Blueberry Pie

I can't believe it has taken me this long to blog about my blueberries. I feel like I've deprived people of blueberry deliciousness. Sorry! So a while back, mid-July to be exact, I decided to plan a blueberry picking expedition. That expedition resulted in a bucket full of big, ripe blueberries. Once I got home, one of my friends asked what I planned to do with all of them? As if just planning to stuff myself full wasn't a viable option. Eventually I came to terms with the fact that I realistically couldn't eat a whole bucket of blueberries before they went bad and decided to try my hand at making a blueberry pie. After scouting the internet for recipes, I came across this one and I have to say I was surprised at how easy it was. I always thought fruit pies were more complicated. Well not blueberry pies. They're about as easy as it gets. No peeling, no chopping, just mix all the ingredients, pour into a crust, cover, bake and you're done!

Blueberry Pie
3/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, and cinnamon, and sprinkle over blueberries.
3. Line pie dish with one pie crust. Pour berry mixture into the crust, and dot with butter. Cut remaining pastry into 1/2 - 3/4 inch wide strips, and make lattice top. Crimp and flute edges.
4. Bake pie on lower shelf of oven for about 50 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

Original Recipe Link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/blueberry-pie/detail.aspx

Summer Sangria

Nothing says summer like a glass of delicious sangria. I don't even like wine but I also don't consider sangria to be wine. It's more like a delicious, chilled, summery drink with a wine base. Yes, we'll just go with that description. I also like to combine my sangria with board games and periodically hold a Sangria & Sangria Night at my apartment. Last Sunday, was one of those nights. I made both red and wine sangria and my friends finished off both. I don't have a specific type of wine I use, I just go with whatever I pull out of my wine rack. However, if you're using a really sweet wine such as Muscat, I would suggest cutting out the sugar.

Summer Sangria
1 (750 milliliter) bottle of  red or white wine
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup white sugar
1 lime sliced
1 lemon sliced
1 orange sliced
1 apple chopped into small cubes
1 can of ginger ale

1. Combine all the ingredients, except for ginger ale, and chill, preferably overnight.
2. Stir in ginger ale prior to serving.

Summer Corn Chowder

I have a sweet tooth and love to bake, but I also like trying out all kinds of other recipes. I have a list of my favorites and this one definitely makes the list. The chowder is one of my most popular things to make in the spring and summer when all the sweet corn is in season and on sale. It's delicious and also healthy. It's loaded with colorful vegetables and uses low fat milk instead of heavy cream.


Corn Chowder Recipe
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
    1 strip of bacon or 1 teaspoon of bacon fat (substitute 1/2 Tbsp of butter for vegetarian option)
    1/2 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
    1/2 large carrot, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
    1/2 celery stalk, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
    3 ears of sweet corn, kernels removed from the cobs (about 2 cups), cobs reserved (see steps for taking corn off the cob)
    1 bay leaf
    3 1/2 cups milk, whole or low fat
    1 medium Yukon Gold potato, or Russet, peeled and diced
    1/4 red bell pepper, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
    Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
    1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the bacon strip (skip this step for vegetarian option, just add more butter) and fry until the bacon renders its fat, but doesn't begin to brown, 3 or 4 minutes. Add the onion and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, until soft. Add the carrot and celery and cook for 4 or 5 more minutes.
2. Break the corn cobs in half and add them to the saucepan. Add the milk and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a bare simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes. Make sure the heat is as low as can be and still maintain a gentle simmer (on our stove we had to use the "warm" setting) to prevent scalding the milk on the bottom of the pan.
3. Discard the cobs, the bacon strip, and the bay leaf. Raise the heat, add the potatoes, red pepper, 1 teaspoon of salt, fresh ground pepper to taste, bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost fork tender.
4. Raise the heat, add the corn kernels and the thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Original Recipe Link: Corn Chowder Recipe