This Blueberry Quick Bread is a wonderful treat when fresh local highbush blueberries are in season. The addition of either orange or lemon zest and juice makes this a very flavorful quick bread. So, according to your taste preference, you can make this a Blueberry-Orange or Blueberry-Lemon bread. Continue reading Blueberry Quick Bread Recipe
Modelled after, and made with the same method as, a traditional Date Square, this wholesome Orange-Scented Blueberry Oat Square features a delectable blueberry filling sandwiched between a sweet and buttery orange-scented oatmeal crumb base and topping. Continue reading Orange-scented Blueberry Oat Square
Smoothies are such a great and tasty way to eat fruit and yogurt, making them healthy choices. And, they are very filling. They are great for breakfast, summer barbeques, as a transportable breakfast-on-the-go, or just anytime as a nutritional drink.
I am not far from Tryon Blueberries U-Pick, a high bush blueberry farm in central PEI and, when they are in season, I have a steady diet of these blueberries.
I freeze a quantity of them for use in smoothies throughout the year.
Basically, any fruit you like can be combined into a smoothie. For this recipe, I have chosen to feature the local blueberries but I also add in some other fruits that pair particularly well with blueberries. These include mango, papaya, and banana. The great thing about smoothies is that they can be made with fresh or frozen fruits. I often bag up fruits when they are in season locally and freeze them in just the right sized portions for smoothies. This makes it quick and easy to prepare the smoothies which is great because, as we all know, if something is overly laborious, well….it often just does not happen.
Smoothies are so easy to make. A blender is needed for this recipe. Simply combine all the ingredients into the blender and process the mixture until desired smoothness is reached.
For sweetener, I use 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup. This natural liquid sweetener blends better than sugar. Reduce the amount of maple syrup if you like a less sweet drink. I also add in about 1 1/2 tablespoons of ground chia seeds. Whole chia seeds may be used but the ground seeds make for a smoother drink and are a better alternative for those who can’t easily digest seeds. Chia is loaded with good health benefits like fibre, omega 3 fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals.
The yogurt I have used in this smoothie is a Mediterranean-style lavender yogurt. Lavender pairs very well with blueberries. Don’t be put off by this flavor thinking it will be like perfume. This yogurt is very gently flavored with lavender and it is not at all strong in either the lavender flavor or scent. It does, however, add a subtle layer of flavor to the smoothie. Plain vanilla yogurt can, of course, be substituted but, if the lavender yogurt is available, I recommend giving it a try.
Any kind of fruit juice can be used in this smoothie. I have made it with plain orange juice which is very good but it is super tasty if made with a mango-citrus blend of juice or a tropical fruit juice. If possible, I try to add juice that has the flavor of at least one or more of the fruits I am blending into the smoothie. I don’t add any ice cubes to this smoothie because I find they can dilute the flavor. Make sure the fruit juice is good and cold and the smoothie will be just the right temperature for drinking without adding any ice.
Garnishes are optional but they do dress up the smoothie. If using garnishes, choose fruits that are in the smoothie as I have done here with the blueberries, mango, and papaya.
This smoothie recipe will yield approximately 4 cups which is about two good servings or, for smaller portions, four 1-cup servings are possible. This really is a meal in a glass – it provides servings of fruit, yogurt, and liquid content. This smoothie is best served as soon as it is made because it has banana in it and it can produce quite a strong flavor if left to sit and it can take over and become the predominant flavor in the drink.
[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups fruit juice (e.g., mango-citrus, orange juice, etc.)
1½ cups high bush blueberries (fresh or frozen)
½ cup mango, coarsely chopped (fresh or frozen)
½ cup papaya, coarsely chopped (fresh or frozen)
½ large banana, sliced
½ cup Mediterranean-style lavender yogurt (or plain yogurt)
2 tbsp maple syrup
1½ tbsp ground chia seeds
Method:
Combine all ingredients, in order given, in blender and process until well blended and smooth. Pour into glasses. Garnish with skewer of fresh blueberries, mango, and papaya. Serve immediately.
