Friday, July 24, 2020

Blueberry Grunt from @MaddieDayAuthor plus #giveaway

MADDIE here, in the height of blueberry season in New England!




Blueberries are yummy, good for you, easy to pick, and easy to grow. I love picking blueberries, and now I have three mature bushes and several younger ones. But I don't get enough to supply me for the winter, so every summer toward the end of July I head north a mile to a local farm and pick buckets worth. My bucket is on a ribbon and hangs around my neck, so I can pick two-handed.



I freeze them in zip lock bags and make blueberry muffins and pancakes all year long. Blueberry Grunt is an easy stovetop dessert you can make when you don't want to turn on the oven.

Blueberry Grunt

Ingredients

4 cups blueberries (frozen or fresh)
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed in 2 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups flour
¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk

Instructions
In a cast iron skillet, combine the berries, sugar, and water. 



Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Add the cornstarch mix and stir for one minute. Remove from heat, add the cinnamon and lemon juice, and set aside.


Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut in the butter then add the milk and combine until just mixed. Do not over mix.



Roll flour mixture into balls and drop them onto the berry mixture. 



Place the pan on medium heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid. The biscuit topping is steaming itself in the berry juices.


Serve warm with heavy cream or ice cream.


Enjoy! 

Readers: Do you ever make fruit grunts or cobbler? What's your favorite way to eat blueberries? I'll send one of you the Cozy Capers Book group mystery of your choice - they take place on Cape Cod, a great place for wild blueberries.


My next book out is my alter-ego's Taken Too Soon, the sixth Quaker Midwife (written by Edith Maxwell), up for preorder now!



In this book, releasing September 8, midwife Rose Carroll travels to Cape Cod with her freshly minted husband on a modest honeymoon - which turns into an investigation into the murder of her aunt's ward.



Following on its coattails is Candy Slain Murder, the eighth Country Store mystery - also up for preorder. You guessed it, the story takes place at Christmas, with Robbie Jordan back in South Lick, Indiana. She digs into the mysterious skeleton of a woman who went missing a decade earlier, and then the woman's twin's murder nearly right in front of Robbie's eyes.




Isn't that a fun cover! You'll be hearing more here about the recipes in the back.


I hope you'll visit Edith Maxwell and me on our web site, sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit us on social media, and check our all our books and short stories.

Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell) is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-winning and bestselling author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau north of Boston, where she’s currently working on her next mystery when she isn’t cooking up something delectable in the kitchen.

49 comments:

  1. I don’t bake much with blueberries. I bake with peaches and blackberries though. I enjoy your Cape Cod books but I’ve read both.

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  2. My mom and I make cobblers.
    I love to eat blueberries in any form.
    Kitten143 (at) Verizon (dot) net

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  3. Thank you for the recipe for Blueberry Grunt, which sounds yummy.

    I've picked my fair share of blueberries having picked 103 pounds one year for our use, my Mom's and several seniors that lived around her. They were free and I just hated to see them go to waste. We love them in multiple ways and always looking for new recipes. We had 4 blueberries bushes before we moved. There's a huge orchard just 3 miles from us so not sure if we will plant any here.

    This is my recipe for Blueberry Crunch that everyone loves and it's super easy to fix. Hope you try it and let me know what you think.

    LOVE your books and can't wait for the release of the new ones!

    Blueberry Crunch
    Ingredients:
    1 box of butter cake mix
    20 oz. can of crushed pineapple - undrained
    3 cups blueberries
    3/4 cup sugar
    1 stick butter
    1 cup chopped pecans
    1/4 cup sugar

    Directions:
    Spread pineapple and blueberries in 9x13 inch pan. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup sugar. Spread dry cake mix over fruit layers and drizzle with melted butter. Sprinkle with pecans mixed with 1/4 cup sugar.

    Bake in 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes. (I found it took longer to cook. Cook until lightly browned on top and doesn't have the "raw" look to the cake mix on top. If pecans start to brown too much, turn the temperature down some.) After first 25 minutes, cut through the mixture in several places with a spoon. (I cut through with a spoon about every 10 minutes after the first 25 until done.)
    Notes:
    The person that gave the recipe to me said she made it all the time with Splenda instead of sugar.
    I mix the pineapple and sugar in a bowl before putting in a pan and sprinkle with the blueberries.
    If using frozen berries, place in strainer and rinse partially thawing them making sure drained well.
    I also melt about 2 tablespoon (not included in ingredients) and toss with pecans before sprinkling sugar and stirring for the top. Since we also love pecans I use about twice the amount listed in ingredients.
    You can reduce ingredients by half and fix an 8x8 inch pan if making for a couple or just want a smaller amount at one time.

