Blueberry Pineapple Dessert

Over 20 years ago, my husband and I were members of a wonderful round dance club in Cincinnati, the Bendoliers.  At Christmas time, the couple who served as President gave a brunch for the other officers in the club.  As Secretary, my husband I were invited and it was a beautiful meal.  I told the hostess that my favorite dish was what she called “Blueberry Salad” and asked for the recipe.  She was amazed that I didn’t know this old standby and as the years have passed, I’ve seen many versions of it in community cookbooks.  But at that time it was new to me and I loved it.

I adapted her recipe a little bit and I think of it as a dessert rather than a salad, but basically, it’s the same great dish we had that long-ago Christmas.

BLUEBERRY PINEAPPLE DESSERT

• Two 6 oz. packages of blackberry gelatin (I used four 3 oz. packages of Jell-O Blackberry Fusion)
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup cold fruit juice*
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• One 8 oz. can crushed pineapple

*Whenever I drain a can of fruit, I put it into a pint jar that I keep in the freezer.  I keep adding the drained juice from whatever fruit I have until I have enough to replace the cold water in a gelatin recipe.  In this case, I used a mixture of several kinds of fruit.

Topping

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup dairy sour cream
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans

In a 9×9 pan, dissolve the gelatin in the boiling water, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.  Add the cold fruit juice, stirring well.  Chill in the refrigerator for about 1-1/2 hours until the mixture cools and begins to thicken.  After the mixture has thickened, add the blueberries and pineapple.  (Pineapple should be drained through a sieve into a cup, lightly pressing with a spoon.   I add this juice to my jar of stashed juice in the freezer.)

Chill gelatin/fruit mixture until set.

After the gelatin/fruit mixture has set, make the topping:  Beat together the cream cheese, dairy sour cream, granulated sugar and vanilla.  Spread the topping over the gelatin/fruit mixture.  Sprinkle chopped pecans over the top.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Yield:  9 delicious servings.

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Rhubarb and Friends Cobbler

For many years, I tried various cobbler recipes without being completely satisfied.  Then, in 1996, I found a recipe for cobbler in one of my favorite cookbooks – The Farm Journal Pie Cookbook, and they stressed that the filling should be piping hot when the dough is spooned onto it.  I’ve made many cobblers with all kinds of fruit since then and have always been pleased with the results.

On this beautiful June Sunday morning, I was debating what to fix for dessert for myself – no company for dinner this week.  My decision was based on what I found in my refrigerator:  a recent cutting of rhubarb from my garden, a couple of Granny Smith apples, and a small amount of fresh blueberries.  I wanted to make something that would be good for dessert today but also taste good a couple of days from now – not too rich, not too much fat.  I think this cobbler made from the rhubarb and its friends in the refrigerator was just right.  It will be my dessert well into next week.

RHUBARB & FRIENDS COBBLER

Fruit Filling:

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tblsp. cornstarch
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1-1/2 cups rhubarb, cut in 1″ pieces
• 2 cups tart apple,  peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1 Tblsp. butter
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

In a medium saucepan, mix the granulated sugar, cornstarch and water.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for one minute.  Remove from heat – add the rhubarb, apple slices, blueberries, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg – stirring gently to blend.  Pour this mixture into an ungreased one-quart casserole dish.

Dough:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tblsp. granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening (Crisco)
• 1/2 cup milk

In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.  Cut in the vegetable shortening and then stir in the milk with a fork.  Drop by spoonsful onto the hot fruit filling.  Place the casserole dish on a flat pan to catch spills and bake @ 400 degrees F for about 30 minutes.

Serve in bowls with cobbler juices and whipped cream/topping or ice cream.

Yield:  6 servings

One of my Mother’s Day gifts this year was a set of vintage two-handled soup bowls.

I might not be making much soup this summer, but the bowl is just the right size for a serving of cobbler.

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Texas Caviar via St. Louis

My daughter-in-law in St. Louis enjoys cooking and loves to try new recipes.  She passed this one on, which was also new to me.  It makes a delicious snack and has also served as a light lunch a few times.  The only changes I made to her recipe were to reduce the olive oil and to add cilantro.

TEXAS CAVIAR

Marinade

• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper

Place vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Heat until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat, add oil, salt/pepper.  Set aside to cool.

Fresh Vegetables (Chop all about the size of a corn kernel)

• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 medium onion
• 1 Tblsp. jalapeno*
• 2 Tblsp. fresh cilantro leaves

*I used New Canaan Farms’ Sweet & Hot Jalapeno

Canned Ingredients (Drain and rinse)

• One 15 oz. can pinto beans
• One 15 oz. can black beans
• One 11-15 oz. can whole kernel corn

Mix all of the canned ingredients in a large bowl.  Add the chopped vegetables and the cooled marinade.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

My family likes to use Tostido scoop corn chips with this caviar.

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Ginger Pear Muffins

Twenty years ago, I bought a cookbook that specialized in all kinds of muffins to give my daughter-in-law in St. Louis for her birthday.  I don’t recall the name of the book, but before I put it in the mail, I copied a lot of interesting muffin recipes.   This is one of them, a family favorite for over 20 years.

GINGER PEAR MUFFINS

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (Canola)
• 3 Tblsp. molasses
• 1 egg
• 1-1/2 cups peeled, diced pears (or one 15 oz. can pears, drained and diced)
• 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Grease a 12-cup muffin tin, BOTTOMS ONLY (to allow muffins to “dome”)

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, molasses and egg.  Pour all at once into the flour mixture and stir just until flour mixture is incorporated.

Gently stir in the diced pears and chopped walnuts.

Spoon batter into greased muffin tins.  Bake @ 350 degrees F for approximately 25 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Remove muffins from tins and place on a wire rack.  Serve warm.  These muffins freeze well.

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