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Sweet and Spicy Chipotle Kettle Corn

August 22, 2010 by Rebecca 6 Comments

A.) It’s rainy.

B.) It’s chilly.

C.) My husband was on a business trip this week meaning that I parented our five boys solo.

D.) My husband got in from that business trip at 1:30 a.m. this morning.

E.) I’ve been canning like a maniac for weeks on end.

F.) I have a hole in my heart that was created by my utter lack of time to watch my favorite movies lately.

G.) I spent all of yesterday at the Angelica Farmer’s Market with the kids (who were selling their Mortar Men and Room & Linen Sprays) on what turned out to be, according to the market’s coordinator “…the slowest day we’ve ever actually had at the Farmer’s Market.”

H.) I wanted to prove that I am still capable of writing a post that doesn’t involve putting food in jars. Although, you really could actually put this into jars. Just a thought.

There. This is what I like to think of as front-loading with my excuses reasons behind this post. And now that I’ve been all efficient, I can go straight to the good stuff; Sweet and Spicy Chipotle Kettle Corn. I never really cared much for kettle corn because of an unfortunate incident as an exchange student in France*. I found it an affront to the great and noble salted and buttered popcorn of my youth. I viewed it as an anemic impersonation of caramel corn; food of the gods. And last, but certainly not least, I really, really REALLY didn’t like how very many times I had seen it written ‘kettle korn’.**

*I had been in France for about three months when struck with an incredible craving for crunchy popcorn. I stopped in the first Supermarché I could find and gasped audibly when I found a bag of fluffy white popcorn on the shelf. I grabbed. I paid. I tore it open. I stuffed a fistful in my mouth. I spit it out into a garbage can. I was not emotionally prepared for popcorn to be totally sweet. White Cheddar or Salted? Yes. Sickly sweet? Not so much. And so my prejudice against any sweet popcorn that wasn’t caramel corn was born.

**Korn with a ‘K’? No way. That rubs ever CDO** bone in my body the wrong way.

***CDO: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in alphabetical order. The way God intended.

But inspiration strikes at odd moments. As The Evil Genius and his progeny sat on the couch watching the Little League World Series (El Salvador vs. Saudi Arabia) our eldest pined -pointedly- in my direction, “I sure could go for something sweet to munch. Sigh.” The Evil Genius mouthed the words “kettle corn” in my direction and accompanied it with his most charming world-domination smile. Then they all started ululating.*

*Sorry for all the asides, but this one is one-hundred percent necessary. The guys saw a Saudi mother ululating when her son hit a home run. They’ve been ululating since. It’s been two hours. Send help. Now.

Since I was afraid they’d carry on ululating if I didn’t whip up a batch of kettle corn I hied me hence to the kitchen. I planned on doing one batch of the dreaded kettle corn for them and one batch of my favorite; salted with nutritional yeast (don’t you DARE gag. It’s delicious. Even if it DOES contain something called ‘nutritional yeast’ which admittedly sounds like it would be served by a very serious health food adherent with no sense of humour whatsoever.) I made the kettle corn, poured it into a bowl and -in an act that I really can’t remember consciously deciding to perform- sprinkled a generous quantity of ground chipotle powder over the top. Um. Whoops?

No. Not whoops. Divine. Sweet, smoky, spicy, salty and crisp; this stuff knocked off my socks. Color me converted. Well, to the Sweet and Spicy Chipotle Kettle Corn anyway. You can keep the other stuff. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.

I ended up making several more batches because it was eaten almost as fast as I could make it. The kids loved it. The Evil Genius loved it. I loved it. Score.

Now if you’ll pardon me. I’m going to go grab my bowl and catch up on my movies. Middle Earth, here I come!

For a printable version of this recipe minus the photos and rambling, click here!

Sweet and Spicy Chipotle Kettle Corn

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup of your favorite unpopped popcorn kernels (I love ladyfinger popcorn. So small, so cute, so tasty!) + 3 extra kernels
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
salt to taste (start around 1/4 teaspoon and work up from there.)
ground chipotle pepper powder to taste (start around 1/4 teaspoon and work up from there.)

Regular Pot Instructions:

In a large heavy-bottomed pan with a tight-fitting lid, heat the oil and the 3 extra kernels over medium high heat with the lid in place. Shake the pan every 10 seconds. When you hear the three kernels pop, act quickly (while wearing oven mitts.) Dump in the 1/4 each of popcorn kernels and sugar. Put the lid back on very quickly and start shaking in a circular motion. Listen to the popping of the kernels. It should pick up in tempo until you can’t distinguish the popping of individual kernels. Keep shaking the pan. After that it will gradually decrease. This is where you need to pay the most attention. When the popping tapers off to the point where you hear a two to three second pause between pops, you need to pull the pan off the heat and empty it into a bowl very quickly.

Whirly Pop Instructions:

In a Whirly Pop pan, heat the oil and the 3 extra kernels over medium high heat with the lid in place. Keep turning the Whirly Pop handle. When you hear the three kernels pop, act quickly (while wearing oven mitts.) Quickly open one side of the Whirly Pop and dump in the 1/4 each of popcorn kernels and sugar. Knock the lid back into place very quickly and start turning the handle. Listen to the popping of the kernels. It should pick up in tempo until you can’t distinguish the popping of individual kernels. Keep turning the handle. After that it will gradually decrease. This is where you need to pay the most attention. When the popping tapers off to the point where you hear a two to three second pause between pops, you need to pull the pan off the heat and empty it into a bowl very quickly.

~~Now for the good stuff…

No matter which way you cook it, when you’ve emptied it into a large bowl, sprinkle with salt and chipotle powder to taste, toss and stir with a long wooden spoon. You don’t want to stir by hand because that melted sugar seriously burns! Let cool for a couple minutes and then dig in! Kettle corn keeps well in a paper bag with the top folded down and crimped for a day or two at room temperature.

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Camping Food, Desserts, Gifts, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Instructional, kid food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: dessert, food gift, Food gifts, Frugal Food, frugal gifts, kid friendly, kids, party food, quick, quick and easy, Vegetarian

Sweet Black Cherry Pie Filling

July 28, 2010 by Rebecca 15 Comments

I used to think I despised cherries.

