Goin’ Strong
The blueberries might like their fun in the sun, but I gotta say we’ve enjoyed the rain and thunderstorms this week! Well, the blueberries probably enjoyed a little quenching, too. Despite the rain, we have remained open this week. It might get a little wet out there but that doesn’t come between people and their berries. It seems the blueberries have finally hit their sweet spot. As mentioned in past newsletters they’ve taken their time this season and the wait for some sweet blueberries has ended. Mmmm...and I’ve just finished eating a tasty blueberry scone made with some fresh Berry Patch berries.
Speaking of rain and good food, last weekend was our annual Red, White and Blueberry Festival with the Sadler Volunteer Fire Department. They grilled up some hamburgers and hotdogs for the brave souls who came out despite the foreboding clouds. The morning consisted of a light drizzle, but the overcast clouds and oh so slight breeze made for a bearable, albeit a wee bit soggy, day for picking. We were thankful for a break from a glaring and hot sun and had a wonderful time listening to the sounds of some fun karaoke and the Derwood and Friends band, as well as raising money for the Sadler VFD.
Please note that blackberry season is over. We will only have blueberries for the remainder of the season and expect to be going for another couple of weeks.
Get Canned
We still have some room for our canning class at the Berry Patch on Saturday, July 17th. We are offering two sessions of the class, a morning class from 10am to 12pm and an afternoon class from 1pm-3pm. Both classes will include instruction on how to make a blueberry jam and a blueberry jelly, a finished jar of both, recipes, and lunch (lunch will be available at noon, so if you sign up for the afternoon class plan to be there by noon so you can have lunch before you get started). Cost is $30 per person and each session is limited to 12 people. Email info@txberry.com to sign-up.
Best Recipe Blueberry Muffins
If you hadn’t noticed yet we like recipes. And by ‘liking’ recipes I mean we like to look and ooh and ah over recipes. There was an evening in the not too distant past where my mother re-discovered an old women’s society cookbook (the cookbook was old, not the women). This particular cookbook was the foundation for several traditional german family meals that my mother, sister and myself had come to love. So we spent a Friday evening literally reading the cookbook. Yep. We’re cool like that.
Like the good older sister that Jeannie is she introduced me to ‘The Best Recipe’ cookbook from the editors of ‘Cooks Illustrated’ several years ago. Move over Betty Crocker. You got nothin’ on this book! So, whenever I’m looking for the best way to make something I go to this book (and yes...me, Jeannie, and our mother have our own copy of this book. We have also given it as gifts to some of our loved ones).
With all the rainy, overcast days we’ve had I started having a hankering for some perfect and warm, made-from-scratch blueberry muffins. Enjoy!
Blueberry Muffins (makes 12)
Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 1/4 cups sour cream
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
Directions
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Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin and set aside.
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Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until combined. Whisk the egg in a second medium bowl until well combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add the sugar and whisk vigorously until thick and homogeneous*, about 30 seconds; add the melted butter in 2 or 3 additions, whisking to combine after each addition. Add the sour cream in 2 additions, whisking just to combine.
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Add the berries to the dry ingredients and gently toss just to combine. Add the sour cream mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until the batter comes together and the berries are evenly distributed, about 25 to 30 seconds. (Small spots of flour may remain, and the batter will be thick. Do not overmix.)
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Using a large spoon sprayed with nonstick cooking spray to prevent sticking, divide the batter among the greased muffin cups. Bake until the muffins are light golden brown and a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan from back to front halfway through the baking time. Invert the muffins onto a wire rack, stand the muffins upright, and cool 5 minutes.
YUM!
*Their word, not mine. In case you were wondering what homogeneous means and what it has to do with the recipe, I looked it up and found out it means ‘of the same kind; alike’
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