I have plumb gone off the berry deep end, it’s plain to see.

But  I’ll tell you a little secret and I hope it doesn’t get me in a heap o’ trouble… (come closer…,closer…, that’s it, I’m whispering, you see – shh!) :  I know people who know stuff, and blueberries AREN’T going to be on special next week, so we’ll be chatting about something else instead when the new ad comes out!

But for now, if you’ll indulge me and my blueberry obsession one more time, I have the burning desire to share this simple sauce recipe with you!  It’s so unbelieveably easy, quick, and delicious that you’ll want to ladle it all over anything you can think of!  Springing to mind are my personal favorites: pound cake (on SALE this week, as pictured), angel food, pancakes, shortcakes, ice cream, frozen yogurt, even vanilla Tofutti, for heavens sake!

Double it, freeze it in little containers, and save it for a berry-less season.  Certainly, this pretty sauce is elegant enough for entertaining, and down home enough for pancakes the morning after.

No need to thank me.  I live for this stuff.

BLUEBERRY SAUCE

Serves:  Many!  Makes roughly 3 cups.

• 2 pints fresh blueberries, washed and picked over
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 2 t. cornstarch (plus an additional 1 t. dissolved in 1 t. water, if needed)
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 c. water
• A little splash of vanilla, optional
• A little squeeze of lemon juice, also optional

Place all of the ingredients (except the vanilla and/or lemon juice) in a small saucepan over a medium-low flame.  Stir to combine ingredients well.  Bring berry mixture up to a bubble and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.  Berries will burst and the sauce will thicken.  If you’d like a thicker sauce, stir in the cornstarch/water mixture and simmer until desired consistency.  Taste sauce and add the vanilla, if desired.  If sauce is too sweet, balance the flavors with a little squeeze of lemon juice.

Cool sauce slightly; then serve or cover and refrigerate for later use.

There’s nothing like the raucous shrieks and laughter from the kids splashing around in the lake, playing “king of the raft” and dousing each other with squirt guns.  We tried for hours to exhaust both Daisy and Lola (the DamDog, and our friend’s golden retriever, respectively) by firing tennis balls, sticks, and frisbees by the dozen off the dock; the energy level of these dogs is endless, amazing and hilarious at the same time!   I’ll admit I’m an easy audience, but I can’t help laughing my flippin’ head off every single time these crazy canines would swan dive off the pier into the lake, each trying to beat the other to whichever object had been thrown into the water.

Ahhhh, good times.  Lake living is the BEST!

I wish I would have taken a picture of the fantastic dinner we had that evening, and the fabulous view of the lake we enjoyed while dining on top of our friend’s boathouse.  Grilled hanger steak, three fabulous salads, and several bottles of red wine later, our husbands each dubbed the menu by far, “The Best Dinner of Summer”.  I had to agree!

(By the way, one of the salads was the Panzanella I blogged about a few days ago.  If you’d like to check it out, just do a quick search and the recipe will pop right up.)

We had the perfect night’s sleep with a soft breeze blowing through an open window, and the sound of crickets chirping….heavenly!  We all awoke to the delicious smell of homemade pancakes and a fluffy, savory ham strata.  As for the pancakes, they’re another story all together, but we’ll have to wait for buttermilk to go on sale before I tell you about them!

I  brought this coffee cake as part of a hostess gift.  I love to make this cake when fresh blueberries are on sale, but it could of course be made with frozen berries in the dead of winter.  Speaking of freezing, I’ve doubled the recipe and frozen one for a rainy day;  I’ve made it in round cake pans, loaf pans, and muffin tins too, with no trouble.  You’ll be a welcome overnight guest wherever you go if you take this coffeecake along, or try it out on guests of your own!

BLUEBERRY COFFEECAKE

Serves:  6-8

Source:  Epicurious.com

For the cake:

• ¼ c. vegetable oil
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• ½ c. milk
• 1 ½ c. flour, sifted
• ¾ c. sugar
• 2 t. baking powder
• ½ t. salt

For the topping:

• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1 T. flour
• 1 t. cinnamon
• ½ c. chopped nuts (I’ve used either walnuts or pecans)
• 1 T. butter, melted
• ¾ c. fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 375.  Combine the oil, egg, and milk.  Sift together dry ingredients and add them to the milk mixture.  Mix well.  In another bowl, combine all the ingredients for the topping.

Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 9 x 2” pan.  Sprinkle the berries evenly over the batter.  Top the berries with the nut mixture.  Bake in for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with loose crumbs attached.   Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

Four for five?!  “SHUT UP!” I thought.  That cannot be right.

Oopsie, I apologize…we don’t say ‘shut up’ at our house.  That phrase is on the naughty word list, along with ‘duh’, ‘stupid’, ‘dumb’, and a few others I won’t discuss today.  You can use your imagination. I’m quite sure you have a naughty word list of your own.

Anyway, back to the blueberries.  Pick up all four pints, please.  You’ll need three for the Crumble, and then you’ll probably want to munch on some, toss them in to fruit salad, and sprinkle them all over your cereal tomorrow morning.  Trust me, I know.  So kindly put four pints into your cart.  Thank you.

I’m willing to bet that you have all of the ingredients for this recipe in your pantry already, so all you’ll really need to put on your grocery list are 1). The blueberries, as we’ve discussed, and 2). A half gallon of Edy’s Vanilla Ice Cream, which is on sale, 2 for $6.00.  Oh, you’ll also need to grab some nuts.  I use either slivered almonds, or chopped pecans.  You can choose whichever one makes your skirt fly up!

Just a side note: Cool Whip is also on sale, which you could use in leui of the vanilla ice cream.  Cool Whip is fine with me.  I know true culinary snobs will scoff at the suggestion, but hey you foodies, don’t be hatin’!  There’s a time and place for Cool Whip in every kitchen now and then, so if you and yours enjoy it, then by all means, top your Crumble with a hefty plop of the white fluffy stuff.

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

BLUEBERRY CRUMBLE
Serves:  6

• 3 pints of blueberries
• 3 t. sugar
• 1 t. cornstarch
• ¾ c. flour
• ¾ c. sugar
• ¼ t. salt
• ½ c. slivered almonds or chopped pecans
• 1 stick of butter, chilled and diced
• Vanilla Ice Cream for serving

Preheat the oven to 425.

Rinse the berries and place them in a bowl.  In a small bowl, combine 3 t. sugar and 1 t. cornstarch, then toss the mixture with the berries to coat.  Place the berries in either a 9×11 pan, a deep dish pie plate, or divide them into small ramekins for individual servings.

Place the flour, sugar, salt, and nuts into the bowl of a food processer.  Pulse until nuts are chopped and incorporated.  With motor running, add in the butter and continue to process until butter is combined and the mixture forms a dough (this usually takes a couple of minutes for me, because my food processor is 19 years old and rather decrepit).

Take out the dough and crumble it all over your berries (you will have to break it up into clumps).  Don’t worry if you have extra topping; it freezes great.  I love to keep it on hand for a quick dessert!

Bake the Crumble for 25 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and berries are bubbling.  Cool it slightly, then spoon in to serving dishes.  Top with vanilla ice cream and serve!