Blueberry Posting #2: The Recipes!

Organic Texas Blueberries

On a recent trip to Moorehead Blueberry Farm in Conroe, Texas, we picked 10 pounds of blueberries at $2/lb.  We should have doubled that.  Berries freeze very well (spread them on a cookie sheet until they are frozen hard, then put them into gallon freezer bags).  Here are a few recipes:

Blueberry sorbet
In a saucepan combine 3 c. blueberries and 1 c. sugar and 1/2 c. water.  Cook until berries are soft and sugar is dissolved.  Cool and put in a blender on high until smooth.  If you want super smooth sorbet, strain the mixture through a fine sieve.  If you don't mind the tiny seeds don't worry about it.  Pour into a shallow lidded plastic container and put in the freezer for about 4 hours.  Remove from freezer.  It should be slushy.  Put back into the blender and blend with 1 Tbsp. creme de cassis (that's booze) until smooth.  Put back into the freezer.  You can put it through the blender again after another 4 hours for a smoother sorbet, or you can eat it when it is frozen.  I serve this with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a crushed graham cracker on top as a sort of mock blueberry cobbler.

Blueberry bars
These are delicious and healthy - I cut them big and give them to the kids for breakfast or an afternoon snack:  Heat oven to 350.  In a bowl combine 1 1/2 c. oats, 1/2 c. whole wheat flour, 1/2 c. sugar, 1/4 tsp. baking soda, 1/8 tsp salt, and 6 Tbsp melted butter.  Combine until oats are coated.  Reserve 1/2 c. of the mixture.  Coat an 8 inch square pan with spray oil and pour the mixture into it, gently pressing it down to form a crust.  Bake for 12 minutes.  While that is baking, in a saucepan combine 1 1/2 c. blueberries (frozen are fine) 3 Tbsp sugar, 2tsp cornstarch, and 1 tsp lemon juice.  Simmer for 2 minutes and pour over the crust mixture.  Top with the remaining crumb mixture and bake an additional 30 minutes.

Blueberry/banana smoothie
 In a blender combine 1 frozen banana, a handful of frozen blueberries, 1 c. plain yogurt, and 1/2 c. milk, and 1/4 c. honey (or to taste).  Add a little more milk if necessary to get it to the preferred consistency.  Serves 2.

Blueberry muffin