    Be safe, stay healthy and have a little adventure along the way - even if through the pages of a good book.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  4. I've never heard of a grunt but I did try to make a cobbler once. I love blueberry muffins. ckmbeg (at) gmail (dot) com

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  5. Looks delicious and easy; two of my favorite features! I recently made a crisp. So good! Thanks for the chance to win.
    abigailfbn (at) yahoo (dot) com

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  6. Growing up in Connecticut I enjoyed the wonderful country life and picking fabulous wild blueberries on my grandfather’s property which adjoined my parents home. My Mom also had a fruit tree area and all kinds of berry plants and bushes so picking fresh fruit was a way of life. Since college and marriage we’ve been going to pick your own farms or buying fruit at farmer markets etc. I remember the berries of my “youth” as being much more flavorful than fruit today. We love blueberry pancakes with blueberry sauce/compote and muffins and cakes, and cobblers but my favorite is still a blueberry pie with the zest of a fresh lemon and fresh lemon juice and a flaky layered crispy pie crust! . I remember the variety of the berries we had years ago that we’re tarter than the ones I get now so the added lemon does the trick. I also have a short window where the fresh rhubarb is still producing and the blueberries are ready to pick and that’s when I made a rhubarb blueberry cobbler that is fabulous. It’s our Rhuberry cobbler!!!!

    Thank you for the chance to receive one of your fabulous books. I’d opt for Murder At the Taffy Shop as I bought the book and gave it to a friend the day I got it as it was a day she needed a puck-me-up and a special treat! Thank you!
    Cynthia

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  7. I always have blueberries in the house and I have made a yummy Blueberry and Lemon cobbler which everyone enjoyed. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  8. My husband and I love Blueberries. We put them in all kinds of things. From cereal to dessert. We eat them raw. I love cobblers. Since the kids were little (they are now 35 and 32) we made a blueberry cobbler every Christmas morning. When they got old enough to cook without supervision, they made blueberry cobbler all the time. Then they changed their Christmas tradition to Mixed Berry Cobbler. Which is where it stands today. quilting lady 2 at comcast dot net

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    Replies
    1. Lori, you are our randomly selected winner. Congratulations, and please check your email!

      Delete
  9. During the summer blueberries are in great demand in our house. With yogurt, and muffins we enjoy the flavor and look forward to the variety of baked treats. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  10. I have never heard of grunts before... and it made me giggle. I do make cobblers from time to time... but I find myself making more fruit breads. My favorite way to eat blueberries is: a bowl full of gluten free granola, a handful of dried cranberries, a handful of blueberries, and plain almond milk.

    kimheniadis at gmail dot com

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  11. Strawberries are probably my favorite fruit, but blueberries are so much more reliable and freeze so well. I just happen to have some frozen right now so think I'll try this grunt. Tomorrow is supposed to be another hot day so no oven is very appealing.

    Love all the series. I think whichever is releasing a book becomes my current favorite, but I do love the cover for the new Robbie Jordan, and glad she going back to Indiana!
    sallycootie(at)gmail(dot)com

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  12. This sounds divine and very easily Veganized! I can't wait to give this a try- thank you for the recipe!
    Cheers-
    Kelly Braun
    Gaelicark(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  13. I love baking with blueberries! I too freeze them and bake all year long! Thanks for a chance to win! ljbonkoski@yahoo.com

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  14. I like to make cobblers. Blueberries in my yogurt with granola! Thank you
    Bethanne0664@gmail.com

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  15. I like eating blueberries just plain as a snack. I also like them in cobblers, muffins and pancakes. They are so good right from the orchard.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

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  16. I love blueberries. Plain, in yogurt, in pies,muffins or cake. I usually make peach cobbler though.

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  17. I make dump cobblers often, but mostly cherry. I do sometimes make blueberry, peach or blackberry.

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  18. I like to add them to granola or oatmeal. For baking I like them in muffins or cake.
    turtle6422 at gmail dot com

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  19. I like blueberries just the way they are! I do like a blueberry cheesecake!
    Rosalie

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  20. Yummy!! Live blueberries any which way.

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  21. I’ve made peach cobbler. With blueberries I make pie or eat them straight

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  22. I enjoy blueberries in Greek yogurt, oatmeal and fruit salads.

    jtcgc at yahoo dot com

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  23. Yum, that looks perfect for our hot weather! We love blueberries any way, from salads to main courses and desserts. Last week I made a great salmon-tuna salad and added some, to rave reviews. It's also good on Peggy Ehrhart's Mango-Tango cool pie. Thanks for the inspiration and giveaway, Edith/Maddie!

