Chez Darren Andrew

Tag Archives: Blueberry


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Lemon Blueberry Bars with Basil Whipped Cream

Carelessly, I inadvertently forgot to publish this recipe last summer when I had tons of lemons and nothing to do with them. Aside from a refreshing pitcher of lemonade, these lemon bars will satisfy any sweet tooth and leave you feeling light and refreshed. I like these bars the most when served slightly frozen. I hope you enjoy them!

Adapted from David Lebovitz.com, Whole Lemon Bars

Crust

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  •  1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla

Lemon Topping

  • 1 lemon, scrubbed well, chopped and seeded. (Try to find a lemon with a thin rind or with as little pith possible)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 4 teaspoons corn starch
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
  • 1 cup of fresh blueberries (If you can find the tiny wild blueberries at the farmers market use them!)

Basil Whipped Cream

  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 2 tbsp powdered sugar
  • chiffonade of basil (or mint)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 10 x 10 baking pan with aluminum foil by overturning the pan and wrapping it tightly with foil. Carefully remove the foil and turn the pan right side up. Place the foil into the pan and smooth out any creases.

Combine all the crust ingredients in a bowl and press the mixture into the foil lined baking pan with a spatula or your fingers. Bake the crust for 25 minutes until it is golden brown.

In a food processor prepare the topping by combine the lemon chunks, sugar and lemon juice. Process until combined, with a few small chunks. Add the remaining topping ingredients, excluding the blueberries, and process until it is almost smooth.

When the crust is done, turn the temperature to 300 degrees. Pour the topping over the hot crust and evenly sprinkle blueberries into it. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for an hour then carefully remove the bars in the aluminum and let cool in the refrigerator for an hour. Remove the aluminum and slice into bars. Serve as is or with basil whipped cream.

Whipped Cream – Personally I like to make my whipped cream by hand, the secrete is to have very cold equipment. Place a metal bowl and whisk in the freezer for 15 minutes before whipping cream and you’ll see how easy it is! Add heavy whipping cream, sugar, vanilla to the bowl and whisk thoroughly until stiff peaks form. Add the Basil (or mint if you’re not feeling adventurous) and stir it into the whipped cream.

Et voila, a great summer desert with a fun twist.

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Preserving Summer

Having spent nearly a year in Ottawa, I’ve come to really appreciate the mild west coast weather. The weather here comes in intense spells which really messes with my sanity. The bright side of hot summer weather is having the Byward Market full of its delicious bounty. As I’m fully aware, it won’t last forever, the summer is sneaking away from us slowly and the fruits will fade from the market stands. So in light of my pessimism I’ve decided to prepare myself for the sobering realities that are dark frigid winter mornings. I’ve always been interested in canning and preserving, I just haven’t had the time to try my hand at the process. So after I made the last batch of refrigerator jam and tasting the intense flavor of summer in it, I had to get myself in gear. This weekend is the last weekend for prime strawberries in Ottawa, so I purchased 12 pints and made jam.

Strawberry-Vanilla-Lime Jam

Although the vanilla and lime are subtle, they add a little bit of je ne sais quoi to the final product. Hopefully the summer sunshine will shine on me when I open it up in dark days of Winter.

  • 12 pints of Strawberries – 12 cups – washed, hulled and sliced
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar
  • 70 ml lime juice
  • 1/2 tbsp vanilla
  • 1 pack of No Sugar Needed Pectin

Start by sterilizing your jars and equipment. I produced eight 250 ml wide mouth jars of jam with this recipe. I’m not going to go over all the nitty-gritty details on how you should go about canning. There are plenty of good websites that can help you out with the process which I will provide at the end of this post.

In a heavy bottom, non reactive pot, mash you strawberries one layer at  a time, until all strawberries are mashed. You can determine how chunky you’d like your jam. With a wooden spoon, stir in half a cup of sugar, the pectin, vanilla and lime juice. Turn the heat on high and bring to a rapid boil, until you cannot stir the liquid down. Add the rest of the sugar and continue to stir for three minutes. Turn off the heat remove from the stove, skim off the foam and let rest for five minutes. This step will help the jam set so that the fruit does not float to the top of your jars, it is a purely aesthetic step. Using sanitized jars, funnel and measuring cup, measure the jam into jars leaving 1/4 inch of head room at the top of each jar to allow the processing step to create a vacuum inside the jar. Place the sanitized lids on top of each jar, screw the bands on finger-tip tight and  process the jars using the water bath method, with one inch of water covering the jars for 10 minutes(from the time the water begins to boil). Remove processed jars to a wire rack and let cool on the counter for 24 hours. Test the seals to make sure they have created a vacuum by pressing down on the indented lid to make sure it does not pop back (remember the Snapple lids? If it makes that sound put that jar in the refrigerator and use it within three weeks.)

Got it? Easy as pie… You could probably put some of this delicious jam in pie if you want. Or on Ice Cream, in crepes, on toast… or use a spoon and manger!

Now that I’ve got the process down, I’m excited to try some different varieties.

What is your favourite way to use jam? What kinds do you like?

Leave me a post below!

Links to some Canning and Preserving Websites:

Pick Your Own – Making your own Jam!

Food in Jars

Punk Domestics

Canadian Living – Canning and Preserving


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Blueberry Zucchini Muffins

Adapted from Zucchini Muffins By Fiona Haynes, About.com

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 3 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 cups frozen blueberries
  • 2 cups shredded zucchini, packed
  • zest of one lemon
  • 4 tbsp canola oil
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups yogurt
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 2 tbs flax seeds
  • a sprinkling of sugar before baking

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. This makes a dozen large muffins of two dozen  regular sized, so choose your pan accordingly. I prefer muffins that do not have paper stuck to them, so I sprayed the pan with Pam.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and sugar. In a medium bowl, combine thoroughly  zucchini, lemon zest, canola oil, eggs and yogurt.

Toss blueberries into dry ingredients and coat them so that they will not turn your muffins blue! Make a well in the dry ingredients; add zucchini mixture and walnuts. Stir until just moist. Do not over mix. Spoon batter into muffin cups and sprinkle with sugar (Demerara would be great).

Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

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