The blueberries are here!!!

I've got a long list of things to do this week and I really didn't have time to devote to being Little Susie Homemaker or a Martha Stewart wannabe BUT the blueberries arrived. You know what they say about looking a gift horse in the mouth - I simply smiled and said, "Thanks."

My mind was saying, "OMG, I hope I can find room in the fridge for all these!" Of course, the refrigerator comes in handy for a day or two, but the fact remains, you need to DO something with this bounty in a timely manner. You can only nibble so many and you can only throw a minimal amount on a bowl of cereal in the morning and how many bowls of cereal can really be consumed in a morning before everyone is late for work?

So, I started baking. (In case your paddling the same boat I am, I'll share a few ideas here.)

First came an old family recipe : Blueberry Zonkey.

It has long been a favorite. I’m not sure where the name or recipe originated but when we mention it, no one has ever heard of “Zonkey.” It can be made with any fresh fruit (berries, peaches, apples, etc.), but we particularly like it with fresh blueberries. My sister-in-law makes it with mixed fresh fruits, too.

3 Tbsp. melted butter
½ cup sugar
1 cup flour
½ cup milk
2 tsp. baking powder
1 pint fruit
1 cup water
1 cup sugar

Mix first 5 ingredients together, beat well and pour into a greased 8” square pan. Place the fruit on top of the butter. Pour on the water and then the sugar.

**NOTE : The ready to bake pan looks very strange as it goes in the oven - sort of “swampy.” It creates a nice crusty top while baking.

Bake at 375° for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown.

(I was going to post a pic of the finished zonkey, but I left the guys alone in the room with half a pan this afternoon and came back to find an empty pan! I think they consider an 8" pan similar to a personal pan pizza!!)


Then, I moved on to Blueberry Mini-Pies.

For these, I start with ready to use refrigerated pie dough. (If you're so inclined, you can make your own dough of course!) I roll the circle of dough to make it just a little thinner and then use the lip of a glass tumbler to cut mini circles approx 3 1/2" in diameter. I can get 10 mini circles from the two pie pieces in a package.

Set these aside while you mix the filling.

1 1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 T. flour
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
"pinch" of salt

Place about 2 T. of the mixture in the center of each circle of dough. Fold each circle in half and seal edges with a fork.

Cut 2-3 small slits in the top of each pie.

Place pies on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes until golden brown..

**You make a glaze for the baked pies with 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla and add milk to reach the proper consistency to drizzle.

You can also make these into fried pies simply by frying them in about an inch of hot oil in a saucepan until nicely browned on each side. Fried pies are best served warm and particularly good with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top!

I've still got berries left so I'm planning to whip up some muffins and maybe some blueberry bread, too.