Birthdays and blueberries.

June is a big month for birthdays in my family. Mine is June 5th, my nephew Shane's is June 22nd, and my Mom's was yesterday (June 30th). Mom doesn't look it, but she just turned 58. She looks as good as she does, at least in part, because she's always been super health-conscious. When she was a kid and teenager, she participated in all manner of exotic athletic pursuits, including baton-twirling and belly-dancing. At one time, she hoped to be a school gym teacher, but instead she got married at age 20 to my Dad, who already had two small children. As busy as she was with two (and eventually three) small children, she always took the time to eat healthy and exercise. When I was little, we used to go for walks or bike rides pretty much every day, and twice each week, I would sit reading in a school gymnasium as she took her weekly aerobics class. Now, many years later, Mom still does aerobics every week, gets up early to catch exercise shows on TV, and takes my little niece Greta (above) for walks while my sister-in-law takes her own fitness classes. So, thanks Mom, for setting a good example for us.

For both Father's Day and Mom's birthday, I made two delicious treats involving blueberries. Fruity desserts are my favorite kind, so I always get excited when berry season rolls around. Back in 2006, when I was still at Yale, I got a great summer internship which featured all manner of fun social activities for my fellow interns and I. One of those events was blueberry-picking at one of my favorite CT places: Bishop's Orchards (http://www.bishopsorchards.com/).

The trip wound up falling on one of the hottest days of that summer, so only the die-hard foodies among the interns decided to go. Given the small numbers, my supervisor generously allowed me to bring my roommate Matt along for the ride. Matt and I were best friends for all three of our years at Yale, and probably spent 75% of that time at restuarants or in the kitchen (the other 25% we spent talking about Harry Potter and watching "Lost"). This is how I'll always remember Matt:

When we arrived at Bishop's, we were told that we had an hour to pick as many blueberries as we wanted. As long as we could stand the heat and keep picking, all the berries were free. Matt and I were up to that challenge. We walked away with well over 20 pounds of blueberries. Thus began challenge #2: using 2o+ pounds of blueberries. We ate them raw, put them on salads, blended them in smoothies (with yogurt before work, with vodka and triple sec after work), and baked them into whatever creations we could imagine. To this day, whenever I cook with blueberries, I think of that time. Sigh.

So, in honor of birthdays and blueberries, here are three great, easy recipes which use the same basic ingredients:

Blueberry sauce:

All you need for this is 1/2 to 1 pint of blueberries and some red wine. Just put the blueberries in a small sauce pan with enough red wine to cover them and simmer over low-medium heat, stirring often, until they form into a sauce. You can use the sauce for ice cream, crepes, other desserts, whatever. This basic recipe works with all kinds of berries, fresh and frozen. I use it all the time.

Blueberry lemon muffins:

This is another Food Network recipe, from the cookbook How to Boil Water (http://amzn.com/0696226863). It says that it makes 12 muffins, but I usually get 18 from this recipe. Also, you can replace the 1/2 cup of butter with 1/2 cup of vegetable oil if you prefer.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar (white or light brown) plus more for sprinkling on top of the muffins
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
Freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a 12-muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Put the butter in a microwaveable-safe dish or measuring cup. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave until melted, about 30 seconds. (Alternatively melt the butter in a saucepan.) Whisk the milk, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla with the butter.

Make a small well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into the well, then stir with a wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are moistened but still lumpy. Do not overmix the batter or your muffins will be dense. Gently stir in the blueberries. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin tin and sprinkle the tops generously with sugar.

Put the muffins in the oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the cooking. (Insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin to check if it is done. Toothpick should come out clean). Cool muffins in the pan on a rack for a couple minutes. Turn the muffins out of the pan and cool on the rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.


Blueberry cobbler:

This recipe comes from my favorite magazine, Real Simple. I remember getting the issue and being so excited about it that I made it that very day. Its very easy and delicious. This is a photo I took the first time I made it, to prove that it looked just like the picture:



Ingredients

2 pints blueberries
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 cups heavy cream

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F. In a shallow 1 1/2-quart baking dish or a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate, toss the blueberries, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon flour.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the baking powder, salt, lemon zest, and the remaining flour and sugar.

3. Add the butter and blend with your fingers or 2 knives until coarse crumbs form. Add 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cream and mix until a shaggy dough forms.

4. Drop mounds of dough over the blueberry mixture. Bake until the berries are bubbling and the top is golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve with the remaining cream for drizzling, if desired.

Enjoy!