Yield: Apx. 4 cups
Kickstart your day with this super tasty blueberry and tropical fruit smoothie made with lavender yogurt and mango-citrus fruit juice
Ingredients
Instructions
For another refreshing blueberry drink, try this recipe for Blueberry Lemonade
Lemonade is a wonderful refreshing drink on a hot summer’s day. Sometimes I like just plain old-fashioned lemonade and, other times, I like to flavor it using whatever berries are currently in season. My latest lemonade creation uses high bush blueberries to make blueberry lemonade concentrate. Fill a glass about one third full of the concentrate and top it up with lemon-lime soda for a tasty drink. You can, of course, top up the concentrate with lemon-flavored sparkling water instead of the soda.
This recipe begins with a simple syrup which is infused with freshly squeezed lemon juice, grated lemon rind, and blueberry purée.
I am sometimes asked if it is necessary to use a simple syrup when making lemonade. In my view, it is essential and here is why. Ever try dissolving sugar in cold liquid? If you have, then you know the difficulty in getting the sugar to completely dissolve. Stir, stir, stir or shake, shake, shake and the sugar just does not want to completely dissolve and the mixture will appear cloudy. This is because sugar is not very soluble in cold liquid. At some point, you may have experienced a drink that had a nasty gritty sugar taste and texture and you may have noticed some undissolved sugar that fell to the bottom of the glass. This would have been the result of sugar mixed with cold liquid.
Lemonade is meant to be a bit tart but it does need some sugar to sweeten it a bit. So, how do you get the sugar successfully incorporated into the lemonade? It’s simple – you make a simple syrup. And, it’s called simple for a reason.
Simple syrup is nothing more than water and sugar heated until the sugar is perfectly dissolved. There are various formulas for simple syrup, depending on how thick you want the syrup and for what purpose it will be used. I tend to use 3/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water for simple syrups for beverages. My preference is to use super-fine sugar (aka caster sugar) because its fine texture means it dissolves easier than standard granulated sugar. Simply combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat over medium heat to the boiling point, stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved. Let the syrup boil gently for about 3-4 minutes, reducing the heat if necessary so the mixture does not boil too rapidly. Don’t boil the mixture rapidly or leave the liquid on the heat too long because you’ll lose some to evaporation. Remove the liquid from the heat and let it cool for about 30-40 minutes before adding any additional ingredients such as lemon juice, lemon rind, or puréed berries. Easy-peasy! And, you will have a much more refined drink that has a smooth, silky, velvet-like finish than you will get by trying to dissolve the sugar in cold water. It’s all about the quality in the end result.
I used about 6 oz of high bush blueberries (the really nice big berries like the ones in the photo below) for this recipe and, with my potato masher, I loosely broke up the berries.
By gently mashing the berries, their juices get released quicker when they are heated. The berries were combined with 2/3 cup of water and cooked over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, just until they were softened and their juices were extracted. The mixture was cooled for about 30 minutes then puréed with an immersion blender. I added the blueberries, lemon juice, and lemon rind to the cooled simple syrup and let it sit for a couple of hours so the flavors would infuse the syrup.
To get the smooth liquid, strain the cooled mixture through a very fine mesh sieve twice to remove the pulp.
This concentrate will keep in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for three to four days.
[printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Blueberry Lemonade
Ingredients:
1 cup water
¾ cup super-fine sugar (aka caster sugar)
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 – 2 tbsp grated lemon rind
6 oz high bush blueberries
2/3 cup water
Method:
For the simple syrup: In small saucepan, combine the water and sugar together. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is completely dissolved. Reduce heat slightly and boil gently for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature (apx. 30-40 minutes).
For the blueberry purée: In pie plate, gently mash the berries with a potato masher to release their juices. Combine the berries and 2/3 cup water in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for approximately 5-7 minutes, or until berries are softened and the mixture is quite juicy. Remove from heat and cool for about 30 minutes. Purée the berry mixture in a blender or with an immersion blender.
For the lemonade concentrate: Add the lemon juice, lemon rind, and puréed berry mixture to the cooled simple syrup. Stir well to fully combine the ingredients. Let mixture stand for at least an hour (or up to three hours) to allow the flavors to blend. Strain mixture twice through a fine mesh sieve to remove the pulp. Discard the pulp and pour concentrate into a bottle. Cover tightly and store in refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
To serve: Fill a glass approximately one-third full of lemonade concentrate. Top up with lemon-lime soda or lemon-flavored sparkling water. Add ice cubes. Garnish with a lemon wheel, a sprig of lemon balm, and fresh blueberries, if desired.
