We’re now approaching blueberry season here in Pennsylvania. While I love blueberries and all the great anti-oxidants and nummy qualities they possess (yes, I’m aware I just used the word nummy), the actual picking of them is a pain in the ass. Today was especially slow going, hot and humid with Jurassic Park sized mosquitoes en masse. Does that stop us from picking? Hell no! We’re cray cray, remember? Each armed with a coffee can and a string attached (see pic below), me and Mark headed out to wrestle mosquitoes and bears for mother nature’s treats. Bears? Oh yeah. Bears LOVE blueberries. Squirrel moment… change of topic. One of my favorite stories is when my friend Ana was blueberry picking and looked up to find a black bear gulping down berries on the other side of the very bush she was picking! She kept on picking and the bear kept on eating as if nothing had happened. That’s our Ana. Now if that were me, I’d leave behind the berries, the can, my cell phone, my pride and Mark in 2 sec with a cartoonesque trail of dust behind me. I think of Ana every time I nervously reach into a blueberry bush with eyes wide open. Isn’t it funny how some stories never ever leave your mind?
Annnnnd we’re back. When we returned to the farm with our harvest, I dove right into making my Blue Berry Buckle, a treat that always gets major points at the farmhouse table. I know you’ll enjoy this recipe for years to come.
Blueberry Buckle
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces, 8 tablespoons melted and cooled
1 ½ cups sugar
3 teaspoons grated lemon zest
4 cups blueberries
1 ½ cup all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups whole milk
Instructions:
1. Place oven rack in middle position. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place 4 tablespoons cut-up butter in baking dish and transfer to oven. Heat until butter is melted, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. In food processor, pulse 1⁄4 cup sugar and lemon zest.
3. Roughly mash blueberries in bowl and set aside.
4. Combine flour, 11⁄4 cups sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Whisk in milk and 8 tablespoons melted, cooled butter until smooth. Remove from oven, transfer to wire rack, and pour batter into prepared pan.
5. Dollop mashed blueberry mixture unevenly (in random clumps) over batter. Evenly sprinkle lemon sugar, and bake until golden brown and edges are crisp, 45 to 50 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let buckle cool 30 minutes. Serve warm.