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Thank you for the information Chocomouse. We did pick earlier this year, since we now live here. Usually we would have been picking either this week or the next.
We will have to go back and pick more!
The pie was less tart today, maybe because it had now cooled completely. (We cut into it just shy of four hours out of the oven.)
My husband planted our two blueberry bushes out front this morning. He's put cages around them to keep the little critters out and he has spread coffee grounds around to deter the deer.
I tried using lime zest rather than lemon zest in a blueberry pie, and added 1 tsp. lime juice. I don't know whether it was this particular batch of blueberries or the lime--and I am tending toward blaming the lime--but the filling was tarter than usual. I'm not sure that I will try adding lime when I am canning blueberry pie filling. (Maybe I should sneak a bottle of gin into the house?) 🙂
We ate the last of the bread today, but no break has occurred in the weather since I baked bread two weeks ago. Usually, there is a cooler day when I can seize the opportunity. Although we did get a nice, albeit all too short rain shower late this morning, it has been an oppressively hot, humid day. As I mulled the prospect of not having bread for sandwiches tomorrow, I remembered the KAF "Blitz Bread: No Fuss Focaccio" that I once baked when I needed bread fast. It bakes in a 13x9-inch pan. We can cut pieces, then slice them lengthwise, and voila—the bread for sandwiches this week in about 1-1/2 hours.
I substituted 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour for that much of the AP, and I reduced the salt to 1 tsp. I also added 1 tsp. of honey for proofing the yeast. (Yes, I know, but I LIKE proofing yeast and seeing it bubble.) I also added 2 Tbs. flax meal.
Here's the link:
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/blitz-bread-no-fuss-focaccia-recipe
I made a new recipe tonight, “Turkey and Zucchini Meat Loaf,” which I found online at Epicurious, attributed to Bon Appetit (September 1998). I made a number of changes, and we really like how it turned out. The glaze, made of the last of my peach jam from two years ago, and Dijon mustard is particularly tasty. As everyone can use yet another zucchini recipe, and peaches will soon be in season, I will post the recipe in the next few days.
We had it with baked potatoes (cooked alongside the meat loaf) and steamed green beans from our garden.
Note: The Black Raspberry Cobbler had much more flavor after I had refrigerated it. We finished it up last night with some vanilla ice cream on the side. I would use a different cobbler topping next time.
We picked blueberries yesterday. On Thursday morning, my weekly email from Smitten Kitchen arrived with berry recipes. I took that as a sign that I should bake her Blueberry Crumb Cake, which she adapted from Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Desserts. I had two changes. I wanted to include some wholegrain, so I used 1 Cup AP flour, then added whole wheat pastry flour to make up the 240grams weight. I also did not have whole milk, so I used 1% with a smidge of heavy cream. I used the minimum weight of blueberries, since the ones I have are large. The cake baked well. I used THE grease on the pan and parchment at the bottom, and I was able to turn it out after 20 minutes with no problem, remove the parchment, then turn it right-side up onto another plate. It has some sinking in the center, although it tested done at 40 minutes. That sinking actually like a “crease” that is about 2 inches long and off center. I'll add a note this evening about taste and texture after we cut into it for dessert tonight.
Here is the recipe link:
Promised Note: The cake is delicious, and it was cooked through, even though in has that off-center dip in the cake. I'm wondering if it needed a slightly larger pan.
Today, my husband and I went to our local blueberry place and picked 20.25 pounds. I'm taking a break from stowing them away. Some are going into quart freezer bags (4 1/2 cups per bag), so that my husband can have them during the year for his morning oatmeal--and maybe I will also be able to use them for some baking projects. I'll be setting some aside for a fresh blueberry pie, and blueberry hot cross buns and blueberry muffins are also in the immediate future.
We plan to pick more berries in a couple of weeks.
I have not yet resolved what I will do for canned blueberry pie filling. I bought some limes, so I may try stirring in some lime juice (in addition to, not in place of the lemon juice) and see what that does to the flavor. Of course, it will be a while before I crack open those canned pie fillings for pies--and maybe for sweet rolls. Another alternative might be to add the lime juice after opening a jar of the filling before using it in a pie. Or can the terpenes in limes endure the high heat of canning?