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  24. Every summer we used to visit friends in Maine. They had a huge field of low bush blueberry plants and my husband loved to go picking.
    Our challenge was to try different projects for all those berries.
    They were all delicious, but the winner was an uncooked blueberry pie. The crust is pre-baked, the berries piled high, and a cornstarch, lemon, water glaze is poured over. We gilded the lily with whipped cream.
    Heaven!
    libbydodd at comcast dot net

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  25. We make a lot of crisp, apple or rhubarb the most often, but also peach, blueberry, strawberry, whatever we get a good crop of. My favorite use of blueberries is in muffins.
    kozo8989(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  26. lola777_22 at hotmail dot com

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  27. We love any kind of fruit for most any type of use. Have a lovely Blueberry Slump recipe handed down from pilgrim days that was adapted for the microwave. A rich dessert dumpling with the cooked blueberries. Congrats on your upcoming release. If picked I would like to read the Murder on Cape Cod book. bessdeepotter84 at gmail dot com

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  28. I eat blueberries straight out of the carton (after they have been washed, of course :) ) Thank you for this chance. areewekidding(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  29. I love cobbler, and this grunt recipe sound delicious and pretty easy - I'm not much of a baker - sure would love to own one of your books - thanks for the chance

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  30. I like blueberries in my cereal. I have also made mini blueberry galettes. It was so easy and was delicious.

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  31. I like Blueberries in any form possible. Apple, peach and blueberry clobbers. mountainsr4me@hotmail.com

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  32. Blueberry muffins please.
    Wskwared(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  33. I love blueberries especially in muffins! Thanks for the chance.
    Jess
    maceoindo(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  34. I sometimes make cobblers—love the recipe for the grunt. Legallyblonde1961@yahoo.com

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  35. I love blueberry pancakes and blueberry muffins. I also add them to blueberry yogurt.
    The cobbler I make most is peach cobbler.
    marypopmom (at) yahoo (dot) com
    Maryann

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  36. I am not a cook but I like blueberry muffins! lindaherold999(at)gmail(dot)com

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  37. My daughter just gave us three pounds of blueberries. I have been adding them to salads and I am going to make blueberry muffins today (my husbands favorite). And finally, blueberry pancakes for Sunday brunch 👍🏻

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  38. I no longer bake but blueberry pie and blueberry muffins were family favorites.

    kpbarnett1941(at)aol(dot)com

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  39. I have made fruit cobblers many times although I have never made a fruit grump. We like to eat blueberries by the handful. Thanks for the book giveaway!

    Nancy
    allibrary (at) aol (dot) com

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  40. i like to eat them fresh but i also love a big top bluebery muffin from a recipe from the 70's. thanks for the chance to win a giveaway................lunalola5151@gmail.com

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  41. I love putting blueberries in Cheerios or Special K cereals. JL_Minter(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  42. When I was a kid many years ago my Mom was a whiz at making any fruit into a cobbler. Now my blueberries get sprinkled on top of my morning cereal. rmmoss2(at)gmail(dot) com

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  43. I love blueberry muffins. My late husband loved blueberry pie. I have never made or eaten a grunt but it sounds yummy! I have read Murder on Cape Cod and would love to read Murder at the Taffy Shop! Thanks for the chance! almaj80(at)suddenlink(dot)net

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  44. I don't eat them but my mom loves them. Its a good healthy snack for her. Thanks for the chance. jlb12563@sbcglobal.net

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  45. My mom made a version of blueberry grunt when I was a kid in the 1960s. My favorite way to eat blueberries is fresh and plain.

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  46. I've never made or eaten a grunt, but I do make cobblers occasionally. For some reason it is usually peach or blackberry cobbler that I make. I like fresh blueberries the best, but I won't turn down a scone or muffin either.

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  47. Lori is our randomly selected winner. Congratulations, Lori, and please check your email!

    ReplyDelete
  48. About 10 days ago, I bought a half flat of blueberries (grown locally here on our island) at the Farmer's Market. So far, I have made two blueberry cobblers (4 cups of blueberries in each) , a peach and blueberry crisp (1 cup of blueberries), and have had blueberries in my cereal almost every morning. There are still several cups of blueberries left! They overfilled the half flat box and were extremely generous! And, of course, they are delicious.

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