At last... the blueberries are ready!

Finally, blue blueberries!

They have taken their sweet time to ripen. 

And are they ever so sweet.

The price is $1.95 a pound for u-pick, $3.00 a pound for ready picked.

And I want to share a recipe.

This is a family favorite and I recently made this for our

 youngest daughter, who was home for one night last week.

This can be topped with any fresh fruit and since we grow berries,

I like to serve this with a bowl of mixed berries.

 

Puff pancake

 

1/4 cup butter

3 large eggs

1- 3 oz package cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup milk

2 cups mixed berries

1 T. powdered sugar

maple syrup

Place butter in a glass 9"x13" pan. Set in 425° oven until the butter is melted.

Meanwhile, put the eggs, flour, milk and cream cheese into a blender or food processor and mix until smooth. 

Remove the pan from the oven. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake until the batter puffs and is golden, 25-30 minutes.

While the pancake bakes, mix the berries in a bowl. When the pancake is done, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Offer the syrup along with the berries to top the pancake.

Homemade Roasted Tomato Sauce

I found myself with some tomatoes on my counter this morning and I thought I should make some roasted tomato sauce for my freezer. Such a simple task; the house smelled like heaven. And all of this by 7 am.

There is no measuring to this recipe, I am just using what I had in the house. First, preheat your oven to 375°- 400°. Next, spray a pan that has a rim with cooking spray. I am using the bottom of my broiler pan. Then I rough cut tomatoes. No need to peel the little buggers. Cut into pieces about the size of an egg. Add some onion and garlic. And no need to peel the garlic either! I also added a half a red pepper that was about to go bad. Drizzle with a little olive oil and toss with your hands. Place into the preheated oven and let them roast away. I like to stir them after 45 minutes or so. And I roast them until the tomatoes are melted away and the edges start to brown. Or in this case 'black.' This may take up to an hour and a half. The mixture will be thick and gooey. Allow to cool. If your garlic still has its papery skin, pop it out. Place everything into a blender and puree. Sometimes I add a little water to make a looser sauce.
To freeze the mixture, I like to put it into an ice cube tray and tap the tray in the counter to get the mixture to settle evenly. Place into the freezer for a couple of hours. When it is frozen solid, pop them out and store in a Ziploc bag. Each cube is about 1/4 cup. (I use an ice cream scoop to fill the ice cube tray)
And now I have Roasted Tomato Sauce in my freezer. Some times, when I have zucchini or mushrooms, I add them to the party. But don't tell my husband... he does not like zucchini or mushrooms. This recipe is very versatile. Feel free to season with herbs, salt and pepper, or leave out the onion/ garlic. Make the sauce the way you want.

We have plenty of tomatoes for u-pick. The cost is 90¢ a pound. We have red and yellow brandywine, old German, early girl, big boy beef steak, roma and patio varieties. And we have peppers too... bell, sweet Romanian, jalapeno and anaheim for 25¢ each.

And our Fall blueberries are ready! They are so sweet and yummy. The price is $1.85 a pound for u-pick.

Have a good weekend.

Diane

Muffins

I recently defrosted my freezer, hoping I could take a berry inventory while I cleaned. I found an over abundance of blueberries so I thought I should make blueberry muffins...and help reduce the number of bags of blueberries I was hoarding. I found my most favorite muffin recipe, the one from my Aunt Verna. And I made miniature muffins because they are so cute! Just adjust the baking time down to 12 to 15 minutes. I watched them like a hawk while they baked. Partly because they smell so good but mostly because I am not patient. Half of my muffins had three blueberries on top and the other half had a cherry. Yummy!



Now... let's get to that recipe.

Blueberry Muffins
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 tea. baking powder
1/2 tea. salt
1/4 tea. baking soda
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup blueberries, marionberries, cherries or a combination
sugar and cinnamon mixture

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the orange juice and the oatmeal; stir well and sit aside. In another bowl, combine the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. In a small bowl, mix the oil and the egg. Add the flour mixture into the OJ/ oat mixture. This will be very dry. Stir in the oil/ egg mixture and stir just until mixed. Add fruit of choice and fill 12 regular lined or sprayed muffin cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle tops with sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Allow to cool before eating. (That's the hard part!)

Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri Mix

I found this easy recipe in the Oregonian years ago and we love to make these long after the strawberries are gone.

2 cups sugar
1/3 cup lime juice (2 limes)
1/4 cup water
1 quart fresh strawberries, washed and hulled

Combine the sugar, lime juice and water in a bowl. Stir to mix and let set until the sugar is dissolved. In an blender or food processor, combine the sugar mixture with the strawberries. Blend until smooth. Pack into a freezer container and freeze. (use an ice cream scoop for mixing drinks)

For each daiquiri: In a blender, combine 3 Tab. rum, 1/4 cup frozen daiquiri mix and about 7-8 ice cubes. Blend until smooth. (most blenders hold up to four servings)

For a virgin daiquiri: substitute lemon-lime soda for rum

Spinach and strawberry salad

Today is the first day of summer 2011. To celebrate, just imagine these ingredients combined together for a refreshing summer salad. Spinach, basil and strawberries.


For the dressing:
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tea. sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tea. black pepper

In a small food processor or blender, combine the garlic, basil, vinegar and sugar. With the blade running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until emulsified. Season with pepper. Store in the refrigerator in a glass jar.


For candied nuts:
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
3 Tab. butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tea. black pepper
1/4 tea. salt

In a skillet, cook and stir nuts in butter until toasted; about 5 minutes. Remove from heat , stir in sugar, pepper and salt. Pour onto a plate and allow to cool. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator.


For one serving,
about 2 cups of washed spinach
1/4 cup chopped strawberries
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 Tab. candied nuts
a drizzle of basil dressing










Enjoy today!

Berries and Cream

This is a quick and easy dessert recipe. We spoon this onto any type of berry...strawberries, blueberries, mixed berries, even fresh peaches. I will be serving this at our Fathers Day get together.

Berries and Cream
1 cup cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 tea. vanilla
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3 to 4 cups berries

Mix the first four ingredients in a bowl. Place berries into individual serving bowls and top with the cream mixture. Serves 6-8.

Here is a little secret... my oldest daughter likes to fill the hollow core of a raspberry with the cream mixture and pop it into her mouth. That is just too much work for me. I like mine in a bowl.

Raspberries and blueberries will be late this year. We are looking at early July before the fields are ready for picking. And of course the marionberries and boysenberries will be late too. Our tomatoes in the hoop house are setting fruit so... red, ripe tomatoes are not too far off.

Diane

Marionberry Barbecue Sauce

This coming Sunday, July 25, will be our last day for summer berries. We will be closed until our fall raspberries and blueberries are ready for picking; usually early September. In the meantime, let's play with our food!
I am frequently on the look-out for new recipes using Oregon's original berry, the marionberry. I came across an excellent recipe in Sunset magazine and then I tweaked it to fit our family's palate. This sauce is good on chicken, pork and turkey. Give it a try. (I love the color of marionberries after they are blended.)

Marionberry Barbecue Sauce

1 1/2 cups marionberries
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tea. ground ginger
1/2 tea. ground black pepper
1 tea. Tabasco Sauce
1 tab. Frank's Redhot Original Sauce

Blend all ingredients in a blender. Pour into a sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Doesn't a strawberry yogurt parfait sound good?

I have been making my own granola for years and I have come up with a pretty good recipe for a low fat version. To make a parfait: layer sliced strawberries, vanilla yogurt and granola. Simple!

Healthy Granola

4 1/2 cups regular oats
1 tea. ground cinnamon
1/4 tea. salt
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup water
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Combine oats, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Mix well.
Combine honey, molasses and water in a microwave bowl. Heat on high in microwave until hot, 1- 1 1/2 minutes. Stir well and pour over oat mixture. Stir well to evenly coat.
Spray jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Spoon mixture onto pan, spreading evenly.
Bake at 325 for 40 minutes or until lightly toasted, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.
Yield: 4 1/2 cups

Enjoy!
Diane