Yield: Approximately 2 cups concentrate
This lemonade combines two complementary flavors to make a delightfully tasty and refreshing drink for a hot summer's day.
Ingredients
Instructions
For other great lemonade drink recipes from My Island Bistro Kitchen, click on the links below:
Lemonade
Strawberry Lemonade
Rhubarb Lemonade
There are many ways to make blueberry pie but I have found that this is one of the tastiest. It’s also a great alternative to anyone who is not overly fond of double-crusted pies as this one is all about the filling!
Now, I love blueberries but sometimes I find they need a little help with a flavour boost. That’s why I have created this recipe for a blueberry filling that adds a gentle amount of cinnamon and nutmeg along with some orange juice and orange rind. To add a bit of depth and complexity to the flavor, I add a couple of tablespoons of Grand Marnier liqueur after the filling has cooked and been removed from the heat. This is an optional ingredient but a lovely flavor addition to the pie if you have the liqueur on hand.
As with any food, it is important to know what flavor combinations work and will complement each other. Cinnamon and nutmeg are two spices that go well with blueberries and, of course, blueberry and orange have long been a successful flavor combo. The other thing that is important is not to add in too many different flavors (or too much of any one additional flavor) as that can confuse the palate, detract from the authentic blueberry flavor, and not have the desired result. Sometimes less really is more!
The blueberries I used in this recipe are locally-grown here on PEI. Over the past few years, a number of high bush blueberry u-picks have begun operating around the Island. These are the lovely, large plump blueberries which are very easy to pick off bushes so no need to get down on hands and knees to find them. They grown in clusters on the vine, almost like grapes and are quick, easy, and clean to pick. When these blueberries are in season in August and early September, we always have them fresh. The berries freeze well and this pie can certainly be made with the frozen berries so it can be enjoyed at any time throughout the year.
This is one of the those pies that is best eaten the day it is made so plan to make the pie early in the morning, let it chill for the afternoon, and enjoy it with a dollop of whipped cream as a special dessert treat for dinner.
[printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Ingredients:
9” baked pie shell, cooled
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp sugar
1½ tbsp milk
½ tsp vanilla
¾ cup granulated sugar
3½ tbsp cornstarch
Dash salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp finely grated orange rind
12 oz. high bush blueberries (apx. 2½ cups)
2 tsp orange juice
2 tbsp Grand Marnier liqueur
½ tbsp butter
1 cup whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp sugar
Method:
In small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Spread over bottom of baked and cooled pie shell. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
In small bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and grated orange rind together. In medium-sized saucepan, combine the blueberries, orange juice, and cornstarch-sugar-spice mixture. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until mixture is thickened. Remove from heat and stir in Grand Marnier liqueur and butter. Let mixture cool to room temperature then spread over chilled cream cheese base. Refrigerate for at least one hour to allow pie to set.
Beat whipping cream and vanilla until soft peaks form then slowly beat in the sugar. Add a dollop of the whipped cream to each individual pie serving or, alternatively, completely cover chilled pie with the whipped cream. Refrigerate until use. Pie is best eaten the day it is made. (Note: Cool Whip can be substituted for the whipped cream, if desired.)
Yield: One 9” pie.
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A luscious and decadent blueberry cream cheese pie that combines high bush blueberries with cinnamon, nutmeg and orange liqueur flavorings
Ingredients
Instructions
Blueberry and Grand Marnier Jam
Picnics are a favorite summertime activity for us. We like to do a lot of daytripping around our province discovering and revisiting all that our wonderful Island has to offer. Prince Edward Island has many great locations that are suitable for picnics. Our picnic last weekend took us to a scenic location near the Confederation Bridge in Borden-Carleton.
This bridge transcends the Northumberland Strait linking PEI with New Brunswick. At 12.9km (8 miles) in length, the bridge is the longest bridge in the world that crosses ice-covered water. Our Island winters can be quite harsh and the Strait is covered in thick ice for several months of the year. Building a bridge to withstand these conditions was no easy feat.
Before the bridge opened to traffic on May 31, 1997, the only ways on and off PEI were by ferry or air. Ferry service does still operate seasonally in the Eastern part of the Province at Wood Islands where ferries transport vehicular traffic between PEI and Nova Scotia.
The Confederation Bridge curves partway across the Strait and has a high navigational span that allows large ships to pass under the bridge. It’s pretty cool to see the large cruise ships going under the bridge!
