Late Summer Blueberry Crumble

What's better than gobbling down handful after handful of fresh blueberries? How about picking them yourself, sneaking a few (okay... a LOT from the bucket as you go), and watching your toddler do the same! 

My Grandpa BoBo (term of endearment, I swear) lives on a blueberry farm in Olympia, Washington. Every summer, as kids, we would drive down and spend a day... or two... picking as many blueberries as we could. Grandpa would then weight them - the bigger berries, the better, though! - and pay us for our labor. Of course... all of the smoked salmon, hot peppers, and various blueberry dishes were payment enough for me!


This summer, my husband and I took our 20 month-old son down to the farm with the rest of my family for a supremely glorious late-summer afternoon of berry picking. Not only did we find THE BEST blueberries ever, but we got to catch up with my parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, while sharing some of my past with our little guy. It was awesome. 


Here is a recipe - adapted as noted - that I found on AllRecipes.com, thanks to my iPhone's "AllRecipes Dinner Spinner" app. I made it last night, and it's already half-gone...

Late Summer Blueberry Crumble Bars

Late Summer Blueberry Crumble Bars Recipe
(Adapted from AllRecipes)
Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar (plus extra 1/2 cup for blueberries)
• I used 1/2 cup white and 1/2 cup light brown for extra flavor (and 1/4 cup white, 1/4 cup brown for the blueberries)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 Tbsp. nutmeg
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract (plus 1 tsp. for the blueberries)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 cups fresh blueberries (frozen is fine - it's what I used and prefer, as they hold their shape better)
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• Enough cinnamon sugar for dusting

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 inch pan (I used cooking spray - worked great!).
In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking powder.  Use a  pastry cutter to blend in the butter, egg and vanilla. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan so that the entire bottom is covered and one, even layer.
In another bowl, stir together the sugar, vanilla, and cornstarch. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer. Dust the crumble with cinnamon sugar.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Review:
This was my first ever Crumble! My mom made them every summer when we were kids, so I knew I loved them, but the thought that I could make one of my own never entered my head. This recipe fit in immensely well with my "Eat Seasonally" mantra, and it also was low-egg... something that I have to be careful of with my son's egg allergy. It stays moist, but has a flaky, crumbly top (go figure, right?), and would loan itself to many different fruits. I'm already contemplating a strawberry-chocolate version...

The Changing of the (dietary) Seasons

The idea of "eating seasonally" is something my husband and I have thrown around for the last few years. We usually toss ideas around, debate a bit, and end up with these questions:

1. How do you find out what's in season?
2. Where would you find what you're looking for?
3. Isn't it expensive... all those fresh fruits and vegetables?
4. Do cattle, poultry, and fish have "seasons"? If so, when's the best time to get them?
5. Can you still eat seasonally by shopping at a major grocery chain?

After losing nearly 200 lbs through weight loss surgery, hard work, and diet changes back in 2006, having a rapidly growing toddler, an abundance of local farmer's markets in the Seattle area, and a nearly obsessive love of cooking for my family... I decided to take the plunge and just DO it already.

Pretty words, to be sure... but how the hell do I put it into action? I mean, really; look at the title of this blog - it is't "So Much Free Time, So Tasty!", is it?

As with any lifestyle change - and yes, that is DEFINITELY what it's going to take - it is important to break things down in to manageable pieces.
Do I want to serve all organic, non-GMO food at every meal? Yes.
Is that going to happen overnight (or any time in the near future)? Ha. Not likely.

My goal for this season (spring) is to only make dinners that contain items that are in-season, barring of course spices, stocks, pastas and (for now), grains. That means that any fruits, veggies, and meats that I buy must be in-season... and, even more, preferably in-season in my state. There are so many reasons to eat local; less cost, fresher/riper produce, promotes the local economy, and it just plain tastes better.

So, there you have it - one busy mom's goal for her family, and their very hungry bellies. I would seriously encourage you to give seasonal eating a try, and see how it might benefit you and your families!

Stay Tasty,
Krystal