DELICIOUS, lowcalorie and healthy . . . there just aren't enough foods that are all three.
Blueberries are tiny nutritional powerhouses, bursting with antioxidants. They're one of the few fruits that are native to North America, and our local B.C. berries are second to none (in my humble opinion).
For a great family outing try heading to one of the many U-Pick farms in Richmond and spend a few hours gathering buckets of berries for pies, jam, cobblers, pancakes, blueberry syrup and any or all of the recipes below.
Blueberry Lemon Loaf
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup butter, softened
2 eggs Grated rind of one lemon
¼ tsp salt
1½ tsp baking powder
1½ cups all purpose flour
½ tsp vanilla
½ cup milk
1½ cups fresh blueberries, dusted with 2 tsp flour Juice of one lemon
¼ cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl cream together butter and 1 cup sugar; beat in eggs and lemon rind. Mix together vanilla and milk; add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Fold in flour-dusted blueberries. Pour batter into two 7x4x3-inch loaf pans and bake for 35 minutes or until tester inserted into centre of loaf comes out clean. Stir together the lemon juice and ¼ cup sugar until sugar dissolves; pour over loaves while they're still warm.
Blueberry Buckle
I clipped this recipe from the Vancouver Sun years ago - it's a keeper.
Topping:
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ cup butter, room temperature
Batter:
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp grated orange rind
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking power
¼ tsp salt
½ cup buttermilk
2 cups fresh blueberries
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Topping: In a small bowl combine dry ingredients; cut in butter with the back of a fork until mixture is crumbly.
Batter: In a large bowl beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time; beat in orange zest and vanilla.
In a medium bowl combine dry ingredients. Stir flour mixture and buttermilk alternately into the creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Gently stir in blueberries. Spread batter evenly in a greased 8x8-inch baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with the topping.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until top springs back with lightly pressed in the centre, covering loosely with foil for the last 15 minutes of baking. Let cool in dish on wire rack. Makes nine servings.
Best Blueberry Muffins
There are a million recipes for blueberry muffins, but I've yet to find one that I like better than this cake-like muffin. I think the pastry flour is what makes the difference.
¼ cup butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 egg, well beaten
1½ cups cake and pastry flour
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp vanilla
½ cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar; add egg and mix well.
Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with milk; gently fold in blueberries. Fill 12 paper-lined muffin tins 2 ?3 full; sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
