Maybe I should have given more thought to naming my blog. I rarely make desserts. I don’t crave them. I enjoy a sweet treat every now and then, but I don’t go nuts for brownies or chocolates. My favorite dessert is a nut-laden oatmeal cookie.
Lately, the market has been overloaded with blueberries, and the farmers are just trying to sell their stock. I picked some up and went debated the merits of muffins over pancakes, but I decided to give the crumble a try. I’ve made something like this before with rhubarb (which was a bit tart for my taste) – but the crumble part of that dessert was delish.
To make this, I adapted and combined a bunch of recipes. I was looking for something that contained oats, walnuts, and sugar. My crumble was like a chewy granola bar, and the blueberry flavor really shined through. Here’s what I did:
Toss the blueberries with some orange juice, a little sugar, and some corn starch (this will help soak up some of the liquid ooze).
For the crumble, combine with your fingers or a fork
- 1/2 cup wheat flour
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 4 tablespoons cold Earth Balance
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, or more to taste
- A pinch of salt
Crumble the crumble (get it?) over the berries. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes. Enjoy warm.
The crumble mix may seem a little dry, but when the berries bake their juices ’splode, so it’ll all turn out okay. Then again, I mentioned that I liked this because it was like a chewy granola bar, so you don’t have to take my word for it.
Turning on the oven for a summer treat with these fresh blueberries was well worth it.
The weather here has cooled down some (hence the oven recipes lately!), and two nights ago it was cool enough to open the windows. The cats loved this, and my tabby cat I’ve had for seven years was nice enough to share the window with one of our new cats. This is a big deal, folks. She’s been a mean old lady ever since I brought in the two kittens in March. Front and center: a Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan beer I found in the grocery store in Memphis.
You're right--having the oven on in the blistering heat is killer. Now's the best time to bake bake bake! Your blueberry crumble looks fantastic!! We tend to pop our extra blueberries in the freezer but I would love to use them in a recipe like this!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for your insightful comments! :)
I sometimes forget to not be such a selfish cook...when I think of desserts, I tend to think only along the lines of chocolate or creamy. My husband and son would greatly prefer a blueberry crumble, though. Guess I should get to bakin'. Wow, your cats are much more cooperative for picture posing than my kids. :)
ReplyDeleteVery nice! I plan to do some baking with blueberries today as well. Nothing better than the cats getting along.
ReplyDeleteI love the kitties! And the crumble looks great. Ive only ever made one but I wasnt thrilled with the outcome.
ReplyDeleteHaha, the cats did not move until I closed the window. Now they've migrated to their separate corners.
ReplyDeleteYum, I love blueberries, making a crumble is a great idea. Also, I'm intrigued by the beer; does it have a pecan flavor? Your kitties look cute too, peering out into the summer air.
ReplyDeleteHi Rose - the beer was in the variety of a nut-brown ale, but it was made with pecans. I thought it smelled like roasted pecans and it was delicious. I don't know enough about beer to know whether other nut brown ales actually use nuts (and my quick web search isn't giving me a clear answer!) but this was certainly a pecan beer.
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