The most simple blueberry recipe.

Ever feel like having something homemade, but are too tired to bake?  Well, this recipe is one of the easiest, fastest recipes I  have ever used.  It actually comes from my husband, who gets a wild hair occasionally, and decides he needs to bake something.  He always seems to be on the lookout for something unusual, but in this case, he found down-to-earth basic.  He got the recipe from a blogger named Jennifer Cisney, who got it from her mom, who got it from her mom.  It is actually called a pudding – I think because it is suggested that it is good warm, with milk poured over it, but it is definitely a coffee-type cake.   

Blueberry Pudding??

The original recipe gives no directions, so I have changed it a bit – not the amounts, or ingredients, but the order of ingredients, with some added directions.

Butter the size of an egg

1 Cup sugar

1 Egg

1/2 Cup milk

1 and 3/4 Cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 Pint Unalaska blueberries (of course, you can use any kind of blueberries)

Cream butter and sugar.  (I do this by hand – it only takes a couple of seconds.)  Add egg and incorporate well.  Add milk in about 4 increments.  In a separate bowl, mix flour and baking powder.  Add to wet ingredients and mix until all dry ingredients are incorporated.  Fold in blueberries.  Pour into 8×8 pan (spray with non-stick spray, or butter and flour your pan) and bake for 35 minutes at 375 degrees F.  If you are using frozen blueberries, an additional 10 minutes should be added to the cook time.  (That is, if the blueberries are still frozen when you throw them in the batter!)  Test the center of the cake to see if it is done.

You can eat this right when it comes out of the oven, steaming.  Just be careful not to burn your tongue on the smoking blueberries.  It is great with coffee in the morning.  If you like a sweeter cake, you can add a struesel topping or simply sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar.  I like it just as it is – the perfect amount of sweet for our tart Unalaska blueberries.  Yummy!

Gracious tea parties are alive and well….

…in Unalaska, thanks to the most gracious of hosts, Zoya Johnson.   We spent a wonderful afternoon filled with delicious food, blooming tea, and great conversation and laughter in honor of Bailey Kirkland and Leizel Esnardo.  Bailey had just celebrated her 21st birthday, and – good grief – had it already been four months since Leizel’s 21st?  Time sure does fly when you are not looking. 

Zoya puts the finishing touches on the table set for tea.
The famous Zoya cake - many layers of goodness.

And what is a party without presents?  Bailey is one of those slow, meticulous unwrappers.  You know, the kind that drives you crazy so that you just want to rip the paper for her! 

 We all had a good laugh when Leizel opened up my present to her, after she had just told a story about receiving a cookbook from her brother and how she vowed never to use it! 

Graciously accepting another cookbook!

I highly recommend taking the time for friends and tea, and look forward to the many more to come.  Especially the ones in the greenhouse!