Blueberry Sour Cream Pie

Blueberry sour cream pie

My husband and daughter love blueberries. I try to like them. I know I should; they are a super food. They may be one of the best food for you and they are absolutely lovely. I love the color. I even grow them. The bushes are currently under netting and we will see who gets to eat the blueberries- the Sokols or the birds. I have my money on the birds. So in the meantime, my family is going through quart after quart of blueberries. Katie can eat a pint at one sitting. It is amazing to watch her eat them. I decided that I was going to make a blueberry pie. Not just any blueberry pie but a sour cream pie. I used to work at a restaurant that sold sour cream fruit pies. I loved them. I was never able to talk them out of the recipe so I have made them up over the years. How can you go wrong with sour cream? Especially when you add a strudel topping.  I double the strudel layer and use the leftovers on french toast the next day. Oh! I normally use light sour cream but for this pie I use the full fat full taste version. I think it makes a difference.

1 9 inch (23 cm) Pie Crust
3 Cups (420 g) of Fresh Blueberries

Sour Cream Layer
1 Cup (200 g) of Granulated Sugar
1/3 Cup (40 g) of Flour
A Couple of Dashes of Salt
2 Large Eggs, Beaten
1/2 Cup (120 g) of Sour Cream

Strudel Layer
1/2 Tsp of Cinnamon
1/4 Cup (55 g) of Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup (30 g) of Flour
2 Tbsp of Butter

Everything is ready- some assembly required

Preheat the oven to 350F/176C/Gas Mark 4. Place the pie crust in the pie pan. Pour blueberries into the pie crust.

Blueberries int he pie crust

Combine the sugar, flour and salt in a bowl. Stir in eggs and sour cream. Pour over blueberries.

Combine cinnamon, sugar, flour and butter together until crumbly. Spread strudel layer on top of the sour cream layer.

Ready for the oven

Bake for 45-65 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely and then refrigerate. Serve cold (it is a lot easier to slice).

The bottom line: will I make this again? Yes, it is wonderful. I will also continue to double the topping for french toast.

Strudel french toast

Garden and CSA Update

My birthday present.

This year my wonderful husband built me eight raised beds for my garden. It was what I wanted for my birthday and while some people may think it is boring, I couldn't be more excited. The raised beds have made a huge difference. My garden has never looked better. Some of my garden's success has been the incredible spring we had; however, the large part of its success is the grids we put in the raised beds. These have forced me to be organized. Normally I am not an organized gardener. Left on my own, I over plant and place plants in no particular order. The grid system forces me to be organized. One plant type per square. I mostly followed that rule.  I even drew it out on grid paper and decided which plants to plant where. Such fun. The planning kept me busy and happy all winter.

My tomatoes are ahead of schedule

Today I will be planting more beets, carrots, and lima beans. Our carrots and beets look great and I don't think I could plant too many beets and carrots. I love them. Katie is crazy about lima beans and just like the peas I think they will be mostly eaten in the garden. 

My beautiful carrots- a mixture of heirloom carrots

 In addition to my gardens, we joined a CSA (community supported agriculture) this year. Kansas University Medical Center has paired up with Good Natured Family Farms to create a CSA for its students, faculty, and staff. They filled 170 slots and have additional people are on a waiting list. I am so glad to be able to participate. I love the opportunity to support local farmers and feed my family fruits and veggies picked that day. It is good for Kansas City, the environment, and my family. Our first pick up is this Tuesday. I can't wait. 

Romaine lettuce

If you have never participated in a CSA- it is a program where subscribers share the risk with the farmers. Subscribers normally prepay for their share. This allows the farmers to buy seed and equipment for growing their crops. In return, each week during the program the subscribers get a bag of food. If it is a good year then you get more of a share. If it is a bad year then your bags are less full. I have participated in good years and bad years and have never been disappointed. I have participated in CSA where it was just fruit and vegetables. The current CSA is much more than that.

