I'm Baaaaaaaaack!

It's been a while since I have posted.  I could tell you that I have been on vacation.  But the real truth is I've just not been in the blogging mood.  It just hasn't been there.  But at some point, you just gotta pick up and go on.  For my return post, I decided to focus on berries.  And yes, they are attached to a cake. 

I first found this recipe in an old Gourmet magazine, and thought it would make a good blog.  The recipe is for lemon sun cakes with berries and cream.  It just sounded so cute!

It makes six little cakes.  They are baked in small brioche molds.  If you don't have them, use a muffin tin.

I served my cakes with black raspberries (because I have a back yard full of them), blueberries, and red raspberries (because they were on sale).  Strawberries would have also been good in this mix.  These fruits contain a group of compounds, anthocyanins that are responsible for the red, purple, and blue colors of fruits, vegetables, and grains.  Some research shows that these compounds may reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.  My philosophy is that if you can prevent diseases and enjoy it at the same time, it's a win-win situation. 

For a full serving of fruit, serve with ½ cup of berries.

Lemon Sun Cakes with Berries and Cream

Serves 6.


Ingredients:

¾ cup plus 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
½ cup whole milk
3 cups mixed berries
1 Tablespoon sugar
½ cup chilled heavy cream

Directions:

1.  Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.  Generously butter molds and place on a baking sheet.

2.  Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Cream butter and sugar at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add egg and beat until combined.  Add vanilla and lemon zest.

3.  Add about one-third of the flour, followed by one-half of the milk.  Repeat until all
the flour and milk have been added.  Divide batter amount the molds, filling each mold about two-thirds full.  Bake until edges of cakes are golden and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.  Cool cakes in molds on a rack for 5 minutes.  Remove from molds and cool completely on racks.

4.  Combine sugar and cream.  Beat until soft peaks forms. 
 

I Got the Blues…And You Should Get Them Too

Generally speaking when we get the blues, it’s not a good thing. Getting the blues is generally associated with misfortune, loss of a job, betrayal. But there’s a new blue in town. It’s call anthocyanin and it’s the blue you need to get. Anthocyanins belong to a group of chemicals referred to as flavonoids. They are responsible for the flavor and aroma of fruits and vegetables. Anthocyanins help promote good health through protection against heart disease, slowing the aging process, and the initiation and promotion of cancer.

Anthocyanins are found in blue foods such as blueberries, plums, red cabbage, eggplant, blackberries and purple grapes.

Data shows that blue foods make up only 3% of the average American’s fruit and vegetable intake. Here are a few ideas to help you increase your consumption of blue foods. Toss a few blueberries or blackberries into your morning cereal. Blend some fruit with milk or yogurt for a blue smoothie. Add a few berries to your muffin or pancake batter. Add berries to your dinner salad. And finally, just eat them. Fruits and vegetables require very little preparation and they make great snacks.

Here are a few recipes to help you get started.

Blueberry Dumplings

Serves 6 to 8.

Filling:
4 cups fresh blueberries
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup water
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves

Dumplings:
1½ cups all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
¾ cup milk
Vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt

Directions:

For filling:
Mix all ingredients in a 12-inch skillet. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until berries soften and mixture thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.

For Dumplings:
Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles a fine meal. (Mixture can be prepared up to this point and refrigerated for a day or two.) Add milk; stir until just combined. You should have a very sticky dough.

Drop batter by tablespoonfuls onto simmering berry mixture, placing close together. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover skillet and simmer until dumplings are firm and tester inserted in center of dumplings comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Note: Dumplings will not brown. If you want to brown yours, place them under the broiler for a few minutes. I don’t think the dumpling gods will mind if yours have a little color. After all, the whole idea is to eat some good for you blue foods.

If you want to consume even more blue foods try these recipes:

Grilled Eggplant Stack
 http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1634738
Rustic Berry Tart - http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/rustic_berry_tart.html
Blueberry Sauce - http://www.bhg.com/recipe/desserts/blueberry-sauce/
Summer Berry Crisp- http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Summer-Berry-Crisp-240846