Wednesday, June 24, 2009

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 ]

3 comments:

  1. Wow! Dips. The parfait looks really good. Will try making it soon.
    Couldn't agree with you more about eating the berries like grapes. Our Sprouts FM sells blueberries, blackberries and strawberries at great prices and Tushar and I love to eat them as dessert every day.

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  2. The cake has come out perfect and loved the parfait :)

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  3. I'm missing blueberries. Why don't we get them in India :(

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