by jphilo | Jul 30, 2010 | Recipes
A couple weeks ago, I promised to get off my blueberry recipe kick and move onto other foods. Technically, I’m keeping the promise by sharing this yummy dessert from Family Camp, Huckleberry Pizza. But in truth, Midwesterners without access to the delectable mountain fruit will have to substitute blueberries. The flatland cousin to the smaller, purplish berry won’t have quite the same tang, so you might want to add some lemon juice to punch up the flavor.
Due to cool temperatures this spring and early summer, the huckleberries weren’t quite ready for picking during this year’s Family Camp. Thankfully, we still had plenty frozen from last year’s bumper crop, so the cooks were able to prepare one of my favorite camp desserts. It was so good, I had two pieces…and didn’t feel bad about indulging since who knows when I’ll taste it again?
Huckleberry Pizza
Mix:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Press into a 9×13 pan or pizza pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool completely.
Cream:
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup Cool Whip
Spread on cooled crust and chill.
Mix:
1 cup sugar (probably can cut this to 1/2 cup if using blueberries)
1/4 cup cornstarch
Stir in 1 cup water. Stir and cook over low heat until thick. Add 3 – 4 cups huckleberries. Spread over cream cheese layer and refrigerate for several hours before serving.
by jphilo | Jul 22, 2010 | Recipes
A couple days back, I blogged about eating Harold Walker’s biscuits & gravy at Family Camp…without Harold Walker. After posting it, several readers asked how to make it. With this being my first day home – jet lagged, knee deep in laundry, and too short on sleep to write creatively or be profound – copying out the recipe is a task I can handle. So here it is.
Harold Walker’s Biscuits & Gravy
According to Harold, you must use Jimmy Dean ground sausage.
Brown 1/2 pound of sausage and set it aside.
Whisk together:
1/2 cup flour
3 cups milk
Pour the milk mixture into the skillet containing a few tablespoons of the sausage grease. Stir and heat until it thickens. Add the sausage. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over biscuits.
Maybe one of the camp cooks could leave a note about how many times they increased the recipe for 35 people. Also, I believe they used Bisquick for the biscuits. But if you need a biscuit recipe, leave a comment about that also, and I’ll post mine soon.
by jphilo | Jul 14, 2010 | Recipes
Over the last few weeks, I’ve inundated you with blueberry recipes. With the season almost over, I promise to move on to a different theme next week. But only after sharing one last recipe given a thumbs up by the weekend wedding crowd. The recipe’s super easy, so try it out and leave a comment. Thumbs up for you or thumbs down?
Blueberry Granola Muffins
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup granola
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup cooking oil
1 pint fresh or frozen blueberries
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients together. Stir in milk, egg and oil until dry ingredients are just moistened. Carefully fold in blueberries and lemon peel. (If using frozen blueberries, thaw and drain them first.) Spoon batter into greased or paper bake cup-lined muffin pan until cups are 2/3 full. Bake 18 – 20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.
by jphilo | Jul 8, 2010 | Recipes
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know you’ve seen this picture before, and I’m sorry. Can I plead pre-school reunion excitement coupled with wedding excitement as the reasons for no photo of the bang-up blueberry crisp we ate last Thursday evening? If those aren’t enough, I’ll throw in the 18 pints of blueberries waiting to be frozen the same day.
Now you’re probably thinking, “Is this woman nuts, freezing 18 pints of blueberries right before her class reunion and a week before her daughter’s wedding?”
The short answer is yes, this woman is nuts. But, here’s the longer answer. Blueberries were on sale for $.99 a pint. That’s right. $.99 a pint. With a price like that, the lowest in years, I bought 22 pints, froze 18 and used 4 for the bang up blueberry crisp mentioned (but not photographed) above. Normally, the crisp would use 2 pints, but I doubled it so Hiram had good eats while the womenfolk headed north to the school reunion.
Enough said about them doings. Here’s the recipe which is basically an adaptation of the crumb top blueberry pie posted a few months ago, minus the crust and with a beefed up crumb topping. See what you think…and if you have other good blueberry recipes, send them this way. With 18 pints in the freezer, I’ve got enough berries to give them all a whirl.
Blueberry Crisp
Filling: Topping:
2 pints fresh blueberries 1/3 – 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup flour
2 1/2 tablespoons minute tapioca 1/2 cup oatmeal
1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/3 cup softened butter
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash blueberries and pick off any remaining stems. Put in a large bowl. Add lemon juice. In small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup sugar, tapioca, 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon and salt. Mix into berries. Pour mixture into a 1 quart baking glass baking dish.
In another bowl, mix dry topping ingredients together, then cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over berries. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, until berries are bubbly. Serve warm with ice cream…double yum!
by jphilo | Jun 30, 2010 | Recipes
After posting my favorite recipe for rhubarb custard pie a few weeks ago, I told Mom about sharing her cousin’s recipe with the cyberworld. I expected her to smile, pleased by the notoriety. Instead, she sniffed and said, “That’s not the best recipe. My favorite is Mom’s recipe. It’s really good.”
Advice like that I take seriously since her mom, my Grandmother Josie, was a bang-up pie baker. With the exception of her mincemeat and sour cream raisin creations, not personal favorites of mine, she never made a pie I didn’t like. So I pulled out the recipe box and searched for hers. And whaddya know? I found it.
Of course, a taste test of the recipe was required, especially since Anne wanted to learn how to make rhubarb custard for her hubby-to-be. So, we whipped one up on Sunday, and you can see the results above. In this case, a picture is not worth a thousand words. Neither are a thousand words. All you can do is try out the recipe and see which one you think is better – Rhubarb Custard Pie or Grandma Dorothy’s Favorite Rhubarb Custard Pie.
Grandma Dorothy’s Favorite Rhubarb Pie
1 cup sugar 3 eggs
3 tablespoons milk 1/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg 4 cups rhubarb
Put rhubarb in an unbaked nine inch pie shell. Mix the flour, sugar and nutmeg together in a small bowl. In another small bowl, beat the eggs and add milk. Pour liquid mixture into dry ingredients and stir well. Pour mixture over rhubarb. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn down to 350 degrees and bake for 45-50 minutes more until custard is firm.
by jphilo | Jun 23, 2010 | Recipes
June’s here, which means we’re start collecting our weekly Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) http://www.wilbersproduce.com/ of fruits and vegetables.We already received our first two quarts of farm fresh strawberries. Double yum!
Unfortunately, today’s photo doesn’t do one our family’s favorite June desserts justice. I forgot to take a picture until after we’d all had seconds and there wasn’t much fruit left. That’s an endorsement in itself, don’t you think?
Assuming that some of you love the sweet June berries, here’s a recipe for strawberry shortcake. It’s always best to be prepared for the good things in life, don’t you think?
Strawberry Shortcake
1 quart strawberries, washed and hulled 3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 – 1/2 cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour 1/3 cup oil or butter
2 tablespoons sugar 1 cup milk
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Slice strawberries into a bowl. Stir in sugar to taste, about 1/4 – 1/2 cup. In another bowl, mix flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar, baking powder and salt. Add oil and milk. If you use butter, cut it in first and then add the milk. Stir until dry ingredients are moistened. Put batter into a greased 9” square or round pan. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until cake is golden brown. Set on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm, topped with berries and cream.
