For The Tennis Ladies (Blueberry Crumble Bars)

I often love to seek any and every excuse to bake up something sweet. I don't bake often, for when I do, I always find at least half of the baked goodness lingering around my kitchen weeks after. I am beginning to think expiration dates are much needed when baking anything in my kitchen that contains sugar, flour, and butter. However, I continue to find pleasure in the kitchen standing by an overheated oven for hours on end waiting for perfection to ring. Luckily today I knew I would be baking for a dozen tennis ladies, thus my blueberry crumble bars would not go to waste. My mother was attending a tennis ladies luncheon day thing and she was to bring a dish of any kind. Therefore, I jumped at the opportunity and eagerly agreed to make Smitten Kitchen's/AllRecipe's Blueberry Crumble Bars for her.

I believe I am often craving to bake because of the sensational aromas which are given off through out the house, and then the sweet, savory smell that lingers on into the morning. (Or until doors and windows are swung open to let loose of the beautiful lemon zest and blueberry juices.) There was no exception to my blueberry crumble bars. They not only turned out to look fabulous, but tasted just as good. The crumble on bottom and top reminded me of cookies that my grandmother and I bake during Christmas time, and the blueberries in between oozed all over as they popped and exploded in the oven. This is a wonderful dessert to give away for it is easy to cut and serve, but it also just as good to eat right at home warm over cold vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients:
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest and juice of one lemon
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
LETS COOK!
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9×13 inch pan. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares. Serve and enjoy!

MS150 Breakfast (Whole Wheat Blueberry Pecan Pancakes)

Last weekend was the annual BPMS150 which my dad and I participated in. It was my first time to ever ride such a distance from Houston to Austin and my dad's third time to fulfill the two day trip. However, I managed to beat his "thirty years older" legs by a near hour leaving him in the dust after the lunch break. (funny how it is called the "lunch" stop when I got there around nine in the morning!) I crossed the finish line, turning into the heart of downtown ATX at approximately noon, fifteen minutes before my mother (who had driven up that day) even arrived! And almost an hour before my dad crossed the same line. So bittersweet I felt when no one was there to greet me at the finish line, yet giddiness when I realized I finished so early that I beat my own mother's car! (Which I guess isn't saying much when she drives SO SO SO SLOW. . . ha! I still love you mom!)

But anyways back to the Whole Wheat Blueberry Pecan Pancakes, because a post will soon follow with in depth details on the BPMS150 Houston-Austin ride. So these pancakes were made the night before the big day, because I knew that there was no way I was going to get up at five in the morning to cook a gourmet breakfast that I would be craving. So plan B: make the pancakes ahead of time and freeze them! (Which I still have a few frozen that are waiting to be eaten. . . thus saying, they freeze quite well for weeks.) These pancakes are healthy with the whole wheat flower, juicy with the flavorful blueberries, and have a slight crunch affect with the finely chopped pecans. All of these which add to the whole affect of an absolutely amazing grand breakfast pancake.
Ingredients:
one cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
3/4 cups milk (PLUS MORE)
1 tablespoon melted and cooled butter
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
LETS COOK!
In a bowl mix dry ingredients and in separate bowl beat egg, milk, and butter together. Gently stir mixture into dry ingredients and then add in blueberries and pecans. If thick, add some more milk (which you will most likely be adding LOTS MORE!). Lightly spray skillet and heat over medium-high. Ladle batter onto skillet to make pancakes. Adjust heat and flip pancakes after bubbles rise to surface and bottoms are brown and golden. Cook until the second side is slightly browned and serve warm. Enjoy!

For My Parents (Classic Blueberry Pancakes)

And tomorrow we are off! The day that my dad and I have been waiting for has finally arrived, and in less that nine hours we will be well on our way to Austin, Texas for the annual BPMS150 bike ride raising money for multiple sclerosis. Excitingly I have raised a near 900 while my has raised a whopping 1400, and added up together our team Gardere raised a total of 140,000 dollars! We will begin the race at my back door and will ride to La Grange by Saturday evening ending at the University of Texas in Austin mid-evening Sunday. So with this 180 mile bike ride, I thought it only necessary to have a good and healthy start. That is why the night before I decided to make pancakes for that morning!