This was some high-heresy for a girl raised awfully close to ‘The Cherry Capital of the World’.* Why I thought cherries were gross I can attribute to two reasons: A) I didn’t like the whole spit-the-pit thing. I was a tidy child. B) The only way to eat cherries sans pits, as far as I knew, was maraschino cherries and I still maintain that those are disgusting.

*Nothing like some trivia to de-cobweb the old gray matter. Does anyone out there know which area I mean?

I realized the error of my ways long after moving out of state*. I was at a friend’s house when she insisted I try a beautiful red cherry she had picked earlier that day. I was blown away by the intense, tart, sweet flavor. And I didn’t even mind spitting the pit. My devotion was deep and instant. But DANG they were expensive. On sale, loss-leader sale even, I couldn’t find pre-picked cherries for anything less than $2.99 per pound. I lived much too far from any cherry orchards to make it cost-effective to drive to one to pick my own. Then we moved again.

*I have a major food regret from my childhood. I wish I hadn’t been such an anti-cherry and anti-morel mushroom picky-pants. I had both overflowing in my backyard free for the taking.

I am now fortunate enough to live in Amish country where the bulk-food buying and canning mindsets of my ‘Dutch’ neighbors combine to provide me with ample and affordable supplies of pre-picked fruits and vegetables at prices that would make grocery store managers reach for the antacids. This year, I pitted sixty pounds of sweet black cherries and I’m still canning my way through thirty pounds of pre-pitted sour cherries. The black sweet cherries rang in at $0.70 per pound and the pre-pitted sour cherries came in at a slightly pricier (but still bargain-basement price of) $1.26 per pound. You already know about the Rum-Soaked Preserved Cherries and the Boozy Cherry Molasses, and I’ve been promising my Sweet Black Cherry Pie Filling recipe for an (indecently) awful long time. How many of you are waiting out there languishing with a whipped ganache filled tart in hand just hanging on for a pie filling that doesn’t taste and look like glorified maraschino cherries and doesn’t plop out of a pull-tab can? I am so sorry. I blame my children.*

*Because I can. Yes, I can. A little laughter please? Can’t a girl get a little giggle for politico-culinary humour?

Why make your own instead of buying the cheap stuff? For the usual reasons; flavor and health. Store-bought canned pie filling can’t hold a candle to homemade in terms of flavor. But just as compelling is the long list of nasty additives and artificial flavors present in the storebought stuff. There are five -count ‘em- FIVE ingredients in homemade Sweet Black Cherry Pie Filling, all of which are readily available and pronounceable.

Ah, Sweet Black Cherry Pie Filling. What can’t you do? Sure, you can make a good old-fashioned cherry pie with it, but you can also top cheesecakes with it, layer it with brownies and whipped cream in a mean trifle, pour it on top of softened cream cheese to serve with graham crackers or make a deadly no-bake Black Forest Truffle Tart. You want some of this on your pantry shelves. Seriously.

For a printer-friendly, photo-free version of this recipe, click here!

Sweet Black Cherry Pie Filling: Printer Friendly Version

From The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving (see here for book details!)

Yield: about 8 pint (500 mL) or 4 quart (1 L) jars

Ingredients:

10 pounds frozen sweet black cherries, thawed in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup ClearJel (Or Thermaflo or Permaflo)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup lemon juice

Position a colander over a large bowl. Pour partially thawed cherries into the colander, cover lightly with plastic wrap and leave on the counter top, stirring occasionally, until you have collected 7 cups of juice in the bowl. Set aside the juice and the cherries.

Prepare the canner, jars and lids. For more information, see our basic canning how-to’s.

In a large stainless steel or enameled stockpot, whisk together the sugar, ClearJel and cinnamon. When it is evenly combined, whisk in 4 cups of the cherry juice*. Place stockpot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Continue boiling until thickened. Whisk in the lemon juice and return to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue stirring and allow the mixture to boil hard for 1 minute. Add the reserved cherries all at once, stir in gently, and continue stirring constantly while returning to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat.

*You can freeze or can the remaining juice or turn it into Boozy Cherry Molasses. The basic instructions remain the same, just add half as much sugar (by volume) and go forth with the directions from there.

Scoop the hot pie filling into the hot jars allowing 1-inch of headspace to remain between the pie filling and the rim of the jar. Remove air bubbles from the filling by inserting a long, flexible spatula or chopstick into the jars. Wipe the jar rims and position the lids in place. Screw the rings onto the jars to fingertip tight.

