More Ways with Blueberries

I guess I went a little crazy the last time I bought frozen berries because when I looked in the freezer yesterday, I still had half a bag of blueberries. And this is after making the Blueberry Pancakes and the Blueberry Breakfast Bars! Not only that, I have 2 bags of frozen raspberries! I guess I’d better start looking for some good raspberry recipes.

Since the bag of blueberries was already open I decided I’d better find a way to use those up first. My other freezer discovery yesterday was some pie pastry that I had cut into small circles a while back for some apple pocket pies. So, I had 5 little pastry circles, some blueberries, and some granny smith apples that I found in the fridge. I decided to put them all together and see what happened.

When I made the pie pastry, it was just a basic double crust pie recipe but I used all butter instead of shortening. I rolled it out to normal pie crust thickness then cut it into 4-inch circles (I used a large can that had both ends removed). I managed to get nine little circles out the pie crust but next time I would make them a little thicker and settle for eight. Originally, I had filled these little pastry circles with homemade applesauce after my husband had remarked that my applesauce tasted good enough to be a pie filling. Those were good but I had frozen the remaining circles so that I could try another filling later.

So, while my pastry was defrosting, I started on the new filling. I peeled and chopped two apples and put them in a bowl. I added a handful of frozen blueberries, the juice of half a lemon, a tiny dash of almond extract (less than 1/8 teaspoon), about a tablespoon of flour, some brown sugar and lots of fresh grated nutmeg. I mixed it all together, tasted it, and added more sugar (the apples and blueberries were pretty tart).

When the pastry was defrosted (in the fridge), I rolled each one out on a floured board (rolling from the center of the pastry out to the edges, turning frequently) to increase the diameter as much as I could while keeping the shape of the circle and not breaking the pastry. They probably ended up being about 6 inches in diameter by the time I was through. The size doesn’t really matter but it can’t be too thin or it will break when you fill them.

As I finished rolling each one, I put a spoonful of filling in the middle, folded one side of the pastry over and crimped the edges with a fork. You might want to dip a finger in water and wet the edge of the pastry before folding it over to get a good seal. My filling was pretty runny at that point so the pastry was already wet enough to seal. I placed them on a baking sheet and pricked the tops with a fork.

I baked the little pies in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes (I just kept an eye on them and took them out when they looked golden brown). After letting them cool (and photographing them of course!), I tried one and decided that this recipe is a keeper! In fact, I don’t think I’ll change a single thing about the filling, all the flavors went really well together. The idea for the almond extract came from the Blueberry Breakfast Bars recipe and as long as you don’t use too much, it really adds something special. It goes really well with the nutmeg also.

I had about half of the filling left over so I poured it into a saucepan and cooked it over medium-low heat until the apples were just tender. I added a couple of tablespoons of water while they were cooking because it started to thicken quickly. I also added some cinnamon because I wanted it to be a topping for my cinnamon swirl French toast the next morning. The cinnamon made it taste even better! After letting it cool, I stored it in the fridge.

This morning, I did make some cinnamon swirl French toast and the Blueberry Apple Topping was perfect on it. It would be a great topping for any type of French toast, waffles or pancakes!

I will be writing regular recipes for the pocket pies and the fruit topping and they will appear in a separate post, probably in a few days. But you are more than welcome to follow my directions and see what you can come up with in the meantime.

So, there you go. Two more ways with blueberries!

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Something old and something blue

Before I loved to cook, I loved to thrift. (Those without the thrift-store itch will forgive my use of the verb.) My entire high school wardrobe, and much of my college one was hunted and gathered from various North Carolina Goodwills and American Ways. If you're from the Triangle and have ever donated a velvet jacket or thin-waled pair of cords, it's likely your clothes have lived in my closet. I still scavenge for summer dresses and vintage slips, but these days when I pop into the local thrift store--which goes by the shabby-chic name Thriftique--I tend to gravitate toward the kitchen wares section.

I've accumulated a little aluminum collection of old tart tins and cake pans. Some are tiny molds whose proper use I've yet to figure out...but, they may just become tortilla bowl molds considering how well they recently performed as such.


As I'm not in the habit of making mini-muffins, these tins are stashed away for a future cocktail party I occasionally fantasize hosting. So many possibilities in a couple of somethings worth nothing to someone else and about 50 cents to me: miniature strawberry cheesecakes...tiny tortilla cups filled with pulled pork and cilantro...baby spinach quiches.


I haven't a clue what this stainless steel bowl was meant to hold. It sort of reminds me of a mess-kit container, but it's far too heavy for hiking. It'll keep a couple of scoops of homemade ice cream cool in July, though, and that's how I plan to use it and its three siblings, all mine for a dollar a piece.

Every time I reach for one of these dry good containers--and I groggily reach for the third one from the left every single morning--I get a thrift-thrill. I grabbed these, along with a few wooden-handled spatulas and some copper-colored measuring cups, from the basement of Red Door Antiques and Interiors in Wake Forest, NC, a treasure trove of vintage kitchen wares.


My latest find: a couple of aluminum tart tins. Since my existing tart tin collection lacked right angles, I felt giddy when I scooped up the rectangular one. Then, I added the round one because I hated to separate the pair just to save a buck.

Sometimes, and I can't say just when those times occur, one wants a tart with corners. Recently, I did. And I wanted it sweet and sour with a shortbread crust and a bed of shiny blueberries on top.

If I had a picnic to attend this 4th of July, I would bring this tart. The crust is a simple, shortbread-like thing, and the blueberries are virtually naked save for a thin glaze of blueberry coulis. Baked in an old aluminum tin, this tart could be an immediate family tradition.
If I didn't have a picnic invitation, and I don't, I would eat it for dessert while watching Alfred Hitchcock movies, and I have. Mrs. Bates death-maw is even more electrifying accompanied by a bite of tangy lime curd.

Blueberry and Lime Curd Tart
Adapted from Bon Appetit, June 2002. The original recipe makes 8 3-inch tartlets, and can be found here at epicurious.com. This recipe is modified for a 6 by 10-inch rectangular tin, but will work in other dimensions, including round ones with 8-9-inch diameters.


For curd:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
6 large egg yolks
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 teaspoons grated lime peel
For crust:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons (about) chilled whipping cream
1 large egg yolk
For blueberry topping:
3 1/2-pint baskets blueberries
1 tablespoon sugar
To make the curd:
1. Whisk sugar and lime juice in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk in yolks, then butter.
2. Cook over medium-low heat until thick, smooth, and just beginning to bubble, stirring constantly, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in lime peel.
3. Transfer to small bowl. Press plastic wrap onto surface of curd. Refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours. (Can be made 4 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
To make the crust:
4. Blend flour, sugar, and salt in food processor for 5 seconds. Add butter and cut in, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons cream and egg yolk. Using on/off turns, blend until moist clumps form, adding more cream by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Shape dough into a shape roughly the dimensions of your tart pan. Press dough into bottom and up sides of tart pan with removable bottom. Pierce crust with fork. Chill, wrapped in plastic, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
To make the topping:
5. Place 1/2 cup berries and sugar in heavy small saucepan. Using fork, mash berries coarsely. Cook mixture over medium heat until beginning to simmer, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Using rubber spatula, push as much of mixture as possible through strainer set over medium bowl. Mix remaining blueberries into strained berries. Set topping aside.
6. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake tart crust until lightly golden, pressing any bubbles with back of fork, about 20 minutes. Cool crust completely on a rack.
7. Using a spatula, spread curd in crust. Arrange blueberry topping over curd. (Let stand at room temperature up to 2 hours or refrigerate up to 1 day.)

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