3 Recipes Featuring Blueberries to Eat, Drink, and Celebrate!

Blueberries might be the secret to my grandfathers' long lives.  And I've had the privilege of picking wild blueberries with one of my grandpas, who is now 97 years old, when I was young.  I think I might have even used a tin pail like in the book Blueberries for Sal.  Or perhaps I used an empty ice cream bucket.  In any case, the fresh berries were marvelous!

Here are three delicious recipes that feature blueberries, to inspire you to indulge in some blue goodness this weekend:

Blueberry Peach Clafoutis - Grain Free & Dairy Free 

@ Swirls and Spice

Sparkling Blueberry Punch

@ Roots of Simplicity

Blueberry English Muffin Toasting Bread

@ Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice

I share ideas here. 

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Earthworm Encounters: A New Sensory Activity (+ a Favorite Song)

The lowly earthworm is such an important creature.  A songwriter called Mr. Nicky captures some of the many reasons why in his delightful song, "Earthworm."  Some facts that he highlights are that earthworms:

1) help gardens grow,
2) are nocturnal, and
3) are covered in slime.

The slime never bothered me too much as a child, since I managed to collect earthworms for my worm farm and impale them on hooks for fishing bait.  And my children love to find live earthworms in our backyard too.  But for a slime-free approach, I made some segmented worms out of plastic drinking straws.

Materials:

• plastic drinking straws
• sharp scissors (to be used by an adult)
• fake dirt* (black rice and stale Grape Nuts cereal in our case) or sand
• medium to large container
• ruler or tape measure, optional

Methods:

1. Carefully cut segments in the straws, being careful not to slice all the way through.
2. Fill a container with fake dirt or use a sand box.  Hide the worms under the dirt or sand.
3. Ask the kids to find the plastic earthworms.
4. Optional: Use a ruler or tape measure to measure each earthworm found.

First we measured one worm.

Then we put two worms together and measured again.

* For fake dirt, you could also use birdseed, coffee grounds, or wood shavings.

Additional Resources:

You can find more facts about earthworms at the Worm Facts Page.
 This post is linked to It's Playtime, where more fun ideas abound!

Cookbooks: One Thing I Still Collect

My growing up years can be broken down into a series of interests and resulting collections.  I amassed a rock collection, a stamp collection, a coin collection, and even a fishing tackle collection (to accompany my fishing obsession).  My girls are fascinated to learn about and, if possible, see what I used to collect.  However, those have been set aside or sold in garage sales over the years.   After moving nine times in the last 13 years, I see little point now in accumulating things I happen to fancy.  Except cookbooks.

Though I have given away several to people I know, a doting mother and mother-in-law continue to supply me with more recipe books.  And last year, on a trip to Chicago (for our anniversary), I couldn't resist buying two more cookbooks.  They were the only "souvenirs" I brought home.

Of my current collection, 10 of my favorite cookbooks are:

1. The Anderson Family Cookbook (family recipes compiled by my aunt)
2. Betty Crocker's New Choices Cookbook
3. Cambridge Cookbook (a church cookbook)
4. Cooking with Kilby (a collection of recipes from 11 college housemates)
5. Family Circle Cookbook: New Tastes for New Times
6. Paris Bistro Cooking
7. More with Less
8. Taste of Home Quick Cooking 2001
9. Taste of Home Quick Cooking 2003
10. Taste of Home Quick Cooking 2008

Sometimes I dream of adding the Joy of Cooking and a few other classic titles to the mix.  But in truth, I possess an abundance of books, magazines, and websites from which to draw inspiration and advice.  So I am learning to be content with what I already have.

Where do you draw your favorite recipes from?  
The internet, magazines, or certain cookbooks?

 

Recipe for Whole White Wheat Swedish Pancakes (Crepes)

Breakfast was just one more reason I loved getting to spend Friday night at Angela's house. Swedish pancakes were a Saturday morning ritual in her family.  Others call them crepes, but not our Swedish heritage families. Sometimes the adults added lingonberry sauce, but slathering Parkay and syrup on those thin pancake rolls was among my favorite food memories.

We don't make Swedish pancakes every week around here, but my kids really love them when I do. And I have tried various combinations to make the buttery layers healthier. Recently, I tried whole white wheat flour. The results were far superior to regular whole wheat. One could hardly tell the difference between the refined flour version and these whole grain delights.   Just to emphasize, though, do NOT use regular whole wheat flour.  I tried the recipe with regular whole wheat flour again when we were in Canada recently (and attempting to keep the pantry simple).  Think soggy cardboard with maple syrup.  White wheat, finely ground, makes all the difference.

Ready for the recipe?


Whole White Wheat Crepes

3 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk*
3/4 cup (or more) whole white wheat flour
1 tsp (or less) sugar
1/4 tsp salt

1. Add milk to beaten eggs and beat together. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Combine with milk and eggs and beat until batter is smooth. 
2. Pour batter onto a greased 375 degree skillet, tilting the skillet and swirling until batter is evenly spread. Flip when center bubbles form.

A single batch of Swedish pancakes:

My three kids and I had just enough but could have eaten more.

Notes: 
      *  To make crepes casein free, use light coconut milk.

• Recipe can be doubled which I recommend, since any leftovers can be refrigerated or frozen between sheets of waxed paper.  
• To speed up cooking them all, try making two crepes at once on a large electric skillet, or use two round skillets on the stovetop.
• The original recipe uses all purpose flour, so you can use that if you don't have whole white wheat flour on hand.

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I'm sharing this recipe idea as part of WFMW at We Are THAT Family and Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts.  I'm also linking to Strut Your Stuff Thursday  and Foodie Friday.