Blueberry Bonanza!!

I was first introduced to blueberries back in 2004 , when I came to the US for the first time and visited my friend in Chicago. "Its full of anti-oxidants" , she said . I guess I heard of anti-oxidants for the first time too.."Its good for you " ..bring it on then...My first impression of the blueberry was neither good..nor bad..they were okay...slightly sweet..slightly tart..

Fast forward to May 2006 - I came back to US(I havnt seen any blueberries in India, as yet) and at the start of the summer...blueberries abounded...fresh bluberries..blueberry muffin..scones..and I went crazy...my friends started thinking about getting me a blueberry plant to grow :) .. but now, I understood and appreciated blueberries more...Full of antioxidants..low in calories ..they are a veritable source of freshness and nutrition packed in those small blobs..

Every summer after that, I religously get a pint or two of blueberries every weekend from farmers market..and mostly I have them just like grapes..and they disappear in no time..nowadays more so, cause Dora (our beagle-mix) seems to have a liking for them as well..so we finish that box in one sitting :)

This weekend though I tried 2 delightful recipes incorporating those blueberries :

1. Inspired by SusanV and the lemon -poppyseed cake I had tried in the local Caribou , I made a Blueberry-lemon-poppyseed cake .. I must say that combination worked out pretty well for me..

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup milkpowder

1/2 cup sugar or agave nectar

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp poppy seeds

2 tbsp applesauce

2 tbsp ghee or shortening

2 tbsp lemon zest

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup milk

1 cup blueberries

Mix all the dry ingredients well - flour, sugar, soda, baking powder, salt , milk powder, poppy seeds. Add the applesauce ,shortening , lemon juice and zest and mix well. Add milk and stir till a consistent batter. Fold in blueberries . Bake at 375 F for about 45 -50 mins.

I have recently started making cakes with the whole wheat flour and the taste is certainly denser than the white flour but I dont want to go back to the white one for obvious purposes. Otherwise , the poppyseeds and blueberry complimented very well and the lemon added an extra zing , though I held myself back on it as I thought that blueberries would be providing the sour/tart-ness.

2. And this..

Blueberry Yogurt parfait inspired by this basic parfait recipe..but first..did you know..in French , parfait literally means something perfect..how perfect [I do love me some french words ;) ]

So ,

whip up some yogurt ,

heat up a quick blueberry sauce in microwave - wash and add 2 tsp sugar to abt a cup of blueberries and heat for 2 mins

layer yogurt , then above mentioned cake slice, then the blueberry sauce and repeat till top is the fruit layer

Top it with a dollop of cream and mini chocolates or crumbled graham crackers ( I did after I took the snaps) if you have ..

Freeze it !

DH was so impatient , we pulled it out in 10 mins..Im sure the taste enhances by freezing longer..maybe atleast 30 mins..

In any case , it was a great tasting and healthy dessert !!

[ Notice Dora looking at the dessert longingly ..she was ready to lick the frost off the glass... she didnt get any :) ..she did get some blueberries and a slice of cake too ]