Thanks to our unbelievable weather this year, it looks like we’ll have a bumper crop of fabulous B.C. blueberries.
There is amazing flavour and reportedly a wealth of antioxidants packed into each of these little blue beauties. While they’re at the peak of perfection and reasonably priced (I just saw them at my local supermarket at $5 for two large containers), buy lots and freeze them for future baking.
Remember: don’t thaw frozen blueberries before adding them to a batter and you won’t end up with purple muffins or pancakes.
Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes
3 large eggs, room temperature, separated
1 cup full-fat sour cream
3 Tbsp homogenized milk or light cream
3 Tbsp brown sugar
¼ tsp salt
1½ tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking powder
2⁄3 cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1½ cups fresh blueberries
4 Tbsp butter (for greasing pan)
Maple syrup and additional fresh blueberries
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sour cream, milk, brown sugar, salt and vanilla. In a separate bowl, toss the blueberries with the flour until blueberries are well coated.
Add the flour-blueberry mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. The batter will be thick and lumpy but don’t be tempted to make it smooth!
In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter until well incorporated. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat, add a tablespoon of butter, and tilt pan until it is coated with the melted butter. Ladle scoops of batter (about one-third cup per scoop) onto the heated pan, leaving plenty of room for pancakes to spread.
Cook until tops of pancakes are covered with bubbles and edges look slightly dry. Flip pancakes over and cook the other sides until golden brown. Repeat until all batter is used. Serve with warm maple syrup and additional blueberries. Makes about 12 to 14 pancakes.
Blue on Blue Chopped Salad
3 cups chopped, cooked chicken breast (buy a rotisserie chicken and make life easy)
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 cup roughly chopped toasted pecans
½ cup diced red onion
½ cup crumbled blue cheese (substitute feta if you’re not a fan of blue cheese)
Dijon vinaigrette:
1⁄3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar or rice vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Place the salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. Add the vinaigrette ingredients to a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Screw on lid and shake jar vigorously until dressing is completely combined.
Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss until well coated. Makes four servings.
Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
1 1⁄3 cups + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour, divided use
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
½ cup butter, room temperature
¾ cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
Finely grated zest of one lemon
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 large eggs, room temperature
½ cup + 2 Tbsp milk, room temperature
1 cup fresh blueberries
Icing:
One 250-gram package cream cheese
5 Tbsp butter, room temperature
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Finely grated zest of one lemon
3 cups icing sugar
Preheat oven to 350° F and line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a small bowl, whisk together the 11⁄3 cups of flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt and set aside. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Add the lemon zest, vanilla and lemon juice, and beat until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and milk in alternate batches, making two additions of each and beating each addition until well combined.
In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the two tablespoons of flour until berries are coated. Gently fold the berry-flour mixture into the batter. Scoop the batter into the prepared cupcake pans, filling each cupcake liner two-thirds full.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Let cool in the pan for five minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely. To make icing, beat the cream cheese and butter together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Add the lemon juice and zest and beat until combined. Slowly add the icing sugar until combined then beat icing at high speed for one or two minutes until fluffy. Spread onto cooled cupcakes. Makes about 16 cupcakes.
Angela Shellard is a self-described foodie. She has done informal catering for various functions. Contact: [email protected].
