Growing up my Grandpa was the picture of the ideal man. He had a successful 50 year marriage to my Grandmother, was incredibly smart, charming – and the finest of company. We used to dance to the King on I – the old classic 45 boxed set. It would play on my grandparent’s old turntable . I remember him etching a piece of metal with a poem to my Grandmother – bear in mind he was already in his 80’s. He was a keeper.
…and as with many men, food was the key to his heart. Oh how he savoured a great meal – and even more so if there was ketchup on hand (much to the dismay of my very proper Grandmother:).
Unbelievably, three decades later I am making meals for my guy. James is one of the best people to cook for because he enjoys each and every morsel, every single meal. We had a lovely dinner this Sunday. I whipped up a roast chicken, a la Julia Child, with milk gravy and root vegetables (to be shared in another post). We finished with the appropriately named Blueberry Boy Bait – a recipe I found through The Smitten Kitchen. One of my favourite foodie blogs.
Ah how I love my boys;) And this is how I show it:
Blueberry Boy Bait Recipe Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour (I prefer organic unbleached)
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp table sea salt
1 c butter (room temperature)
3/4 c packed light brown sugar (I prefer organic)
1/2 c granulated sugar (pure cane)
3 large eggs (free range at room temperature)
1 c whole milk (room temperature)
1 c blueberries,fresh or frozen (If using frozen take straight out of the freezer)
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of vanilla
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line a 9 inch square baking pan with parchment. Sift together the dry ingredients and set them aside. Mix milk and vanilla and set to side. In a large bowl combine butter and brown sugar and cream with electric mixer on high until light and fluffy. This process takes about two minutes. Add eggs one at a time. I beat each egg into the mixture on high until light – about 30 seconds per egg. Make sure the mixture is evenly mixed by scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Then I opt for hand mixing. Using a wooden spoon or I mix 1/3 of the flour mixture alternating with 1/2 of the milk mixture until just incorporated. Do NOT over mix. Then fold in blueberries. Spread evenly in pan and bake for approximately 50 minutes and let cool for 1/2 an hour before turning out.
* Notes
As per usual I make subtle changes with many of the recipes I use. This is no exception. The Smitten Kitchen makes a topping – I skip this step altogether eliminating the extra 1/4 c of sugar – opting instead to incorporate all of the blueberries and cinnamon into the batter.
This recipe also brings up the topic of seasonality. Typically I make foods that are in season – blueberries are most definitely NOT in season. However they freeze exceptionally well. Make it a priority to freeze lovely wild blueberries when they are in season so they can be enjoyed all year long! If you are going to use frozen blueberries be sure to take them straight from the freezer – otherwise the juices will spoil the color of the final cake.