Place jars in a canner, cover with hot tap water by at least 1-inch, cover, and place covered canner over high-heat to bring the water to a boil. Once the water is boiling hard, you can begin timing; both pints and quarts must be processed for 35 minutes. After 35 minutes, turn off the heat, remove the lid and let the jars remain in the water for an additional 5 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack or towel lined counter and allow to cool, undisturbed, for 24 hours before removing rings, wiping jars clean and labeling. Processed and sealed pie filling can be stored in a cool, dark place for a year or so.

~~~~

Before I leave you to whipping up your own batch of Sweet Black Cherry Pie Filling I want to let you in on a dirty little secret. I have a treat that I allow myself that I refer to as Mommy’s Little Helper. It’s the thing that stands between sanity and selling my children to the nearest traveling circus and it is as simple as it is delicious. Just dip a spoon into your resident jar of Nutella (you DO have one, don’t you?) and top with a dollop of Sweet Black Cherry Pie Filling. Open mouth. Insert. Oh sure, you could class it up a little and serve it on graham crackers or chocolate wafer cookies, but then it’s not so naughty -and therefore- not so much fun. Danger. It’s my middle name.

Filed Under: Canning, Component Foods, Desserts, Food Preservation, Instructional, kid food, Recipes, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: Canning, dessert, Food gifts, Food Preservation, Frugal Food, frugal gifts, kid friendly, kids, party food, seasonal

Corn Dog Bread

June 19, 2010 by Rebecca 9 Comments

Summer and corn dogs are like winter and hot cider; you just hafta.

What is is about corn dogs that is so appealing? Is it as simple as the whole “food on a stick” universal truth*? Or is it more complicated? Maybe it comes down to the crazy appeal of the hot dog itself. Perhaps it’s the hint of honey in the crispy-exterior, moist-interior cornbread. Could it be the cultural association of fairs and festivals and carnivals and summer fun in sultry heat? The vinegar bite of yellow mustard dripping down the corn dog? I don’t know. All I know is that when you say ‘corn dog’ I make like Pavlov’s loyal companions and drool.

Alas, having chosen to live in the middle of nowhere as I have done, I don’t often stumble across carnivals and their vittles. And I won’t settle for satisfying my corn dog cravings with an uninteresting box of frozen mystery hot dogs covered in cloyingly sweet cornbread batter*. The only solution is to take matters into my own hands.

*I know that fairs and carnivals probably aren’t serving up Zweigle’s or Nathan’s or Hebrew Nationals in their corn dogs, but somehow the ambiance of a fair makes up for it. I just don’t have the carnival barkers, brightly colored tents or enough tattoos to compensate at home.

Corn Dog Bread is the quickest, easiest, tastiest way to fill that corn dog shaped void in my psyche. Of course, being unable to restrain myself, I added a few flourishes to the corn dog bread that bring it more into my wheelhouse; stoneground cornmeal, candied jalapenos and chopped onions. But friends? If you want the real deal, the most honest representation of corn dogs without a stick that you can possibly get, just go au naturel; use good old yellow cornmeal from the round canister and ix-nay the jalapenos and onions. I won’t be hurt.

It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that this is the ultimate in kid-of-all-age-friendly food. Cut up into squares, it’s easily tucked into a bag to take with you to baseball practice, on a picnic, at the drive-in theater or just out on the front porch enjoying that sweet summer breeze. And this is easily turned into a vegetarian-friendly entrée by swapping out the hot dogs for veggie dogs. Please ‘em all, I say!

Whichever way you make it, spicy or plain, serve with a plate piled with barbecue beans and coleslaw for the ultimate summer meal.

Corn Dog Bread

Scroll to the bottom for an easy-print version of this recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup (4.25 ounces by weight) all purpose flour
3 cups stoneground cornmeal (15 ounces by weight) (You can use regular yellow cornmeal, but be sure not to use self-rising cornmeal here!)
1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 teaspoons baking powder
3 Tablespoons honey
2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic (garlic powder)
1/4 teaspoon granulated onion (onion powder)
4 eggs, beaten
6 Tablespoons melted butter
2-1/2 cups buttermilk (Don’t forget how easy it is to make your own real buttermilk!)
8 hot dogs, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds (You can use leftover grilled hot dogs or fresh hot dogs; either is fine!)

Optional, but tasty:

1/2 a cooking onion, peeled and chopped finely
2 Tablespoons Candied Jalapeno or pickled jalapeno rings ~or~ 1 fresh jalapeno, sliced into 1/8-inch rounds

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, soda, powder, salt and sugar with a whisk. In a medium sized bowl or large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, melted butter and buttermilk. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and stir lightly until the batter has mostly come together but still has some small lumps (Grandma’s notes specify to use a whisk. I do what Grandma says. It’s always for the best.)

Fold the sliced hot dogs and onions (if using) into the batter gently just until combined. Scrape the batter into the greased baking dish and level the top. If using the jalapeno rings, arrange evenly over the top of the batter. Slide the baking dish into the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and it tests done*.

*A toothpick or cake tester stuck into the center of the bread will come out clean.

Slice into squares and serve warm or room temperature with the usual corn dog accompaniments -mustard, ketchup, and hot sauce- or not.

…Whatever you do, and however you make it, don’t forget those Barbecue Beans and coleslaw!

Corn Dog Bread

Author: Rebecca Lindamood

Recipe type: Main, Side

Serves: 8

Everything you love about corn dogs minus the stick. This is the taste of summer and fairs and perpetual youth.

Ingredients

1 cup (4.25 ounces by weight) all purpose flour
3 cups stoneground cornmeal (15 ounces by weight) (You can use regular yellow cornmeal, but be sure not to use self-rising cornmeal here!)
1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 teaspoons baking powder
3 Tablespoons honey
2 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon granulated garlic (garlic powder)
¼ teaspoon granulated onion (onion powder)
4 eggs, beaten
6 Tablespoons melted butter
2-1/2 cups buttermilk (Don’t forget how easy it is to make your own real buttermilk!)
8 hot dogs, sliced into ¼-inch rounds (You can use leftover grilled hot dogs or fresh ones; either is fine!
Optional, but tasty:
½ a cooking onion, peeled and chopped finely
2 Tablespoons Candied Jalapeno or pickled jalapeno rings ~or~ 1 fresh jalapeno, sliced into ⅛-inch rounds

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, soda, powder, and salt with a whisk. In a medium sized bowl or large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, melted butter, honey and buttermilk. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and stir lightly until the batter has mostly come together but still has some small lumps (Grandma’s notes specify to use a whisk. I do what Grandma says. It’s always for the best.)
Fold the sliced hot dogs and onions (if using) into the batter gently just until combined. Scrape the batter into the greased baking dish and level the top. If using the jalapeno rings, arrange evenly over the top of the batter. Slide the baking dish into the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and it tests done*.

