Recipe: Danielle's Blueberry Coffee Cake

I love wild Maine blueberries. They are smaller, sweeter, and don’t explode in baked goods like larger high bush blueberries. I’ve also noticed the smaller size of wild blueberries allows greater density of fruit in cakes and muffins, giving them a studded, jewel-like appearance.

For many years, my family made a blueberry buckle during the peak of Maine blueberry season. Buckle is a type of crumb cake that has a wobbly or “buckled” top, due to the berries or fruit softening during the baking process. I loved our version of blueberry buckle, but I also realized it needed some updating. Here’s my newest version, renamed Danielle’s Blueberry Coffee Cake. It is sweet, moist, and studded with blueberries. It also has a lot of crispy, sweet topping; my boyfriend’s favorite part. I’ve really enjoyed revising this recipe, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Blueberry Coffee Cake
2 Cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 Cup white sugar
1/2 Cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 Cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup plain yogurt
2 to 3 Cups of blueberries (I use 3/4 of a quart)

Crumb Topping
1 Cup flour
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 Cup butter

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚. Grease a 9 x 13 cake pan, or two 9 inch round pans.
2. Cream butter and sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix well.
3. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, then add to the wet ingredients. Mix well, then add the yogurt.
4. Gently fold blueberries into the batter, blending until the batter is evenly studded.
5. Spread the batter into prepared pan(s).
6. Make the topping: cream the butter and sugar, then add flour and spices.
7. Spread the topping over the cake using your fingers to even spread it over the surface. There will be little gaps because it’s crumb topping.
8. Bake for 60 - 70 minutes, or until the center of the cake is set.

Serve warm with coffee or ice cream, or at room temperature. This cake is delicious for breakfast and snacking. Don't let it sit too long, though. It only lasts three or four days at room temperature.

Spicy Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

It is cucumber season! I know this because my very first vegetable garden is growing in my backyard. Virtually every plant drowned last week, except for the cucumbers. They've soaked in the rain and, yes, the time has come to eat them. I've decided to celebrate with a falafel dinner. Falafel is the super tasty Mid-Eastern fried chick-pea patty. (I know, I get really odd looks when I bring it to work for my lunch.)

Okay, I don’t make my own falafel. Unlike my friend John, who recently made delicious falafel from scratch, I use a dried mix from the grocery store. I love to serve the cooked falafel in whole wheat pittas with sliced cucumbers, lettuce, onions, hummus, and this delicious yogurt sauce. I came up with this recipe when I was in college. At the time, I was a little confused about Tzatziki, the traditional Greek yogurt sauce. I didn’t have a recipe, so I guessed what might be in it. I came up with this sauce, which is not Tzatziki, but is a lovely blend of spicy heat and mellowing coolness. The recipe is flexible; you can add more or less of everything except the yogurt. If you have tahini, it also adds to the body of the sauce, making the flavor fuller.

Spicy Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
1 1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 jalapeño, minced (remove the ribs and seeds for less heat)
1/2 cucumber
1/2 small, red onion
Juice from 1 lime (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (you can swap it for dill, too)
optional: 1 tablespoon of sesame tahini

1. Measure yogurt into a medium sized bowl. Add the jalapeño.
2. Chop the cucumber and onion into small chunks.
3. Finely chop the cilantro.
4. Add the cucumber, onion, cilantro, lime juice, and (if you have some) the tahini to the yogurt mixture. Stir well.
5. Allow the yogurt sauce to rest in the refrigerator for at least one hour, letting the flavors meld and intensify.

Serve with falafel, or anything else that needs a spicy, yet cooling sauce.

Dinner After the Farmers' Market

When I get home from the Farmers’ Market, I always am excited by dinner prospects. It is hard to figure out what to cook, because my kitchen is often overflowing with fresh, delicious produce. One dinner, however, has become a household favorite. B and I eat mussels in a traditional garlic-wine sauce with a loaf of Ciabatta bread from Zu Bread. The bread is wonderfully absorbent and chewy; a perfect tool to soak up the delicious broth from the mussels. We add a fresh vegetable salad made from greens and whatever else looks good. This dinner is perfectly finished with ice cream topped with fresh berries.

Mussels (Adapted from Blue Dragon’s Favorite Wild Mussel Recipe)
Serves 2 hungry adults
Blue Dragon Mussels are sold at Crystal Spring Farmers’ Market. Harvested locally, these mussels are supremely delicious. They are also inexpensive, with market prices last posted at $2 per pound, or $5 for 3 pounds.