Lettuce from our garden- we went ahead and picked it because we should be getting lettuce this week form the CSA

Good Natured Family Farms is comprised of more than 100 family farms in the Kansas City area.They banded together so they could offer their products in sufficient quantities to supermarkets (and our CSA).  I think it is an incredible model. So our CSA- has fruits and veggies and dairy (milk and cheese) and eggs and beef and pork and bison and turkey and honey. I am so excited I can hardly stand it.

Squash plants- one per square foot

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I was concerned about us having too much food. Of course I will can, pickle, and freeze for the winter, but I did plant a lot. I love gardening; it in incredible to have your hard work pay off with wondrous fruits and veggies. Thankfully Kansas City has a Plant a Row for the Hungry Program  How great is that? If we have an abundance of food we can help others. I don't know about you but I really like the idea of growing food to help others. Here are the fruits and veggies they prefer because they keep:

·  Beets Broccoli ·  Cabbage  Cantaloupe Carrots Cauliflower Cucumbers ·  Eggplant ·  Green beans ·  Onions ·  Parsley Peas Peppers Pole lima beans ·  Spinach Summer squash ·  Tomatoes Turnips ·  Watermelon ·  Winter squash ·  Zucchini

I have enough pepper, squash, zucchini, and cucumber plants that we should be swimming in them. I thought about designating plants for Harvesters and I still might. I also need to check with our local food pantry to see if they want fresh produce.  

More squash

I will be blogging all this summer- what I get at the CSA and from our garden and what I make with it. We will be eating a lot of food-- but don't worry the lake is warm enough so we can start swimming across it and work off our meals. 

Our first "big" harvest of the year

 We made an incredible salad from our garden- with local eggs and bacon.

Chopped salad- made with ingredients within 100 feet and 30 miles from our house- there is a difference

The bottom line- supporting local farms is good for the environment, the local economy, and your taste buds.

Creme Brulee French Toast

Creme brulee french toast

My daughter decided to make me breakfast for mother's day. Of course I was delighted and a bit nervous about what my kitchen would look like when she was done.
We discussed and debated what she wanted to make and decided on one of her favorite breakfast dishes. The winner was creme brulee french toast. It is absolutely incredible and the majority of the work is done the night before.
Since we are trying to be healthier we lightened the recipe by using egg substitute and fat free half and half. It is still amazing. If you want the full-fat version use eggs and cream. If you have a bigger crowd- just double the recipe and make in a 9 x 13 (23 x 33 cm) baking dish. I like to use fairly thick slices of French bread or Italian bread for this. I think it holds up better.

1/4 Cup (55 g) of Butter
1/2 Cup (110 g) of Brown Sugar, Packed
1 Tbsp of Maple Syrup
Slices of Bread to Cover Bottom of 9 x 9 in (23 x 23 cm) Baking Dish
3/4 Cup (180 ml) of Egg Substitute or 3 Eggs, Beaten
3/4 Cup (180 ml) of Fat Free Half and Half
1 Tsp of Vanilla
1 Tsp of Orange Flavored Liqueur

Over low heat, melt butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup in a small saucepan. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour into a 8 x 8 in (20 x 20 cm) or 9 x 9 in (23 x 23 cm) baking dish.

Place slices of bread on top of caramel mixture.

In a separate bowl combine eggs, half and half, vanilla, and liqueur. Pour cream mixture over bread.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, remove from refrigerator and preheat oven to 350F/176C/Gas Mark 4. Bake for 35-45 minutes until puffy and lightly browned.
 

The bottom line: will I make this again? Yes- wonderful and amazing.

Sausage and Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole

A slice of yumminess

I love breakfast for dinner. This is an easy dish that tastes great. I lightened this traditionally fat and calorie laden dish by using egg substitute, fat free half and half, and low fat milk. Turkey sausage will work in this dish as well. Yes- it is still good. It was so good that we ate all of it. There were no leftovers.