Notes

*A toothpick or cake tester stuck into the center of the bread will come out clean.

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Filed Under: Bread, Breakfast Foods, kid food, Main Dish, Meat, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: cornbread, Frugal Food, kid friendly, kids, leftovers, party food, picnic food, quick and easy, quick meal, summer food

Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers and S’Mores Bars

June 16, 2010 by Rebecca 7 Comments

Oftentimes, the ordinary things are the ones that bring the most pleasure; a cool breeze on a hot day, sitting quietly next to your kids on the couch, studying puffy white clouds in a cerulean sky, eating the first sun-warmed berry of the season or curling up to sleep at night between cool, clean sheets. And there are the blissful moments when simply ordinary is elevated just a bit; not so far that it’s ostentatious- only enough to gently nudge it into the realm of extraordinary. Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers are one of those.

Most of us were raised with graham crackers as a staple of the snack table. Brown, sweet and homey, graham crackers are an ordinary pleasure. But dipped in chocolate, graham crackers glide into sublime territory. The transformation from plain Jane graham cracker to velvety chocolate-enrobed cookie is nothing less than magical. It goes from nursery food to party food. If you lay a plate full of these out at the dessert table at a party I guarantee an empty, crumb-free plate within nanoseconds.

There are two real and present dangers with Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers.

The danger of total paralysis in trying to decide just how much of that blasted cracker to cover with chocolate. Do you carefully coat one side? Dunk one end and leave a ‘chocolate-free zone’ for grasping with the thumb and forefinger? Drizzle melted chocolate artfully over the top? Dip marshmallows in chocolate and stick to the graham crackers a la s’mores? Go all the way and submerge the entire cracker in chocolate? It’s worse than deciding what to wear the first day of school!
The danger of dunking an entire box of graham crackers in chocolate and eating it alone in the closet.

I combat the first threat this way.

In the name of all that is good and true, why would you only do it one way? Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, it has been said. Go wild.

And I combat the second temptation by succumbing to it. Minus the closet. Now don’t worry; I share with the kids. But they’re smaller than I am and I eat faster than they do. Score. They’re little, though, so I’m sure they’re low in calories. Besides, real graham crackers are made with whole grains. That makes this healthy*.

*Shhhhhh. I know most graham crackers are not made with whole grains today. Don’t intrude on my delusions.

I know I could’ve simply melted chocolate and dunked the crackers, but I went one step further; I added coconut oil to my chocolate when I melted it. I had a couple reasons for this seemingly heretical act. I wanted to make the chocolate a little easier to bite into after it set up and I wanted the chocolate to melt on my fingers so I could lick it off. It’s the little things in life…*

*Feel free to omit the coconut oil from the recipe when making this.

Oh! And lest I forget, do come back tomorrow. You might want to try what I did with these later. I’ll give you a hint.

For a photo-free, printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here!

Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers and S’mores Bars

Ingredients:

2 sleeves of graham crackers, broken into quarters along the scored lines
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chips or (finely chopped) bars
2 Tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil or unsalted butter
Optional: For s’mores bars, one large marshmallow per graham cracker piece

Place chocolate and coconut oil or butter into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high heat for 1 minute. Remove bowl and stir with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon. Microwave in additional 10 second increments, stirring well after each time, until the chocolate and oil are completely melted, combined and smooth.

Line a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper and set aside. Here’s how you gild those lilies.

For half-covered crackers:

Use the thumb and forefinger to grab the end of a graham cracker piece. Dunk the free end into the chocolate and use a spoon to bathe chocolate as far up the cookie as you would like to go. Let the excess chocolate drip away and place on the parchment lined pan.

For drizzled crackers:

Carefully drop a cracker flat onto the surface of the melted chocolate. Use two forks to lift the cracker from the chocolate and allow the excess chocolate to drip away. Transfer to the parchment lined pan. Use a spoon to drizzle more melted chocolate in patterns over the uncovered surface of the cracker.

For fully covered crackers:

Drop a cracker piece into the melted chocolate. Use two forks to turn the cracker in the chocolate, making sure all surfaces are covered. Use the forks to lift the cracker from the chocolate and allow the excess chocolate to drip away. Transfer to the parchment lined pan.

For s’more bars:

Carefully drop a cracker flat onto the surface of the melted chocolate. Use two forks to lift the cracker from the chocolate and allow the excess chocolate to drip away. Transfer to the parchment lined pan. Cut each marshmallow in half. Kitchen shears are the quickest way to do this job. Dunk the cut sides of the marshmallow into the chocolate, lift and let excess chocolate drip away. Position the marshmallow halves chocolate side down on the cracker pieces. Leave as is, or use a spoon to drizzle chocolate over the marshmallows and crackers.

Important!: Place pan in the freezer to set up the chocolate. Eat with child-like abandon!

Filed Under: Breakfast Foods, Cookies, Desserts, kid food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: cookies, dark chocolate, dessert, Food gifts, frugal gifts, kid friendly, kids, party food, quick and easy

Homemade Greek Yogurt and Cucumber Yogurt Salsa (Raita)

May 27, 2010 by Rebecca 13 Comments

Welcome to part II of the series of component dishes (Part I, Candied Jalapenos, can be read here!) to make the transcendent ‘Second to Naanwich’ that still has me obsessed almost two weeks after eating it. While you can definitely buy Greek yogurt from the store to complete this dish, the homemade variety is so much tastier and less expensive. I encourage you all to try making it from scratch.

I am addicted to Greek yogurt. But man-oh-Friday, is it ever an expensive habit. I was buying cases of it through our local health food co-operative at a price that -while lower than grocery stores- was still painful to pay. I needed a less expensive way to feed my habit and I found it.

Googling ‘homemade Greek yogurt’ yields a bunch of folks, bless ‘em all, who tell you the same thing. Strain your yogurt and ‘voila!’ it’s Greek yogurt. Okie dokie. Easy enough. So if you want a super fast homemade Greek yogurt, just strain yourself a quart of yogurt. And that’s good in a pinch, but when you’re talking volume, that can still get expensive. So. Take it back one step further and make your own yogurt. This is just as exciting from a stick-it-to-the-man viewpoint as homemade buttermilk. It’s not hard people. Don’t fear the yogurt.

Unless you’ve been in a cave you’re probably at least minimally acquainted with the health benefits of yogurt by this point; the live and active cultures in the yogurt are like a magic bullet for intestinal health.* But don’t forget the calcium, magnesium, potassium, Vitamins B2 and B12 and protein. Those are pretty handy to overall health, too.

