Blueberries, Berry Berry Good To Me!

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blueberries, blueberry galette, blueberry preserves, blueberry scones, breakfast, food

Blueberry galettes, scones, and preserves

My garden’s contribution to the above yummiliciousness? Exactly 14 blueberries. You know why? Birds! Freaking, flaming, plundering birds! Please excuse my language, but if you had 3 blueberry bushes and came up with just 14 blueberries, you’d be cursing, too. Especially when in the Spring you saw loads of flowers.

I planted my blueberries last Fall, so I didn’t have an expectation of a great harvest this year. But when I saw those clusters of flowers, I started hoping. Then I saw tiny green fruits, and the hope grew. Then, a lot of the green fruits started falling. And I despaired and wondered, why? Turned out blueberries need cross-pollination for better fruiting. So I made a mental note to plant a different variety this Fall, and forget about getting homegrown blueberries altogether this year.

But then, some clusters stayed on, and were ripening. Maybe a neighbor had a different variety and the bees did their jobs. And I began to entertain the idea of a small harvest. Until I found out about the 14 blueberries. Actually, make that 15. I ate one off a bush last week.

I was so disappointed I decided to go to Mood’s farm, instead. And picked myself lotsa fruits.

That’s my new favorite word, lotsa, because it makes me happy. It means 30 lbs of fruits. And 30 lbs of fruits, you know, would make anybody happy. And I was. Until I got home. Now I had to deal with them. And I dealt. As you can see.

Blueberry Scones
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter
1 cup fresh blueberries
2/3 cup buttermilk or 1 beaten egg + buttermilk enough to make the 2/3 cup.

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Using pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.
4. Add blueberries, stir to distribute evenly.
5. Add buttermilk all at once, stirring just until moistened.
6. On floured surface, gently knead dough 5-6 times. Do not overwork the dough.
7. Divide dough into 2 balls. Flatten each into a disk, about 3/4 inch thick. Cut each disk into 6 triangles.

8. Place on baking sheets. Brush tops with beaten egg mixed with milk, if you like.
9. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with butter.

***

Blueberry Galettes
Sometimes referred to as rustic pies or crostatas. They are essentially the same. Basically, they are free-form pies, which I find just as easy, if not easier than regular pies.

The crust
Please refer to my sweet crust pastry (pate sucree) recipe here. This recipe makes 2 (6-inch) galettes.

The filling (for 2 galettes)
3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 tbsp + 2 tsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp butter

1. Make the crust. Cut dough in half, and form into 2 flat disks. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. By the way, this dough can be made ahead of time and kept in the freezer until ready to use.
2. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
3. After the disks have been chilled, roll each into an 8-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. You may need to dust the top with more flour as needed, to prevent sticking. Transfer them to the baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Toss blueberries with the flour and the 3 tbsp of the sugar. Divide blueberries into 2 portions for the two galettes. Place the blueberries on the dough circles, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.
5. Gently fold the border of the pastry over the blueberries, pleating it to make an edge.

6. Dot with butter, sprinkle with the additional sugar. If you like, you can brush pastry with beaten egg mixed with milk to give it that golden glossy look.
7. Bake for 17-20 minutes, until the crust is golden. Let the galettes cool before transferring them to a serving platter, about 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, with or without ice cream. It is just divine!

The preserves, I don’t think you need a recipe, do you? If you do, just let me know. You have to try to make homemade preserves at least once. There is no store-bought preserves that can possibly compare with homemade.

After all that, thank goodness there are still blueberries left, because I’ll just have to try the chilled blueberry soup Jay Bee talked about in her post. But that would be for tomorrow. And then, I’ll have to go through the peaches.

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