1 lb (.45 kg) of Sausage
1 Tbsp of Canola or Vegetable Oil
20 oz (570  g) of Grated Potatoes
1 Cup (240 ml) of Egg Substitute (4 Eggs)
1 Cup (240 ml) of Fat Free Half N Half
1 Cup (240 ml) of Low Fat Milk
2 Cups (240 g) of Grated Cheese (Your choice)
Salt and Pepper, To Taste
Several Dashes of Cayenne or Southwest Seasoning (Optional)

Preheat oven to 350F/176C/Gas Mark 4. Spray a 9x9 inches (3.5x3.5 cm) baking pan with cooking spray. In a large skillet cook the sausage until no longer pink. Dump cooked sausage into the bottom of the baking pan.

I love the smell of frying sausage

Pour about a tablespoon of oil in a skillet and dump in the grated potatoes. Lightly cook the grated potatoes in the skillet and dump over the sausage.

Lightly frying the potatoes

Whisk the eggs, milk, and half and half until combined and pour over the top of the grated potatoes. Sprinkle with cheese. Sprinkle with seasonings.

Ready for the oven.

Place uncovered in the oven and bake for 40 minutes.

Yum!

The bottom line: will I make this again? Yes and I will continue to use my lower in fat and calorie substitutes. 

Not Your Average Spicy Coleslaw

The ingredients for coleslaw

I love coleslaw. I grew up with barbecue sandwiches made with pulled pork and coleslaw. I love creamy coleslaw and vinegar-based coleslaw. I did not like all of the calories in coleslaw dressing, and I did not like cabbage that was drowning in dressing.  I started experimenting with coleslaw recipes. I wanted the taste of the cabbage, carrots, onions, and radishes (yes radishes) to shine though and not get drowned in the dressing. This coleslaw delivers. It is a mustard based dressing and you can taste the flavors of the veggies. My husband complained about the lack of dressing until he tasted it.   I really like the radishes in this slaw- it adds a bit of bite. This makes a lot of slaw which is a good thing because I could eat it for an entire meal.

Dressing
3 Tablespoons of Dijon Mustard
3 Tablespoons of Vinegar (Your Choice, I like Rice Wine Vinegar)
1 Clove of Garlic, Minced
1/2 Teaspoon of Cayenne or 2 Chiles, Crushed or Minced

Dressing ingredients

Whisk dressing ingredients together.

Coleslaw dressing

Slaw
1/2 Head of Cabbage, Shredded
3 Carrots, Grated
1/2 Onion, Grated
1-2 Handfuls of Radishes, Grated

Combine slaw ingredients with dressing.

All that grated cabbage

Refrigerate until ready to eat. Best to refrigerate for 24 hours to allow the flavors to blend.

A perfect combination: pulled pork and coleslaw

The bottom line: Will I make this again? Yes- love it. This is the coleslaw I make every time I make pulled pork.

Oil Free Pesto

Pesto with roasted tomatoes instead of oil

I love pesto and I make it with all kinds of greens and nuts. I haven't made a bad pesto yet. This time of year when we have lots of new greens it is easy to go outside and pick your dinner. I used a combination of arugula, spinach, parsley, and basil decided to make an oil-less pesto by using roasted tomatoes (frozen from last year's harvest) instead of oil. Yes, it can be done. And it can be delicious. I know I had seconds. I would have had thirds but it was all gone. I need to get a bigger bowl.

1/2 Cup (60 g) of Nuts, Toasted
3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
1 1/2 Cups (340 g) of Roasted Tomatoes With Juice
2 Cups (40 g) of Basil, Spinach, Arugula, and/or Parsley
1/2 of Parmesan Cheese, Grated
Salt and Pepper, To Taste

Place nuts, garlic, and cheese in the food processor and process until coarse.

Nuts, garlic, and cheese

Add the roasted tomatoes, salt, and pepper and process.

The pesto with roasted tomatoes

Add the basil, spinach, arugula, and/or parsley and process until pesto consistency is reached.

Adding the greens

Serve over pasta.

Pesto over pasta

The bottom line: will I make this again? Yes. It is wonderful even if it isn't a beautiful bright green pesto. It is so good that my husband did not know it was oil-less until we discussed this blog post.