*I’m sorry if you just lost your appetite reading the words ‘intestinal health’. In my defense, as the mother of five boys ages twelve and under, I thought that was pretty restrained of me. I could’ve said “It helps you poop regularly.” Oh my gosh. I’ve lost all sense of propriety. I need to hang out with girls more often.

Because I love you bigger than the bay, today’s post is a three-fer. You get the recipe for Greek Yogurt made from scratch, but in the process, you also learn how to make ‘regular’ yogurt. And you also get my favorite thing to do with Greek yogurt. (Other than eating it straight with honey, making frozen yogurt, using it for dill dip, using it in place of sour cream, or turning it into tartar sauce…) Cucumber Yogurt Salsa. This salsa is similar to a raita (an Indian and Pakistani condiment made to cool the palate) but it is made without what I think are key components of a honest-to-goodness raita (chiles, cumin, et al.) The red onion gives it the flavor punch I crave, but the dill and cucumber keep it cool and refreshing. This is a crucial component to the Second to Naanwich (more information on the mythical Naanwich is here.)

I put Cucumber Yogurt Salsa on all sorts of things; burgers, sandwiches, vegetable sticks, spoons… Let your imagination run wild. This is some good stuff.

So come on. Make yourself some yogurt, I want y’all around for a while. I like you.

For a printer-friendly, photo-free version of this recipe, click here!

Homemade Greek Yogurt (or regular yogurt)

Yield: About 4 cups of Greek yogurt

Ingredients:

2 quarts whole, 2% or 1% milkfat milk
4 Tablespoons yogurt with live and active cultures (store bought or less than 36 hour old homemade yogurt)

Heat the milk in a saucepan to 180°F. If you don’t have a thermometer, don’t sweat it. You can watch the milk. When it gets lots of little bubbles around the edge but before it boils, you’re good to go. It’ll look like this.

And if you happen to get a little warmer than that, don’t worry. See this?

No one from the yogurt police came to have words with me. My yogurt turned out just fine. The important part is waiting for the milk to cool to the right temperature before adding the yogurt. That nice lukewarm temperature encourages the beneficial bacteria to get cuddly and reproduce. Anything too hot kills them. So…

Cover the pan and cool to about 116°F. Again, don’t panic if a thermometer isn’t handy. Simply drip a couple drops of the milk on the inside of your wrist. If it feels pleasant and slightly warmer than body temperature without feeling hot or uncomfortable you can proceed. Remove about 2 cups of the warm milk to a small bowl and whisk in the yogurt until evenly combined. Whisk that back into the pan of milk. Pour into jars or a bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or a lid and place in a warm dry place at least six to eight hours or until thickened, overnight if necessary. A good place for this is an oven that is off but has the interior light on. If you stop at this point, you have regular yogurt. Simply refrigerate at this point if that’s what you want.

To make Greek yogurt, place the yogurt in the refrigerator for four hours to firm it a little further and allow some of the whey to separate. After four hours, line a colander with fine mesh cheesecloth or a clean tea towel. Pour the yogurt into the colander. You can either gather the corners of the towel and tie it before hanging it over your sink for 5 hours like this.

Or you can place the colander over a bowl and place in the refrigerator overnight to drain.

After draining to desired consistency, turn into a bowl.

Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to use.

Cucumber Yogurt Salsa (Raita)

Ingredients:

2 cups Greek yogurt
1 medium sized cucumber, peeled and diced into small cubes
1/2 of a small red onion, peeled and diced into small cubes
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried dill weed or 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Stir all ingredients together in a bowl. It is preferable to cover tightly and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving, but this can be eaten immediately.

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Component Foods, Food Preservation, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Instructional, kid food, Kitchen Techniques and Hints, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Side Dishes, Snacks, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: dessert, Food Preservation, Frugal Food, kid friendly, kids, quick and easy, Vegetarian

Ham and Cheese Bites

May 4, 2010 by Rebecca 15 Comments

This past weekend I officially became my mother.

If you’ve been reading me for a while, you’re aware that I am the eldest child in a large family that includes a baby sister. This baby sister of mine is still in high school. Sadly, she is not hopelessly stupid. No, she’s in high school because she’s younger than I am (*cough* much younger *cough*). And I might’ve mentioned that my Mom is fun before, right? Well, Mom throws massive parties for my little sister. Loads of teenage girls and food and games at her house. And birthdays? Whoah. There have been years where she’s allowed Airlia to have eight or ten girls sleep over. She did this for me and for each and every one of my siblings. And for this, I mocked my Mom mercilessly.

“Geez, Mom! Why can’t you say no? You’re going to be exhausted! Do they even appreciate everything you do? You’re making them WHAT to eat? Holy Cow!”

And Mom would respond with a smile and a shrug and say, “I like it!”

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Last week the boys were bemoaning the fact that they hadn’t been able to get together with their friends as much as usual. Before I knew what I was doing her words popped out of my mouth, “Hey! Why don’t you each invite a couple friends over on Saturday and I’ll make pizza! It’ll be fun!” That last sentence barely got through my lips before I clamped my hands over my mouth. But it was already too late. In the time it took me to pick myself up off the floor they had each invited a couple friends. How many? I really had no idea.

A quick glance at the calendar showed me that I had a doctor’s appointment scheduled for that morning. “Guys? Hey guys? Could you come here for a second?” I called, thinking I still had time to back out… Five bright, shining faces turned toward me… “Um, never mind…” I mumbled. I could get the blood work done, do the grocery shopping, come home and make pizza for a crowd before three, right?

Saturday morning dawned and I rolled myself out of bed to get to the doctor’s office right as they opened. Several vials of blood and a “WOW! I’ve never seen anybody bruise like YOU before!” from the phlebotomist later, I hurried toward the grocery store. I tarried a little looking over packages, stocked up in the meat department, grabbed mozzarella and extra Bandaids and headed for the register. And it was there I realized I didn’t have my debit card. “No problem!” said I to self. “I’ll just use a check.” I was out of checks.

I zoned out for a moment or two then snapped back into gear. I asked the clerk to put my cart in the walk-in while I ran to the bank. She obliged and I burned rubber. The kind ladies at the bank printed out a check or two for me and I retraced my trail back to the store. They retrieved my cart while I wrote out the check. The cashier ran the check through the little machine. Then she ran it through again. Then againandagainandagainandagainandagain. “Hmmm, it doesn’t look like it’s working,” said the clerk. She beckoned for the head cashier who repeated the againandagainandagain performance and then also announced that it wasn’t working. They called the manager over the PA system. *

