Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie

Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie

Topped with the best blueberries summer can offer Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie is plump with a creamy custard filling.

“A gardener had trimmed the ancient roses, planted geraniums, laid out the vegetable flat, and brought the living spring into little channels to wander back and forth through the garden.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Topped with the best blueberries summer can offer Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie is plump with a creamy custard filling. Cradled inside a cinnamon laced graham cracker crumb crust this pie is ready for any occasion. READ MORE . . .

Blueberry Crumble

Blueberry Crumble with Ice Cream

Dive into summer with Blueberry Crumble. Lush, seasonal, easy to make, this is an all-American dessert. The crumble is reminiscent of oatmeal cookies, hovering gloriously above the jammy blueberries. This is summer in every bite.

“When June came the grasses headed out and turned brown, and the hills turned a brown which was not brown but a gold and saffron and red—an indescribable color.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Summer has overtaken me. A deep dive into the season is all I seem to care about. Even my dreams have been drenched in sunshine. One was set in Paris. The early summer heat bounced across the stately buildings, warming all the old stone that was still cold with winter. We went to a museum with air-conditioning. Chilled, we zig zagged into blinding light, then a cafe. Perched on those classic red and white bistro chairs, the men were bare chested and tan, intent on their political conversations. Women in washed out linen and humongous straw hats dripping with vintage ribbon flowers. Bored with Paris, they were waiting for their annual summer holiday on the French Rivera. I thought to offer them some all-American Blueberry Crumble but it was just a dream. READ MORE . . .

Blueberry Poppy Seed Brunch Cake

Blueberry Poppy Seed Brunch Cake

A Cake for all the Berries

“Maybe she had stayed in Watsonville. There was Pajaro, and that was the railroad section, and then the Pajaro River and the bridge into Watsonville.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

This recipe was the Pillsbury Bake-Off winner in 1990. Twenty-six years later it’s still fantastic. The Blueberry Poppy Seed Brunch Cake is easy to make and a joy to share. This is a coffee cake than transcends brunch and moves right into dessert territory. An exuberant lemon poppy seed cake gone rogue by making room for a gigantic pile of blueberries. So many blueberries, some barely burst open, other melt into jam and then just before serving more fresh berries are piled on top! And yes the cake is good too. I thought the cake edges might have gotten over-baked, but the slightly crisp edges are reminiscent of a buttery lemon poppy seed scone. The cake is soft and tender, yet sturdy enough to cradle all the berries. READ MORE . . .

Blueberry Muffins with Doughnut Topping

Blueberry Muffins with Doughnut Topping

Blue Velvet

“They left the valley road and drove into the worn and rutted hills over a set of wheel tracks gulleyed by the winter rains. The horses strained into their collars and the buckboard rocked and swayed. The year had not been kind to the hills, and already in June they were dry and the stones showed through the short, burned feed.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

Spending time picking blueberries was a wonderful way to begin summer. With bursts of sunshine punching through a sky filled with cotton candy fog I bravely left my sweatshirt in the car. It didn’t take very long to load up with blueberries. I came home with a bucket of blue velvet. Pure summer bliss! READ MORE . . .

Blueberry Pie

Blueberry Pie

Indigo Summer

“No pies for three months. Tom said, We can’t get through it. We’ll have to move to another place.”

East of Eden, John Steinbeck

Inspiration

We picked blueberries for the first time this year. It was a revelation. Unlike the bland tasting blueberries often found at the grocery store the South Moon and O’Neal blueberries we picked at High Ground Organics were bright and crisp. With a faint hint of tartness from the appealing indigo blue skin to the sublime sweet centers these blueberries struck a perfect balance between between sweet and tart. READ MORE . . .