One Fourth of July long ago, I was holding a sparkler and running. Obviously, that was a bad idea, but I was five and kind of prone to bad ideas. As you might imagine, I tripped, fell on my face, and extinguished the sparkler with my torso. I was left with a sparkler-shaped scar on my lower abdomen, and not an ounce of remorse over the event. But, of my many nerdy pastimes, fire safety still looms large. That said, this Fourth––weather, humidity, and local laws permitting––I hope you will don some safety glasses, and set off some serious fireworks. It’s what George Washington would want you to do. Just please don’t run with anything actually aflame, OK? [Read more…]
old-fashioned blueberry muffins and the naptime chef cookbook
Brian and I have been working with Kelsey Banfield, otherwise known as the Naptime Chef, for a couple of years over on Babble.com’s Family Kitchen. Blogging alongside her, we’ve come to love her simple and classic recipes, many of which we regularly make here in our kitchen. Now I’m thrilled to say that she’s just come out with her very own cookbook. [Read more…]
blueberry grapefruit jam
As I’ve mentioned before, I recently took a jam making class at the Brooklyn Kitchen Labs with Kelly Geary of Sweet Deliverance. I loved the class and now really feel like I can make jam. My second attempt went very well and I am really happy to share this recipe for a small, 4 cup batch of blueberry grapefruit jam.
Grapefruit, especially ruby red, has such amazing flavor; it’s well-rounded, hitting tangy, bitter, and candy-sweet notes all at once. Combined with the blueberry, this jam has a rich, buttery flavor. Though we couldn’t wait more than a week to have some of the first jar, I am going to stash the other three in the back of the cabinet and savor the bright flavor on some snowy January morning. [Read more…]
blueberries and a better pancake
My mission this summer is to preserve much of summer’s bounty. I am focusing on freezing and canning. Brian got 8 pints of blueberries at the Farmer’s Market this week and they are mostly freezer bound. Freezing blueberries is really easy; simply rinse, sort, and dry roughly a pint and a half. Then place a piece of wax or parchment paper on a cookie sheet, evenly spread the berries, and freeze. Once the berries are frozen solid (3 hours or so), quickly round them up and put in a labeled freezer bag. The cookie sheet step keeps them from sticking together. This method works well for most berries. We saved some strawberries this way earlier in the summer. If you put the berry bags in the very back of your freezer they should last at least six months, but check them if it has been a while.
I was so busy freezing blueberries that we almost didn’t have enough left for our Sunday morning sour cream and blueberry pancakes. I kind of have a reputation for making really bad pancakes. I used to run with a heavily vegan crowd, and the terrible pancakes were most certainly vegan. Which is not to say that good vegan pancakes cannot be made, just not by me. Rest assured, I have retrained myself and my eggy, milky pancakes are delicate and fluffy. These turned out really well; the sweetness of the cooked blueberries is set off nicely by the brightness of the sour cream.
Sour Cream and Blueberry Pancakes
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs beaten lightly
1/2 cup sour cream
1 – 1 & 1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons melted and slightly cooled butter
1-2 cups blueberries, rinsed and dried
Preheat your skillet or griddle on medium/medium high heat while you prepare the batter. The secret to great pancakes is the right griddle temperature. Combine the dry ingredients and set aside. Combine the eggs, sour cream, one cup of the milk, and then add the butter. Stir, and add to the dry ingredients. Once mixed add milk until the batter is your desired consistency. I like it to be just drippy, neither runny nor thick. Finally, throw in the blueberries and mix very lightly.
Add a small amount of oil, butter, or both, to your skillet, and cook the pancakes, turning when you see bubbles on the top side. Keep the cooked pancakes in a barely warm oven if you like. I find pancake cooking times vary wildly, so keep an eye on them and pull when they are golden brown and seem cooked all the way through.
These pancakes are so buttery you don’t really need to serve them with butter. We each added a small dollop of sour cream and a splash of maple syrup.