*Important sidebar: Have you ever noticed that some people have no idea how to use Public Address Systems? They labour under the misconception that you must French kiss the microphone for it to work. What she actually said was, “Manager on three. Three? Manager needed on three. Three.” Why she needed to repeat the check-out aisle number was beyond me. Between her awkward phrasing and the fact that the microphone was practically down her throat, it ended up sounding like, “Manager I pee-pee? Manager need egg. I pee-pee.” But I digress…

God love him, that manager got there as quickly as he could, but it still took him a while. And he too ran the check through the machine several times before asking, “Was this transaction suspended? You can’t pay with a check if the transaction has been suspended.” He offered to void every item in my cart and re-ring it so I could use my check. Thirty minutes later, I exited the store with my groceries and went home as quickly as the speed limit would allow. On the drive home, I called my sister and recounted what I had done that morning and told her about the upcoming party.

“Ha!” said my sympathetic sister, Jessamine. “You’re just like Mom! You and a party? You don’t know how many are coming? You. Are. Exactly. Like. Mom!”

I thoughtfully responded, “No I’m not! Mom always plans games. I didn’t plan any games!”

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

So to recap, I had a large-ish blood draw that morning, messed up by not having a debit card or checks with me to pay for crucial ingredients for that afternoon’s pizza party, broke the grocery store’s system and was on my way home to whip up food for a crowd of as-yet-undetermined size. Are you with me?

I got home and changed into a summery dress.*

*One more sidebar. I can’t wear clothing that I’ve worn to a doctor’s office or hospital before they’ve been washed again. I mean, come on! They’re like big old petri dishes. Someone else needs to tell me they do the same thing right now. Someone? Hello?

As I stood propped against my counter in the kitchen making an octuple batch of pizza dough (and I’m not exaggerating. I told you. I didn’t know how many people were coming and NO ONE goes hungry at my house on account of me…) the boys entered the room. One (or more… Who could tell? I was woozy.) said, “Hey! That dress looks just like one Nana would wear.” And at that moment I realized they were totally right. I. Was. Exactly. Like. Mom.

But you know what? I smiled, shrugged and said, “I like it!”

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Let me tell you. The party was a total success. And at our finest hour, we had seventeen kids running around, through, and over our home and property. That’s 1-7. Or 10 plus 7. Or my five kids in addition to twelve kids who sprang from other people’s loins. Sorry. Is that unappetizing?

I had turned out a gallon of iced tea (supplemented by a gallon from my brilliant friend, Lisa), a gallon of lemonade and a gallon of Arnold Palmers, three sheet pizzas (one pepperoni and cheese, one cheese only, and one bacon and pineapple and onion beauty) one fifteen-inch round pizza (feta and spinach and hot pepper and olive and bacon) and two nine-by-thirteen pans full of Chaos in the Kitchen‘s brilliant pizza bites. By the time the crowd broke up and went home we had exactly ZERO leftovers.

My kids looked at me, gratefulness in their eyes for such a fun time, and said, “We’re starved!”

I had a little dough left from the pizza bites, a pound of ham-off-the-bone and a few cubes of cheese sitting around, so I threw together my take on the aforementioned pizza bites; Ham and Cheese Bites.

The Ham and Cheese Bites were inhaled by my poor-long-suffering children who went to bed five minutes later, starving once again…

For a printer-friendly, photo-free version of this recipe minus the blahdy-blahdy, click here!

Ham and Cheese Bites

adapted from Chaos in the Kitchen’s Pizza Bites

Yield: 30 Ham and Cheese Bites

Ingredients:

Double batch of homemade pizza dough (see recipe below) or 2 packages of purchased pizza dough
30 wafer-thin slices of deli ham
30 (1/2″ to 3/4″) cubes Swiss cheese
30 (1/2″ to 3/4″) cubes Mozzarella cheese
4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 Tablespoons semolina flour or corn meal (for sprinkling the pan), divided
4 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon dried chives
3/4 teaspoon granulated onion
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning or seasoning salt

Divide the pizza dough into 30 equal-ish pieces. Let rest.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Lay out one piece of deli ham. Top with a cube each of mozzarella and Swiss cheese.

Tuck the ham around the cheese to form a little packet.

Place on a plate. Repeat with remaining ham and cheese. Set the plate aside.

Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the bottom of a 9″x13″ rimmed baking pan. Repeat in another pan with the other olive oil. Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon over the olive oil in each of the pans.

Working with one piece of dough at a time, spread out into a circle (or blob) roughly twice the size of your ham packets. If the dough tears, do your best to patch the holes. Lay a packet of ham and cheese, seam side down, on the dough.

Pull the corners of the dough up toward the top of the ham and squeeze dough together to enclose the ham.

Pinch the dough closed at the seams and make sure there are no openings. Place the dough, pinched side down, in the prepared pans. Repeat with the remaining dough, making five rows of three dough balls in each pan.

Place the butter, chives, onion, garlic, and seasoning salt into a small microwave-safe dish. Warm in the microwave until the butter is melted. Stir together with a fork and brush over the dough.

Place pans into hot oven and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Some cheese may leak out of the bread and bubble up. This is most definitely not a problem. Call cook’s dibs on the crunchy cheese bits.

If desired, you can brush again with any leftover butter when you remove the pans from the oven. Allow to rest for five minutes before removing from the pans. Serve warm with your favorite sauce. Ours is listed below…

Creamy Horseradish Mustard Dip

You can serve this on sandwiches and no one will hate you for it. No need to restrict it to the Ham and Cheese Bites…

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons prepared horseradish mustard
1 Tablespoon smooth Dijon mustard

Stir all ingredients together with a fork or a small whisk. Store unused portions tightly covered in the refrigerator.

Semolina Pizza Dough

adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion

Ingredients:

1-3/4 cups (7-3/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups (7-1/8 ounces) coarse semolina flour
1-1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1-1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1-1/4 cups (10 ounces) water

In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (or in a large bowl with a wooden spoon) mix together all the dough ingredients until a soft, cohesive dough forms. It will not be perfectly smooth, it should have a rather rough appearance. Cover and let the dough raise for an hour at room temperature. At this point, you can use the dough or refrigerate it for up to 36 hours.

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Holiday Food, kid food, Main Dish, Meat, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Side Dishes Tagged With: Déjà Food, dough, Frugal Food, kid friendly, kids, party food, quick and easy, Snacks

Blueberry Frozen Yogurt

May 3, 2010 by Rebecca 9 Comments

The following is a partial re-print of my column that appeared in today’s Record-Eagle.