Because the Confederation Bridge is an iconic element of PEI, it makes a fitting backdrop for a summertime Island picnic.
So, now that the stage has been set for the location, back to the picnic……I have chosen to go with a black and white theme and I’m a big fan of checkered fabric – checks just seem to speak of picnics. I have chosen to use my plain black dinner napkins and have wrapped the cutlery inside the napkins. This is easy to do before leaving home and it keeps the items together. To give the classy black napkins a more casual look for a picnic, I have tied each napkin with narrow twine.
To add a punch of color to the table, I selected small bright yellow sunflowers paired with Bells of Ireland. Whether I am setting the table for an event at home or on the road, I like to see a well set table! These flowers were locally grown at Island Meadow Farm in York, PEI. They grow the most amazing array of flowers and I like to use them in my summer tablesettings.
Picnics are meant to be casual fare so, while I always try to have a main, a side, some fruit, something sweet, and a beverage, I often like to include some finger/snacking foods as I have done today. Let’s start with the PEI mussels in the shell. These are steamed mussels to which I have added some red and orange pepper, celery, and red onion. A light dressing of a red wine vinaigrette makes these tasty little morsels.
Cold cuts, cherry tomatoes, and cucumber are always good nibbling foods (and they add great color to the table).
I wrapped peach wedges inside basil leaves and prosciutto (seen in the photo below). These little picnic hors d’oeuvres add color, texture, and flavor to the menu. They go particularly well with Gouda cheese.
I have chosen small tomato quiches for the main in today’s picnic. The great thing about quiches is that they can be served, hot, warm, or cold and, when cold, are great travelers for the picnic basket.
And, for a side, I opted for a quinoa salad with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. To the quinoa I added peppers, corn, celery, red onion, and kale from our garden. Packing the salad into small Mason jars is an easy way to transport salads on a picnic.
Plates are not always necessary for picnics. Here, I have used small breadboards which work equally well and they are easy to pack.
I popped by the Tryon Blueberries U-Pick in North Tryon on my way and picked a box of these amazing high-bush blueberries. I live on these berries when they are in season on the Island!
And, for the sweet tooth, I took along some of my homemade snickerdoodle cookies.
And, as an extra special treat, we enjoyed Belgian chocolates that we brought home from a wonderful visit to Brugge, Belgium. If you ever have the chance to visit Brugge, I highly recommend it. You can view photos of my visit to Brugge over on my travel blog, Island Shore Traveler, by clicking here.
I like to choose foods and elements to the picnic that are colorful and that blend well together.
I hope you have enjoyed a little “taste” of my picnic by the bridge.
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Blueberries are still in season on PEI as I write this posting. In fact, on the news last week, it was reported that there is an over-abundance of blueberries this year — is there such a thing as too many blueberries????
I love blueberries and, this year, we have been very fortunate in that the Murray family has a large field of U-pick high-bush blueberries in North Tryon, PEI.
Suffice it to say, I’ve had a steady diet of blueberries for the past several weeks from their U-pick where they grow several varieties.
I have also frozen a good many to have for winter use in my baking.
High bush blueberries are very easy and quick to pick.
Earlier I shared my recipe for blueberry muffins. Today, I am sharing my recipe for blueberry bread pudding, an old-fashioned comfort food. This pudding is so tasty, it is hard to believe it is made with little else but bread, milk, and eggs! But, with a bit of extra flavoring, yummy blueberries, and a Grand Marnier sauce, this makes one luscious, decadent dessert!
Some cube the bread, place it in a pan, and then pour the custard sauce over top. The method I use is different in that I tear up the bread into bite-size pieces, put it into a bowl, pour the milk over it and let it sit for about 15 minutes before hand-crushing the mixture. I find this technique makes for a smoother textured pudding.
I have baked bread pudding both in a water bath and without. I find baking it in the hot water bath makes for a more moist pudding and the edges don’t tend to dry out. To bake a pudding in a water bath, you will need two sizes of pans – one to bake the pudding in and another larger pan that will accommodate the pudding pan. Fill the exterior pan with enough hot water that it comes up to about 1/2 way on the pan which holds the pudding.
This is an easy pudding to make and does not take a lot of ingredients or complicated methods. It also freezes well so, if there happens to be leftovers, they can be stowed away for a later treat.
