Raspberries!

Today we headed to Remlinger Farms to pick raspberries. I figured the kids would like it for about five minutes, but much to my delight they picked berries for almost an hour. 

We ended up with almost 6 pounds of berries.  This then leads to the dilemma of what to do with all the berries.  We ate quite a few right out of the box.  Some on yogurt, ice cream, cereal... then I found a recipe for raspberry (or blueberry) muffins and we gave it a try.

The muffin batter was so thick it didn't let the berries sink very far!

In to the muffin tins!

After they came out of the oven it was hard to resist eating one right away.  What a treat!

This was a great recipe for raspberries and I may try again with blueberries since they have been on sale at the market recently.  Enjoy!  Click here for the link.

Blueberry Crumble

Nothing goes better with ribs slow cooked for 8+ hours on the grill, than a dessert cooked on the grill too!   

This crumble was fairly basic to make.  Biggest pain is that it requires some lemon zest and fresh lemon juice.  I call this a 'pain' because I hate having to wash the zester, but thats just me being super lazy.  The zesting and juicing (I squeezed with my hands) are well  worth the trouble for this yummy dish. 

The recipe is courtesy of grill/BBQ guru Steven Raichlen who hosts two different cooking shows: Barbecue U and Primal Grill.  This dude can cook on basically anything, and has a lot of great recipes.  This particular recipe calls for an odd-sized foil pan.  If you can't find the 8x10" pan, go for 9x9" or even 8x8", if necessary.  If you switch the pan size I suggest you check on the crumble 5-10 minutes before the suggested end cooking time although you may need to add additional time at the end.

This is the perfect dessert to make on a hot summer day when the last thing you want to do is turn on your oven.  Serve with vanilla bean ice cream!

Click here to go to the recipe.  Enjoy!

Blueberry Crumb Cake?

Recently I was made aware of a fun baking blog called Bake or Break.  I saw a recipe for a Blueberry Crumb Cake that requires three cups of blueberries.  Perfect because I have about four cups of them sitting in my fridge about to go bad.

I made this cake for a dessert when Tonya and Austin come over for dinner tonight.

The batter for cake is pretty thick.

Three cups of blueberries scattered over the cake batter base.

The finished product.

We all enjoyed this dessert.  But I think it should be renamed Blueberry Coffee Cake.  It had the distinct flavor of a breakfast treat and did not hit the spot for dessert.  Maybe a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream would have helped?  But, if I were to make this again I would serve for breakfast.

Definitely go ahead and give this recipe a try.  We all scarfed it down for dessert, and we all scarfed it down for breakfast the next morning.  It is pretty light and highlights the blueberries well.

This recipe is originally from Rick Malgieri's Perfect Cakes book.

Blueberry Crumb Cake, Rick Malgieri/Perfect Cakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups blueberries

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9″x 13″baking pan with foil and butter the foil.

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Using a heavy-duty mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until soft and light (about 5 minutes). Add whole eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

On low speed, add half the flour mixture and mix well. Add yolks, mixing well, then add remaining flour mixture.

Scrape batter into prepared pan. Smooth the top. Scatter blueberries over the batter.

Crumb Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in melted butter and combine with your fingers until the mixture is coarse crumbs. Scatter the crumbs evenly over the berries.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until cake is firm. Cool cake in pan on wire rack.

Pulled Pork Dinner

Today we had Tony's mom, Rick, grandma and my mom over for dinner.  We smoked a pork shoulder for 7+ hours and made some amazing pulled pork sandwiches.  For sauce, I didn't want to risk making my own.  I've got a killer BBQ sauce, but pulled pork needs a tangy vinegar based sauce and Tony had the answer.

BBQ Pete's makes great sauces.  Their regular Puyallp Fair sauce is a great traditional BBQ flavor, and their 'zesty pulled pork sauce' is exactly as it says.  Tangy, zesty and a perfect combo with smoked pork. You can find Pete's at most local grocery stores.  They're also the BBQ restaurant at the Puyallup Fair!

For dessert I made a peach and blueberry cobbler.

All sugared up and ready for the dough.

Baked and ready for eating!

Peach and Blueberry Cobbler
Filling:
1 lb peaches, pitted and cut in to 1" chunks
3 c. fresh blueberries
3/4 c. sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:
1 1/4 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/4 c. unsalted butter, cut in to chunks

3/4 c. buttermilk

Sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a 9x13" pan with butter.

Mix all of the Filling ingredients together and pour in to baking dish.  Bake until filling is hot and bubbly, usually 20-30 minutes.

In the meantime, make the topping by stirring together the flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt in bowl.  Add butter and mash with hands or cut in to dry ingredients until mixture looks like coarse sand.  Slowly add buttermilk while stirring.  Mix together just until dough forms.

Take fruit out of oven and reduce temperature to 375.  Drop the topping by sproonfulls on to fruit and sprinkle with some sugar for added sweetness.  Bake for 15-25 minutes or until topping is golden.  Test topping with toothpick to make sure dough is baked through before pulling out of oven.  Let cool slightly and serve with homemade whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream. YUM!

Blueberry Tart

I made this dessert two years ago at a 'Cabinpalooza' party we had with a bunch of friends.  This tart is the perfect finish to a summer meal and beautiful to look at.  I thought it would be the perfect ending to Tony's Father's Day.

Blueberry Tart, courtesty of Everyday Food

Crust:

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for dusting

1/3 c. sugar

1/4 tsp salt

8 Tbsp (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Filling:

6 c. (six 1/2-pint containers) fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried

2 Tbsp cornstarch

2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2/3 c. sugar

Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt, and butter; process until large moist crumbs form (dough should hold together when squeezed).

Transfer dough to a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom; with floured fingers, press evenly into bottom and up sides. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes; prick bottom of dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes; cool completely.

Meanwhile, reserve 1 cup of the prettiest berries for topping. In a medium saucepan, bring 1/4 cup water and 1 1/2 cups berries to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, until berries begin to break down, 3 to 4 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water; stir into berries in pan. Add lemon zest and juice, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, stirring, just until mixture begins to thicken, 30 to 60 seconds. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining 3 1/2 cups fresh berries. Immediately pour hot berry mixture into cooled tart shell, and smooth with a spatula.
Scatter reserved berries on top, pressing down lightly to help them adhere. Refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes and up to overnight.