~~~ ~~~

The Evil Genius oftentimes has been asked, frequently in my presence, how he avoids weighing 500 pounds eating my cooking. His response has been to grab his belly, moan a little bit, and say “I could easily!” He slid a little into uncomfortable weight territory over the winter and thus has declared himself to be on a health kick. He’s been riding his bike, playing more sports with the boys, watching his food intake and (gasp!) skipping dessert most nights.

All well and good, but the dessert thing I’ve found distressing. I am a baker. I am the sugarplum fairy, for crying out loud. Desserts are what I do. I have always been a little (read: a lot) snotty about healthy desserts. “You want a healthy dessert? Eat an apple!” But even more urgently, he had a birthday coming up soon. Birthdays equal mega-desserts. I didn’t want to serve my husband a cup of granola for his birthday.

My dearly beloved’s disturbing new edict left me with two options; pout or learn to make some spectacular and healthy desserts.

Healthy desserts it was.

In order to compensate for my lack of buttercream and caramel sauce, I went for big, bright fruit flavors and low carbs to accompany them.

I kicked off my healthy dessert experiment with blueberry frozen yogurt. And guess what? The guys couldn’t tell that it was frozen yogurt instead of ice cream. (Sadly, yes, that is my benchmark of success for a healthy dessert. Does it taste healthy? If so, toss and start over.) The conversation went something like this:

Boys (in unison): “Mom, can I have more blueberry ice cream?”

Me: “It’s frozen yogurt.”

Boys (in unison): “No it isn’t. It’s blueberry ice cream. Can I please have some?”

Me: “Yes, you can have a lot. Because it is frozen yogurt.”

Boys (in unison wearing “I-Know-Better-You-Trickster-You” facial expressions): “OK, can I have another scoop of the blueberry (air quotes) frozen yogurt (more air quotes) right now?”

Husband (hesitating after the first bite with spoon suspended over bowl): “Are you sure this is low calorie? It feels fattening. It tastes like your regular desserts. Should I be eating this?”

Well, score one for me. I guess that maybe this old dog can learn a few new tricks. And I sheepishly admit that perhaps, maybe, I was ever-so-slightly, just-a-wee-bit wrong about healthy desserts. But I reserve my right to bust out a cheesecake, custard or poundcake smothered in buttercream every now and again. On that, I will not bend.

Blueberry Frozen Yogurt is as creamy as ice cream thanks to thick Greek yogurt, but if blueberries aren’t your thing, you can easily substitute with an equal amount of peaches, strawberries or raspberries. If you do, be sure to adjust the flavoring (vanilla, Crème de Cassis, Grand Marnier) to agree with whatever fruit you’ve used.

You have two options; you can strain the blended yogurt base to remove the blueberry seeds for a smooth and creamy frozen yogurt or you can go a little more rustic and leave them intact. Either way, it’s delicious. If you have a one-quart ice cream maker, you can easily halve this recipe.

For a printer-friendly, photo-free version of this recipe minus my tendency to blather, click here!

Blueberry Frozen Yogurt

3 cups Greek yogurt (whole or 2 percent)
1-½ cups sugar
6 cups frozen or fresh blueberries
1 Tablespoon Crème de Cassis, Grand Marnier or pure vanilla extract

Add yogurt, sugar and blueberries to your blender and blend until smooth. If you’re using frozen berries, it may take a little coaxing to get them all blended. If it doesn’t “want” to blend, shut off the blender and move the contents around a little with a wooden spoon or spatula. Remove the spoon, replace the lid and blend again.

If a smooth product is desired, pour and force the yogurt base through a stainless steel, fine mesh strainer. It will take a while, so be prepared! I like mine strained because I think frozen blueberry seeds are not so pleasant on the old teeth. If you like a more rustic yogurt with bits of blueberry and seeds throughout, skip the straining. Either way, you need to refrigerate the yogurt base for 2-4 hours prior to freezing.

When you remove the yogurt base from the refrigerator, run a whisk through the mixture quickly to make it easier to pour. (The yogurt base has a tendency to firm up in the refrigerator so that it’s almost a Jell-o like consistency. Running the whisk through it will loosen it up a bit.)

Pour the yogurt base into your ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions. (In my Cuisinart ice cream maker, it took 25 minutes and was ready to serve immediately.) Transfer to a freezer-safe container with a lid. This makes about two quarts.

If you have any yogurt left over, store it tightly packed in the freezer with a piece of plastic wrap laid directly on the surface of the frozen yogurt.

To serve as we did for The Evil Genius’s birthday, lay a warm crepe on a plate. Add a scoop of blueberry frozen yogurt to the bottom left corner of the crepe. Fold the right half of the crepe left over the scoop of yogurt. Fold the top quarter down over the scoop. Top with a sprinkle of confectioners’ sugar or a dollop of blueberry compote or blueberry sauce.

Of course, you can skip all that folderol and pile the scoops on top of a cone. One way or the other, you’re in for a deceptively healthy treat! Obviously Rowan didn’t mind missing out on the crepes…

Filed Under: Desserts, Uncategorized Tagged With: blueberries, dessert, fro-yo, froyo, Frugal Food, homemade frozen yogurt, kid friendly, kids, party food, quick and easy, Vegetarian

Blueberry Crisp and How to Freeze Blueberries

July 29, 2008 by Rebecca 2 Comments

“One berry, two berry, pick me a blueberry.

Hat berry, shoe berry in my canoeberry.

Under the bridge and over the dam.

Looking for berries. Berries for jam!”

from ‘Jamberry’ by Bruce Degen

It’s blueberry season! Find a local U-Pick place, grab your large kitchen bowls and get yourself some blue gold.