I like to serve a warm brown sugar sauce (or a variation thereof, such as Grand Marnier sauce) with this pudding. However, it would also be tasty with a dollop of lemon curd, crème fraiche, or ice cream.
Ingredients:
4 cups whole milk
1 – 1 pound loaf of soft French bread
4 eggs
⅔ cup sugar
½ tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp grated orange rind
½ tsp cinnamon
⅛ tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp maple syrup
3 tbsp melted butter
2 cups high-bush blueberries, fresh or frozen
Method:
Assemble ingredients.
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Grease or line 9”x13” pan with greased tin foil.
In large bowl, break the French bread into small pieces, crusts and all. Pour 4 cups of milk over the bread. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes then hand-crush mixture until well blended.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs well. Add the sugar and beat again.
Add the salt, vanilla, grated orange rind, cinnamon, nutmeg, maple syrup, and butter. Blend well.
Pour over bread-milk mixture and mix well.
Lastly, gently fold in the blueberries being careful not to break the berries.
Pour into prepared pan. Smooth batter evenly in pan. Place pan inside a larger pan. Place on oven rack in upper part of oven. Carefully pour hot water into the exterior pan until the water reaches about ½ way up the sides of the pudding pan.
Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until top of pudding is nicely tanned and it springs back to a light touch and a cake tester (or toothpick) inserted into 2-3 places in the pudding comes out clean.
Remove from oven and water bath and transfer pudding pan to a rack to rest for 20 minutes.
Slice into 12 pieces and serve warm with a brown sugar sauce (or my Grand Marnier sauce below), lemon curd, crème anglaise, or ice cream.
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
dash of salt
2 cups boiling water
2 tbsp corn syrup
1½ tbsp Grand Marnier
2 tsp vanilla
¼ cup butter
Method:
In microwave safe bowl, mix the brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt together well. Add the boiling water, corn syrup, Grand Marnier, and vanilla together. Mix well. Add butter. Microwave until sauce boils and reaches desired consistency. Serve over blueberry bread pudding.
Yield: Apx. 2½ cups
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Yield: 12 servings and Apx. 2½ cups sauce
Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie
Blueberry Buckle
Blueberry Grunt
Peach Blueberry Crisp
A number of years ago, I discovered a high-bush blueberry U-pick in Tryon, PEI. The berries are so easy to pick and the bushes were just laden with these huge plump blueberries.
Grower, Jennifer Murray, says she has five varieties of these tasty blueberries growing in this field.
Unlike their tiny wild blueberry counterparts that grow low to the ground, these are easy and clean picking – no blueberry-stained fingers. I have been back to their field twice since they opened just last week.
It took mere minutes for us to pick these blueberries!
I love these berries in a bowl with sugar and milk, on top of cereal, waffles, and pancakes. They are lovely sweet berries.
Today, I am featuring these blueberries in muffins. I have purposely chosen a light-colored batter that is cake-like in texture so that the blueberries really show up. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
I like the flavor combination of blueberries and orange so I have added some orange juice and finely grated orange rind to the batter. I used my square muffin tins for these muffins but they would be equally as lovely (and just as tasty!) in traditional round muffin tins. I do a lot of batch-baking and freezing of muffins and sweet breads to have them ready for weekday coffeebreaks at work. I split and butter the muffins before individually wrapping and storing them in the freezer. The benefit of these square tins is that I find the muffins pack away easier than the round ones do plus they add variety and interest to appearance of the baked goods.
[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
3½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp finely grated orange rind
2 eggs
¾ cup milk
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1½ cups fresh or frozen blueberries, tossed with about 1 tbsp flour
Method:
Assemble ingredients.
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Sift dry ingredients together into a large bowl.
Stir in the grated orange rind.
Make a well in the centre of the ingredients. Set bowl aside.
In a two-cup measuring cup or small bowl, beat eggs lightly.
Add milk, orange juice, oil, and vanilla. Stir or whisk together well.
Pour wet ingredients into the well in dry ingredients.
Stir just until most of the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Gently fold blueberries into batter.
Do not overmix. This will create a tough muffin and one that has blue batter!
Spoon mixture into greased or paper-lined muffin tins, filling each between ⅔ and ¾ full.
Bake 16-20 minutes or until muffins spring back to a light touch and/or a cake tester inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
Yield: 12 muffins
Yield: 11-12 muffins, depending on size of muffin tins.
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