Grounds for the Ground

My mom recently told me about hearing that coffee grounds are good for blueberry bushes. It has to do with blueberries liking acidic soil and the grounds making the soil more acidic. Beyond that, I don't know much about the chemistry.

Our two blueberry bushes have seemed fairly healthy, so we have never tested the soil but I figured the coffee grounds couldn't hurt. I searched online a bit and the consensus seemed to be that roughly a pound of used coffee grounds per bush was plenty, and unless they were already in highly acidic soil, the grounds would help but wouldn't change they pH levels enough to harm anything. So, for about two or three weeks, I saved the grounds from Keith's daily pot of coffee. When I had what seemed like roughly two pounds, I took it out to the blueberry bushes, pushed back the straw we had underneath them, and dumped the grounds on.

Then I simply pushed the straw back up around the bush. It was recommended not to work the grounds into the soil because the roots of blueberry bushes are shallow and would be damaged by working the soil. Rain and watering will allow the grounds to break down and release their acidic properties until the soil and down to the roots. Or so I've read. It would probably have been most beneficial to do this earlier in the spring as the bush started growing, but I guess better late than never. What I read said it can be done twice a year, so I plan on doing it again in the late summer or early fall. 

Now we just have to wait a little longer for our blueberries to ripen up, and hopefully they won't taste like coffee. While I was out there, I had the pleasure of finding a few of these beauties ready in the strawberry patch...

By yesterday, there was almost a quart ready for picking (there would have been a quart if a certain little boy hadn't been "helping" with the picking) so of course it was time for strawberry shortcake. Summer has officially begun as far as we are concerned.

Funny little story...after picking the strawberries yesterday and having juice all over his hands, Bert was running around inside and came to me in the kitchen and told me he had stepped on a strawberry. I looked down and his big toe was bleeding. I still haven't figured out what he did, but it must not have hurt and he just assumed the blood was strawberry juice and kept insisting that he had stepped on one when I asked him what happened.

Singing the Blues

Last week, two things happened that couldn't have been better timed. First, I discovered we had not one, but two cups of last years blueberries hiding in the freezer. Second, I was cleaning out my email inbox and came across a recipe from my aunt that I thought I had misplaced. I thought I printed it out and lost it, but there it was, still in my email. And guess what it called for? Not one, but two cups of blueberries. Now that's what I call a happy accident.

Turn these... 

to this...      

Blueberry Pudding Cake

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp lemon juice

1 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar (can be cut down to 1/2cup)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup milk

3 tblsp butter or margarine melted

Topping:

3/4 cup sugar (can be cut down to 1/2 cup)

1 tblsp cornstarch

1 cup boiling water

Toss blueberries with cinnamon and lemon juice; place in a greased 8 inch square baking dish.

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar and baking powder; stir in milk and butter (you can just use a spatula; no need to get the mixer out). Spoon over berries. Combine sugar and cornstarch; sprinkle over batter.  Slowly pour boiling water over all. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until the cake tests done.

I was a little worried when I saw how watery it was after pouring the boiling water on top, so here's a picture so you know you are doing it right.

My aunt recommends serving it warm over vanilla ice cream. I didn't have any ice cream around but I did have some whipping cream in the fridge so I whipped that up and put it on top. Keith says, "Don't even bother with a blueberry pie. Just make this from now on." Now we are really itching for those blueberries to come on this spring, because the only sad thing about making this pudding cake is we don't have any more blueberries to make another one.

Buckle Up!

This doesn't have anything to do with going for a drive or seat belts. It does have to do with blueberries and a fantastic (and fantastically easy) recipe from Mom.

Here's how our blueberries started last spring:

And this is how they ended up:

Recipe to get from A to Blueberry Buckle:

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup shortening

1 egg

2 cups blueberries (fresh or if they are frozen, thawed and drained)

Thawing and draining

Crumb Topping: Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 cup soft butter.

One day, I will remember to soften my butter ahead of time...

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a baking pan 9x9x2 or a layer pan 9x1 1/2. (I actually used an 8x8 glass dish). Blend flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, shortening, milk, and egg. Beat for half a minute. Carefully stir in blueberries.

Gotta love a recipe that all goes in one bowl!

Spread in pan and sprinkle crumb topping on the batter. Bake 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. (Mine baked for about 55 minutes because it was thicker with the smaller baking dish.)

The house smelled heavenly all afternoon! Perfect for breakfast. Or dessert. Or afternoon tea. Or late-night cravings.