Blueberries are serious power food. Not only are they delicious, but they are very low on the glycemic index, which makes it wonderful for folks battling blood sugar problems or struggling with their weight. They’re jam (ha!) packed with incredibly high levels of antioxidants, flavanoids, fiber, Vitamin C and folic acid. In lab tests, blueberries have been shown to reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, ill effects of aging (um, what are good effects of aging?), vision loss, and urinary tract infections. They’ve also been proven to make you more attractive. (Not really, just making sure you’re paying attention!)

Adding to blueberries’ charms is the fact that they’re super simple to prepare. You don’t have to peel, pit, chop or core them.

And since this is my birthday week -because I stretch my birthday festivities out to cover an entire week*- I decided to haul the kids out to the blueberry patch for the day. While the kids covered themselves in SPF 4000, I pulled a gallon of water, sliced a loaf of bread for power-munching with berries, grabbed a bag of chips and a container of dip and slid the lot into our cooler. I hauled the cooler and every large mixing bowl I own to the van and we hit the road.

*As I have officially been 29 for a few years now, I feel the need to make my birthdays a little more exciting. Therefore, I am extending the party (and demands for special treatment) by a couple days in either direction. I think that’s okay since I’m the only girl around here…

I adore blueberry picking. It’s by far the easiest berry to pick and preserve. This, combined with the obvious health benefits and the fact that it’s my favorite berry to eat, makes us prodigious pickers.

Putting up blueberries is one of our big summer projects around here. We usually eat our way through three or four batches of blueberry jam and several gallon-size freezer bags of frozen blueberries per year. Not surprisingly, the quantity we consume is steadily growing. With five little boys I expect that I’m going to have to pick more every year until they are grown and they move away. I’m already drawing close to needing a separate chest freezer just for fruit. Most years we pop about 45 pounds of blueberries into the freezer and process about 20 pounds of berries into blueberry jam. (See tomorrow’s post for a primer on Blueberry jam making and processing!)

Since we do this every year, we’ve had a chance to establish a good many traditions to go along with the picking. We dust off our copy of ‘Jamberry’ every year and read it before hitting the patch for the first time. We make sure we have a picnic lunch and a great deal of cold water to keep us going. And, most importantly, the first berry we touch is not with our hands. When we get to the blueberry bushes, our first berry needs to be picked with our teeth. It doesn’t get any fresher than that! Have you ever eaten a blueberry still warm from resting on the bush in the sun? If not, I highly recommend trying it. It seriously re-arranges your outlook on life for the better.

This year we had to try a new patch since the one we’ve picked at for the last 10 years was stripped clean in only two weeks. We tried out “Blueberry Hill” in Franklinville, NY. This is an unoffically organic patch. It is obvious that they’re putting a great deal of effort into their work. Good stuff! And mercy, but it was cheap. They charged $0.75 a pound! Holy wuh! Unless you’re growing them yourself, or you have a relative who lets you pick for free you cannot beat that! We managed to come away with a little more than 21 pounds. Not enough, but it’s a good start.

Here are a couple things that can make blueberry picking easier for the first timer in the patch.

Do not pick green or white berries. Blueberries do not ripen after picking.
A ripe berry will come easily off the bush.
A ripe berry will have a deep purple or blackish blue color and a waxy looking coating- this is a natural protection for the berry and is desirable.
The size of the berry does not matter. If it has a deep color and comes easily from the bush it is ripe!
Ripe blueberries are plump. Don’t bother with the ones that are wrinkled- the birds will love those.
Move branches and leaves to check the undersides. Often those are the places with the largest amounts of ripe berries.
Cut the top off of a gallon milk container, leaving the handle intact. Use a rope or scarf to tie the jug around your waist so you can use two hands while picking.
The blueberries are perishable and sensitive to the sun. Go straight home after picking and don’t leave your berries in direct sun. Put them in the fridge until you decide what you’ll be doing with them.

So this brings me to what to do with the bounty.

I usually get the easiest thing out of the way first and freeze vast quantities of berries.

If you pick at a blueberry patch that doesn’t spray with chemicals, three quarters of the work is already done. You don’t need to wash the blueberries because they have not been in contact with anything that needs to be removed from them. Blueberries naturally create their own protective covering (the waxy coating present to a greater or lesser degree on all ripe berries) that help prevent spoilage. It is absolutely unnecessary to wash them before freezing if they come from a no-spray patch.

Worried about bugs? Don’t be. Any bug left in with your blueberries isn’t going to last 10 minutes in the freezer. Using the method described below gives you a chance to weed out any frozen critters before packaging for long term storage.

How to Freeze Blueberries

If your berries are from a patch where they spray pesticides, or if you’re unsure of the berries origins, you’ll want to carefully wash them in cool water and allow them to dry completely before proceeding to the first step.

Spread berries loosely on a clean, dry rimmed sheet pan or roasting pan.
Place pan in freezer for about 1 hour, or until hardened.
Transfer frozen berries quickly, with minimal touching, to gallon or quart sized freezer bags.
Put bags immediately into a freezer that is at about 0°F.

That’s it! Could it be any easier? Having frozen blueberries is like having money in the bank. You can use them straight from the freezer almost interchangeably with fresh blueberries. Toss a handful into buttermilk pancakes, waffles, muffins, crumb cake, etc… Throw some on your breakfast cereal, lunch salad or evening bowl of vanilla ice cream. (What? You don’t have an evening bowl of ice cream? You probably should. Life is mighty fine when you do!)

Here’s a recipe for a wondrously simple old-fashioned blueberry crisp that you can make with either fresh or frozen blueberries. If you’re using frozen blueberries, don’t worry about thawing them first. Just add a few minutes to the cooking time. And don’t skimp on the cinnamon. That’s another power food… but that’s another post!

This crisp is simply delicious served alone straight from the pan, but it’s simply decadent served with vanilla ice cream or frozen custard.

Blueberry Crisp

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2 Tablespoons plus 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 Tablespoons cold butter

Spray a 8″ oven-safe baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside and preheat oven to 350°F.

Scatter blueberries evenly into prepared baking dish. In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon and remaining flour and use two butter knifes to cut butter into the mixture until crumbly. Sprinkle the flour/butter mixture evenly over the berries.

Bake for 25-30 minutes (or more for frozen berries) or until the berries are bubbly and the topping is golden brown and delicious.