I love to make homemade ice cream, especially in the summertime and so I have concocted up a new combination of flavors — blueberry and lemon — in this no-cook ice cream.. You just can’t beat the flavor and texture of homemade ice cream compared to commercial ones. And, dreaming up ice cream flavors is a great way for me to be creative. Plus, you can make much healthier versions. This silky, smooth blueberry-lemon gelato is a great way to end August.
I love cheesecakes. It is one of my favorite desserts. There are so many variations to the cheesecake theme that I don’t have to worry about running out of ideas for blog posts. My cheesecake recipe this week makes a delightful little dessert which is incredibly easy to mix up. Plus, it is rather unique — as there is no sugar in the bottom layer. At first I thought I was reading a misprint of the ingredients. But, I followed the instructions exactly and everybody loved the resulting cheesecake. Sometimes “sweet” isn’t always the best thing. I added a blueberry swirl topping and sauce made with fresh blueberries from this year’s crop. I hope you will try making this recipe, too, and I’m sure you will enjoy it as much as I did.
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Here’s a delicious dessert, “Crumbly Blueberry Bars,” which combines two of my favorite ingredients and flavors — blueberries and oatmeal. Both these ingredients have many nutritional benefits which adds to the appeal of this dessert bar. I still have blueberries in my freezer to use from my last summer’s backyard blueberry crop. So, I’m making this very simple recipe for “Crumbly Blueberry Bars” with some of these frozen berries. These bars are very soft and crumbly — they are best eaten when served as a dessert bar with a fork. They make a great breakfast bar when served with yogurt as well as a snack or dessert.
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I love these tender, flaky “Blueberry Scones” and can’t get enough of them. I have several quarts of blueberries in my freezer remaining from last summer’s backyard blueberry crop. So whenever I see an idea for using blueberries, I’m ready to try the recipe. A blueberry scone recipe in our local newspaper insert caught my attention. I have become pretty good at making homemade biscuits. Scones are similar — just a richer version. This recipe is delicious and easy to make because of several short cuts and tips that I learned while baking many batches of biscuits. I can prepare this recipe in just a few minutes. Here is how I made these melt-in-you mouth scones.
As far as I’m concerned, an “Instant Pot” might also be called an “Impatient Pot.” For the person who likes to cook everything on the “high” burner of the stove, then an “Instant Pot” is the perfect kitchen appliance. Get the “Instant Pot” settings programmed and hit “Start.” Then leave the appliance alone and go on to another task. It doesn’t matter, as the “Instant Pot” regulates the temperature and pressure automatically. The recipe finishes cooking and the “Instant Pot” turns off. Yeah! No more burnt pots. I’ve tried cooking a variety of dishes in my brand new “Instant Pot.” And to the doubters who questioned if you could cook oatmeal in an Instant Pot, today I’m giving it a try.
Here is another absolutely delicious way to use fresh blueberries. I asked Aunt Gaye, who lives in Birmingham, Alabama, for recommendations on using blueberries since I had such a large summer crop. (Aunt Gaye is a great cook.) In a second she replied that she indeed had a favorite blueberry recipe: “Fresh Blueberry Streusel Pie.” She promised to mail me the recipe. Mail. Isn’t that great? Everybody likes to get mail. On the down side, now I had to wait several days for the recipe. Well, the recipe arrived as promised and I made the pie. Aunt Gaye showed off her cooking talents again, this is another winning recipe. The pie really highlights the fresh blueberry flavor. The crunchy streusel topping also sets the blueberries off, too.
Fresh blueberries are great any time of the year; I especially enjoy picking blueberries from by own backyard bushes. In my opinion, these backyard blueberries have more aromatic flavor than the blueberries purchased from a grocery store. So if you have a chance to “pick your own blueberries,” go for it. Today I am making a “Blueberry Buckle” which is a simple coffee cake filled with lots of fresh blueberries and topped with a crunchy streusel topping. I added in a few walnut pieces. They give a flavor and help accent the nice “pop” from the blueberries. This cake is delicious!
I can’t think of anything more refreshing than a glass of home-mixed lemonade on a hot summer day. And we have plenty of hot summer days here in Louisiana. I decided to add blueberries from my backyard to make a “Blueberry Lemonade” aromatic variation. Then why not kick things up a notch and make a “Blueberry – Lemon Moscow Mule?” That cocktail hit the spot, too. I added frozen blueberries and fresh mint for garnish to my icy summertime drinks.
It is a pleasant problem to have too many blueberries. My backyard blueberry bushes are producing about 2 cups of ripe blueberries a day. In addition to sharing with neighbors, I’m scrambling to find ways to use all the blueberries. I love homemade cornbread and recently ran across a recipe for “Blueberry Cornbread.” I guess this shows that you can add just about anything to cornbread. I love “Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins” with pickled jalapeno bits and my “Hushpuppies” with green onions and Cajun spices. Why not make a sweet cornbread recipe with fresh blueberries? Yum!
I cannot remember a Passover meal without my mother-in-law’s meringue nests for dessert. These are truly a family tradition. The little meringue shells are made from egg whites and sugar with a hint of vanilla extract and are filled with fresh fruit. They are tasty and colorful and truly remind me of spring. Fill them with whatever fruit is in season — blackberries, blueberries, raspberries or strawberries. Best yet, this dessert is fat-free and healthy. It will surely impress! This is the “perfect” and elegant dessert for spring — serve it for Easter dinner, too!
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