2lbs of native mussels
4 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 of a chopped, white or spanish onion
Butter or olive oil
1 cup white wine
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup fresh, mixed herbs (my favorite is a mix of parsley, thyme, and basil)

1. Wash the mussels in cold water. Pull off any beards that are still attached.
2. Cover the bottom of a large frying pan or pot with butter or olive oil. Over medium heat, add the garlic and onion. Sauté until the onions are translucent.
3. Add wine and water. Bring to a boil.
4. Add the mussels, and cover. Cook over medium high heat for about ten minutes, or until the mussels open.
5. Add the herbs, then cook for another 5 minutes
6. Crack fresh black pepper, and sprinkle salt to taste, over the mussels when done cooking.

Serve hot, in bowls, with the broth ladled over the mussels. (Don’t forget to put a clean bowl on the table for the empty shells.) Don’t eat any mussels that didn’t open. Use bread to soak up the delicious broth.

Honey Tarragon Wax Beans

In my opinion, yellow “wax” beans are the sad middle sister to the bright, crisp green beans. When I was little, I would pick long yellow beans from my grandmother’s garden. She would steam or boil them, and serve them with a little butter and salt. Alas, even with my grandmother’s loving attention, wax beans tasted flat and bland to me. Thus, it was surprising when I was tempted to buy some at my local farm stand yesterday. The beans looked pretty with their lemony yellow slender bodies and curling green tips. I bought two pounds, and then plotted this new recipe. I wanted the beans to taste sweet, yet I also liked the traditional vinegar in the classic three-bean salad. It was really important, too, for the beans to avoid the soggy, mealy texture I remembered. I like the end result a lot, which gives the beans a lovely tangy-sweet dressing without overpowering their delicate flavor.

Please let me know what you think!

Honey Tarragon Wax Beans

1 1/2 pounds fresh wax beans
1/4 Cup apple cider vinegar
1/8 Cup and a squeeze of honey
2 Tablespoons fresh, chopped tarragon
salt and pepper to taste

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil. Meanwhile, snap the tops from the wax beans. Break them into bite sized pieces, or leave them whole, whichever you prefer. (I used a mix of both snapped chunks and whole beans for visual texture.)
2. When the water is boiling, add the wax beans. Boil them for 6-8 minutes, just until they are al dente!
3. While the beans are cooking, measure the vinegar into a glass measuring cup. Squeeze in 1/8 Cup of honey (watch for the liquid level in the cup to rise to the midpoint between 1/4 Cup and 1/2 Cup).
4. Microwave the vinegar and honey for 30 seconds, or until the honey is melted. Add the chopped tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well.
5. Prepare a strainer in the sink for the beans. Then, put very cold water and a lot of ice in a large bowl. This ice bath will “shock” the beans and stop them from continuing to cook after they come off the stove.
6. When the beans are done, strain them, then toss them in the ice water. Gently stir until the beans have cooled down. Then strain them again.
7. Toss the now-cool beans with the dressing.
Serve at room temperature or cold.

Peach Salsa

Peach Salsa

This is a delicious summer salsa. It is great with tortilla chips, or as an accompaniment to fish tacos and black bean burritos.

5 ripe peaches (or nectarines)
1/2 Vidalia onion
1 jalapeño or cherry bomb pepper, seeds and ribs removed for less heat
1 orange bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper

Chop the peaches and onion into small, bite-sized chunks. Seed and dice the peppers. Mince the jalapeño peppers. Mix all ingredients in a non-reactive bowl. You can serve the salsa immediately, or refrigerate it for the next day. Time allows the flavors to meld, but can also make your fridge smell onion-y.

Fresh Corn Salad

Fresh Corn Salad
This is a Southwestern style salad that balances the sweetness of fresh corn with earthy black beans and tart lime juice. The jalapeño is optional, depending on your comfort with spiciness.
I am not enough of a go-getter to use dried beans, but they certainly would be a nice replacement for the canned. And if your cherry tomato plants look as sad and green as mine, you could swap them for diced tomatoes.

4 ears of fresh corn
1 large can of black beans
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 or 2 colored bell peppers, seeded and cut into small pieces
1 handful of cilantro, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and cut into tiny pieces
2 limes
salt and pepper

Boil a medium pot of water on the stove.
While you are waiting for the water to boil, husk the corn and slice off the kernels.
Put the corn in the pot and boil for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the corn is barely cooked.
Drain the corn, and place in a large, pretty serving bowl.
Drain and rinse the black beans. Add to the corn.
Add peppers, tomatoes, jalapeño, and cilantro to the corn and black beans.
Squeeze both limes over the salad.
Add salt and pepper to taste, and mix well.