Blueberry Hill!

Tis the season for berries.  So far it's mostly been blueberries at our local u-pick-em place, Three Birds Berry Farm, so we spent the Fourth of July gathering a gallon in the unseasonably reasonable temperatures.  So here are two recipes we've tried and they both seem to have turned out really well.

Brett picking berries

1387.  Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake

This is adapted pretty closely from Chef-in-training.com  The biggest difference was that we subbed the buttermilk for sour cream and 2% milk mixed to roughly the right consistency.  I also added in a few frozen berries from last summer that we hadn't eaten yet, but this seems like it would work well with all frozen (but not thawed) berries.  We froze several cups of berries with our vacuum sealer so this is an option for a nice winter dessert.

A delicious and moist pound cake that is bursting with refreshing and amazing flavor!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup butter
• 1¾ cups sugar
• zest of one lemon
• 3 eggs
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• 3 cups fresh blueberries
• 2½ cups flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Lemon Glaze

• 1½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 Tablespoon milk
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, and lemon zest together for 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Add eggs one at a time and beat an addition minute per egg.
4. In a separate large bowl, mix and combine dry ingredients together.
5. Add dry ingredients alternatively with the buttermilk to the butter/sugar/lemon zest/egg mixture. Fold in blueberries.
6. Grease and flour either 2 large bread pans or 3 small bread pans.
7. Pour batter and bake at 350 degrees F for 55 to 60 min.
8. Let loaves cool and pour glaze over them.

Lemon Glaze

1. Whisk glaze ingredients together until smooth

1388.  Canned Blueberry Pie Filling

We wanted to make sure we can save some of these delicious berries for enjoying later in the year, so we made 4 quarts of pie filling and canned them to be shelf stable.  Now when the cool days of Fall have us hankering for berries, we can open two jars and fill a pie crust.  This is taken from The Nap Time Chef, which has an easy-to-follow directions for anyone new to canning.

Ingredients

makes 2 quarts

10c.	blueberries, washed and dried
½ c.	water
1    ½c.	sugar
6 T.	cornstarch
5 T.	bottled lemon juice

Instructions

1. Wash and dry the blueberries and set aside. Sterilize 2 quart jars along with the lids in boiling water or in a dishwasher run without soap.

2. In a large stockpot bring the water, sugar, corn starch and lemon juice and to a boil.

3. Pour in the blueberries very carefully and bring the mixture back to a boil, stirring continuously with a long spoon. Keep stirring for about 5 minutes while the berries release their juices and the mixture thickens, becoming blue and glossy.

4. Set a funnel over a quart jar and ladle in the blueberry mixture, leaving about 1″ of room at the top. Repeat with second quart jar.

5. Placed the sterilized lids on the jar and seal them with the rims, only tightening the ring as much as you can with your own hand. Do not force it.

6. Place the jars in a pot of boiling water standing on end. Make sure the water covers the tops of the jars. Boil for 30 minutes, starting the timing when the mixture has returned to a boil after the jars have been added.