

  • 1 1/4 cups rolled whole oatmeal (not quick kind)
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I use pastry flour)
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon (See my Penzey’s link on filling)
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar.
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/4-1/2 cup chopped nuts (I’ve used sliced almonds or pecans cuz that’s what was there. You can omit if you wish, but why??)
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted

Put it Together:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Put all the filling ingredients in a large bowl and gently mix. Set aside.
  3. In another bowl, mix topping ingredients (except for butter) thoroughly. Add the butter and mix again.
  4. Put the fruit mixture in a deep dish pie pan.
  5. Cover with the topping mixture, spreading out evenly.
  6. Bake in 375 degree F oven for 40 minutes or until fruit is done and topping lightly browned.

Serve plain, with whipped cream, or with vanilla yogurt. This is not overly sweet, so it could easily be served for breakfast. In fact, I have had it for breakfast :-). Hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

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Blueberry-Cheesecake French Toast Casserole

OK, it’s Labor Day weekend… having a nice time with some family and pretty much a laid back weekend. Nice way to end the summer. Kids are heading home this afternoon, so decided to try a new recipe for a hearty breakfast. I subscribe to “Clean Eating” magazine and often find some “winners” for recipes. Today I hit the mark big time. Julia O’Hara had a recipe for Blueberry Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast. As I read through it, I made a few minor modifications and put it on the table to rave reviews.

Blueberry-Cheesecake French Toast for a weekend breakfast

Blueberry French Toast

Ingredients:

  • 10-12 slices of whole-grain bread.
  • 1 cup part-skim Ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup low fat cream cheese (use the real-deal if you wish 🙂
  • 5 eggs, divided
  • 4 Tbsp organic raw cane sugar (regular sugar should work – the original calls for evaporated cane juice so I used what I had)
  • 2 cups (1 pint) fresh blueberries
  • 1 cup 2% milk
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon (I’m generous with this)
  • 1/4 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/4 cup sliced unsalted almonds

    For the Blueberry Sauce:

  • 2 cups fresh blueberries (more doesn’t hurt)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 Tbsp. organic raw cane sugar
  • Recipe didn’t call for it, but some lemon zest might be interesting
Directions:
  • Preheat oven to 350 & lightly grease a 13 x 9 inch pan. Place half the bread in the pan, covering the bottom and cutting crusts as necessary to fit.
  • Combine cream cheese, Ricotta cheese, 1 Tbsp. sugar, and 1 egg in food processor. Blend until smooth.
  • Pour the mixture over the bread and then layer a pint off blueberries on top of this. Cover with remaining bread slices, cutting crusts as needed to fit.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together 4 eggs, the milk, 1 Tbsp. sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, & salt. Pour this over the top of the bread.
  • Mix the almonds and 1 Tbsp. sugar and then sprinkle over the bread evenly.
  • Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 10 more minutes. Then turn your broiler on and broil for 2-5 minutes (watch carefully) to get a nice lightly browned crust. Remove from oven and cool a few minutes before serving.
  • While toast is baking, combine the remaining pint of blueberries, 1/2 cup water, and 2 Tbsp. sugar in a small pan. Bring to boil, and then simmer 5-10 minutes until the berries burst and sauce begins to thicken. Add lemon zest if desired.
To serve, divide casserole as you would a cake and place 2-3 Tbsp. blueberry sauce over the top. The way my crew dumped on the blueberry sauce, I’m thinking another cup of blueberries wouldn’t be the worst thing in the sauce – add another 1/4 cup water and adjust as needed. Hope you enjoy this as much as we did and thanks to Ms. O’Hara!
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Yummy Berry Strawberry Shortcake

I really like my strawberry shortcake and so do most folks who taste it. One of my sons particularly likes it, and when he asks for it, I try and oblige. Originally got this recipe from “Great Good Food” which is written by the authors of the Silver Palate Cookbooks. Not sure they have a lot of great recipes in this particular book, but this one qualifies with 4 stars. I made some changes in the recipe… used whole wheat flour in the biscuits and added cinnamon… also use whipped cream and vanilla yogurt. Here’s our rendition.

First the biscuits…..

Buttermilk Dessert Biscuits
4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups low-fat buttermilk
6 Tbsp. melted butter
2-3 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray a cookie sheet with vegetable oil.
2. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium-size mixing bowl and mix to combine. Add buttermilk, butter, and vanilla. Mix with a fork until just blended. Do not overmix or biscuits will be tough. Add an additional tablespoon buttermilk if it seems too dry. Dough should be fairly sticky.
3. Drop the dough by heaping tablespoons a couple inches apart. (Note: this recipe says it should make 24 biscuits, but I make larger ones and get about 12-15). You may need two cookie sheets or bake them in shifts.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until light golden brown. Remove from oven and cool.

Now for the Strawberry part once the biscuits are done…

Berry Strawberry Shortcake
4 quarts of strawberries, cleaned, and sliced
Juice of 2 oranges
Juice of 3 lemons
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups vanilla yogurt (I like the Oski Greek Yogurt brand)
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
Buttermilk Biscuits
Cool Whip or real whipped cream

Directions:
1. Place 2 1/2 – 3 cups of strawberries, the orange and lemon juices, and sugar in a blender and process until smooth. (I used my immersion blender for this – lot less messy). Pour all but 1/2 cup of the puree over the rest of the berries. Set aside.
2. In small bowl, place the yogurt, 1/2 cup of reserver berry puree, and vanilla. Blend well. Refrigerate if you won’t be using it soon.
3. To Server – Split biscuits in half horizontally. Generously spoon berries between the layers and over top. Top with a dollop of the strawberry cream and Cool Whip. Serve immediately.

Wish I had a picture of this… maybe next time I make it I will take one. Also have a berry cobbler recipe I should put up that is equally yummy!