 Now I originally had made whole wheat pancakes filled with fresh blueberries and chopped pecans, but sadly my parents (well my mom more than my dad) were a bit iffy on the fact that the flour was whole wheat making the pancakes no longer traditional. Honestly, I think they are just scared to try something fresh and different (as well as something that so easily qualifies under the Food Revolution Movement that has recently sparked up across the world.) Therefore, the nice daughter that I am, I made a new batch with white flour which calls for a bit of a different recipe. They still make for a great before-a-long-two-day-bike-ride-breakfast, but are just not quite as healthy as my whole wheat ones (which will be posted within a few days). This pancake recipe originated from the New York times, but was fixed up by me to make the flavors more fulfilling and tasty.
Ingredients:
one cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 egg
3/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon melted and cooled butter
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
LETS COOK!
 In a bowl mix dry ingredients and in separate bowl beat egg, milk, and butter together. Gently stir mixture into dry ingredients and then add in blueberries. If thick, add some more milk. Lightly spray skillet and heat over medium-high. Ladle batter onto skillet to make pancakes. Adjust heat and flip pancakes after bubbles rise to surface and bottoms are brown and golden. Cook until the second side is slightly browned and serve warm. Enjoy!

Beautiful Semi-Disaster (Chocolate-Raspberry Scone)

So where do i start? From sitting in seventh period tennis scrolling aimlessly through my phone thinking of ways to procrastinate my time from having to study for an unrealistic pre-calculus test the next day, or from going out to the Train concert the night before with Mr. Handsome as my mind floated from him, to the concert, to what my next blog post should be. Either way, I had decided it was time for me to kick it up a notch in my culinary skills. And what better way to do this than creating classic English scones? Yes, that is right an English scone made right here in my "Texanized" kitchen.

Before yesterday I had never tried, let alone encountered, such as a scone. But oh the stories i have heard about them! And the articles and pictures i have seen of them! There is such elegance about such a beautiful pastry-like bread. The unique shape with the glossy finish on top would make anyone look so fab and chic while eating this up-scale and high-end scone. If there was one food i would idolize over, this would be it. When I hear of a scone, I imagine a classic bakery on a small corner selling all varieties as the scents and aromas intertwine and mingle upon each other as they swirl their way through the bustling streets of fashionistas. So yes, as it shows I have great appreciation  for a little scone. Little did I know (tis tis.. I didn't do my research before I began to bake!) that scones do have a rather bland taste to them. However, I believe their appearance sure does make up for it.

The scone I have made has a basis of creamy dark chocolate and fresh raspberries. (Such a wonderful mix between the richness of the chocolate and the refreshing raspberries.) As i began making the scone dough while having a conversation with a close friend from Finland, I realized that anything is possible in the scone baking world! As I have added raspberries and chocolate to my scone, assorted nuts, berries, and heck! anything else could be added. My "Finish" friend even suggested putting a meat inside the scone, or adding cheese to the mixture! Scones are a time to express your personality and just to go and have fun with it! I decided to leave mine simpler, for this was my first experience at scone baking. Now I must warn thy fellow bakers; the recipe below for this raspberry and chocolate scone came out to be a bit bland and did not portray the thick flavors I had intended on. However, I did try part of my scone with some fresh raspberry jam and butter... and thought that topped the scone off making it splendid! Also coffee and tea will really bring out the hidden flavors of the scone giving it more taste than eating them alone. So this scone varies in taste with its endless possibilities on how to present and eat it.

You will need:

4cups all purpose flour
2/3 granulated  sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into pieces
4.25 ounces dark chocolate chunks
2 cups fresh raspberries
1 cup whole milk plain yogurt (suprisingly this is hard to find!!!)
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large egg, lightly beaten
Egg mixture for brushing tops of scones:
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon milk
LETS START COOKING!
preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should appear crumb like. Stir in the chocolate chunks and whole raspberries. In a smaller bowl whisk together the yogurt, vanilla extract, and eggs. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until the dough comes together. *Do not over mix.!!*
Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently untill the dough better comes together and then pat, or roll, the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (3.75 cm) thick. (For these processes you will most likely need to use lots more flour, for the dough can become very sticky) Cut the dough into four squares, and then cut each squart into 2 triangles. Place the scones on the baking sheet. Make an egg wash of one well-beaten egg mixed milk and brush the tops of the scones with this mixture.
Bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and then turn your broiler on. Sprinkle confectioners sugar over the tops of the scones and place them under the broiler. Broil for about a min. or less, until the sugar has melted and turns golden brown. Keep an eye out while scones are in the broiler, because they can burn! Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Makes about 16 scones.