Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Life Is Just A Bowl of Berries

I harvested somewhere around two quarts each of raspberries and blueberries yesterday.

Thank you, dear husband, for taking pity on me and helping with the blueberries.

Lying in bed at 3:30 this morning (thinking), I realized I had harvested only two of the three rows of raspberries. Where was my head? (Obviously, NOT thinking at that time. At least about raspberries.) Must get back out there today to finish the job.

I kept out some of each of the berries for fresh eating and froze the rest. Well, I kept out enough blueberries to make Blueberry Buckle also.

I've had this cake recipe since we were first married, I'm guessing. It probably came from a Betty Crocker cookbook as Betty was the one who taught me how to cook. (I truly did not know how when first married.)

A "buckle" (as in Blueberry Buckle) is supposedly a sweet dessert made from yellow cake batter. A filling or fruit is mixed into the batter and after being placed in a baking pan, it is topped with a crusty sugar coating. That pretty well describes this recipe.

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 cups fresh blueberries (frozen work well, too)

Topping:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup butter

Thoroughly cream sugar and butter. Stir in egg and then add milk and mix. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Combine well. Batter will be stiff.

Fold in blueberries.

Spread in a greased and floured 9" square pan. Stiff batter will have to be spread out with a spatula.

Make the topping mix by combining the first four ingredients and then cutting in the butter.

Sprinkle topping over batter in pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

Guess what we had for breakfast this morning?

This first piece was so absolutely deliciously bursting with a wine-y blueberry flavor . . .

. . . that I had a second piece in a bowl with milk here at my desk.

19 comments:

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

Cake for breakfast, I think my Husband would move in with you if he knew!

I have an unrelated question, my rhubarb actually looks good now with some stalks (that it did not have in the spring) Can I eat it now, or cant you harvest it this time of year?

You Can Call Me Jane said...

Yum. Blueberries in August sound divine. Enjoy a handful for me, please?

Jenyfer Matthews said...

That looks divine!

Susan said...

Great minds think alike - guess what the barn crew had for breakfast this past Sunday? But I used the last bit of my frozen from last year and it was a little more "blue" than yours. It was fine, though, as I had a test piece (or two) to make sure it was safe to take over. Hehe.

Sue said...

Oh, taunt me with your blueberries. Hey-I'm up to TWO handfuls now. The trick is to catch Mrs. Robin by surprise and whap her with the flyswatter. Stuns her long enough to get one or two berries. In about a week, I should have enough to try this recipe............

2 Tramps said...

Thanks for a most inspiring recipe. Am going to make it for my dear Tramp 1 when he returns from his business trip. He needs it - there were flight issues and he ended up spending time in four airports to reach his destination at midnight - some six hours later than scheduled. I know he is going to be really beat and cranky when he gets home. Your blueberry buckle will be just the thing to reach his heart!! Although I think he would really enjoy watching Sue beating robins with a flyswatter - his kind of humor for sure! Go Sue!!!

Mama Pea said...

Jane - Well, cake for breakfast doesn't happen very often around here either so don't pack your husband's bag yet.

Regarding your rhubarb, I have always heard that you should let the "strength" of the rhubarb go to the plant by not cutting and forcing it to make new growth after the middle of summer. And that it will actually weaken the plant if you do cut then. (I stop on July 4th.) Also supposedly the stalks will be tough in the last part of the season. If your plant is strong, you could sure test a couple of stalks and see if they are tough or not. But whether it will actually weaken the plant . . . who knows?

Jane - (As in I'm calling Jane!) - You can believe I've eaten my share while picking. Next time, I'll be thinking of you as I pop some in!

Jen - I think our blueberry crop is going to be our best ever. Raspberries . . . not so much.

Susan - You and my husband! He's fond of saying, "Maybe I better taste test that to make sure it's not poison." Yeah, right.

Sue - You have now been officially reported to the CRA. (Cruelty to Robins Agency.) Although if they were pilfering my blueberries, I might haul out bigger guns than a flyswatter. Just sayin'.

2 Tramps - Oh, poor Tramp 1. Traveling for business now must be just the pitts! Do take care of him when he gets home.

Do you think we all need to get together and go visit Sue? I think this summer season has just about been too much for her. Can't you just picture her out in her garden with this crazed look in her eye and flyswatter in hand? ;o}

Erin said...

That looks delicious! I need to make some to-die-for muffins again.... :)

Mama Pea said...

Erin - I think the reason I like this cake (oops, I mean buckle) so much is that it's moist and heavy like a good muffin! (Hate dry cakes . . . ISH! I'd rather eat sawdust.)

Sparkless said...

Oh I think I'm going to have to make your Buckle now. That looked delish!

Cake for breakfast made with fresh fruit has to be better for you than cereal, or at least 90% of the cereals on the market.

Amy Dingmann said...

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Actual Blueberry Buckle? You don't know how hard I'm laughing right now. The only way I knew BB Buckle was it was the flavor of Gerber baby food my mom used to feed me and joked she would eat it right our of the jar along with me. Holy cripes. Actual BB Buckle? I've got to make this. :)

Mama Pea said...

Sparkless - You've got a valid point there! All natural ingredients -- fresh butter, fresh egg, fresh milk, fresh fruit. Hubby just suggested I increase the berries and cut the flour so he would feel it was healthier and could eat more!

Mama Tea - How funny! It's curious Gerber would call one of their baby foods Blueberry Buckle 'cause whenever I serve this to someone new, they always ask (in a nice way, of course ;o}), "What the heck is a Blueberry Buckle??"

The Apple Pie Gal said...

Ok now I'm sad. The blueberries here did nothing this year. Nada. :( Rub it in...

dr momi said...

YOur berries look wonderful! ...one of my goals.

Mama Pea said...

APG - I'll bet yours cooked right on the bushes. I'm sorry. :o(

dr. momi - It seemed it took forever to get our blueberries and raspberries established and bearing well but once you get over that hurdle, you'll get wonderful harvests for a loooong time!

judy said...

looks divine but I don't have my heart in anything right now. they gave my hiuby 2 transfusions today along with chemo pills. [ to take at home Christ ,I'm no doctor] like good -bye-good luck,call us only if hubby has a heart attack or perforates his .......sorry to wreck everyone's mood,but hey all of a sudden I'm scared to death and I don't have any jokes left,MAYBE ONE-HOW DO YOU DIAL 911?Did I forget to also tell everyone he is stage 4 and has spread to his liver.I need to do a lot more reading,like why is this stuff so toxic?[ the chemo ]this is more than I bargained for. you asked for it momma pea ,and you can have all my rants and raving-please go bury in the unused portion of your garden

Mama Pea said...

judy - Aw, shoot! I'm so sorry this has been such a downer of a day for you and your hubby. Don't lose hope. There will be good days, too, but what a roller coaster ride for you to have to go through. If you need somebody to talk to, or need to yell or rant, remember we're all here for you. Hugs.

odiie said...

That looks delicious. I'm going out to the woods for more blueberries this morning. I think I'll try your recipe in my Dutch oven as my real oven is no longer in service. Let ya know how that works!

Mama Pea said...

odiie - Uh-oh. Sounds like an oven repair bill looming. Or will it be a new stove? I couldn't survive without my oven. :o( Hope you got lots of blueberries in the woods.