Blueberry Zucchini Bread #recipe @lucyburdette

LUCY BURDETTE: Stay tuned for next week when we kick off our annual book club extravaganza--in other words, we'll show you delicious things to make and serve your book group and make suggestions about books to discuss!

John has batting practice

Meanwhile, we've had a zucchini extravaganza in our garden. As my friend Gina says, tis the season where people lock their garage doors and car doors to prevent gardeners from leaving baseball bat-sized zukes on the premises...







But in case this happens to you, here's a yummy recipe for zucchini/blueberry bread.


Ingredients

3 large eggs
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup butter
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
½ cups granulated white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups shredded zucchini, squeezed with a paper towel
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp no sodium baking powder
1/2 tsp  no sodium baking soda
2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Oil two 8x4 inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, applesauce, vanilla, sugar and zucchini.






In a food processor, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda. Cut in the butter.

 





Mix a tablespoon of the flour mixture into the blueberries.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir gently. Carefully stir in the floured blueberries.

 

Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for at least 20 minutes, then turn out bread onto wire racks until it has cooled completely.

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mysteries. Are you all caught up? This easy dinner will leave you plenty of time to read... and then for all the latest news, follow Lucy on:

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Fresh Cherry Cobbler with Whipped Cream @lucyburdette #recipe

 LUCY BURDETTE: My hub and I are mad for cherries when they are in season, but we've never done anything except eat them from the bowl. I couldn't imagine pitting all those little guys. But then I got the image of a cherry cobbler in my head, and it would not be denied. 

So I went in search of a cherry pitter and found this one on Amazon, which handles 6 pieces at a time. So it still takes a while (maybe half an hour) to pit enough for the cobbler, this time it's worth it. Be careful because one diner did find a pit in her portion. You don't want your guests cracking their molars on your dessert!

For the cherry filling:

Six cups pitted cherries
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
Half a lemon, squeezed

 

Place the cherries in an 8 by 8 Pyrex pan, ungreased. Mix in the cornstarch and sugar, and squeeze the lemon over the top.

 



For the crust:

6 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon no sodium baking powder
1 cup flour
1/2 cup cream or milk
1/2 cup sugar

Combine the dry ingredients and then cut in the chilled butter, using a pastry cutter. When the lumps are pea-sized, stir in the cream or milk. Do not over mix. With a large spoon place blobs of the crust over the prepared cherries. Do not worry about smoothing the crust or covering every square inch.

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. The cherries should be bubbling and the crust a light brown. Let the cobbler cool a bit and serve with almond-scented whipped cream.

 


For the cream:
1 cup organic whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring
1 tablespoon sugar

Whip the cream with the almond flavoring until thick. And the sugar and stir that in. Serve with the cobbler and swoon. (This is very rich--serves 6-8.)

The seventh Key West mystery, KILLER TAKEOUT, is on bookshelves everywhere. What about yours?

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Herbed Biscuits #recipe @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: Lots of baked goods have whopping amounts of sodium hidden in them--in the form of baking powder, baking soda, and salt itself. But sodium watchers shouldn't have to give up everything delicious. These easy biscuits spark up any dinner or even breakfast.

Ingredients

2 cups flour (1/2 cup can be cornmeal or whole wheat)
2 teaspoons sugar
4 teaspoons no-sodium baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2/3 cup fresh herbs, chopped (I used dill and chives but you are the cook!)
2/3 cup milk


Stir the dry ingredients together, then cut in the herbs and the butter until pea-sized. I use my food processor, but you can use a pastry cutter or even two knives, the old fashioned way. 

Stir in the milk until the ingredients are just mixed. Pat or roll the dough out onto a floured counter and cut into biscuit-sized squares. Settle the biscuits on a baking pan lined with parchment to make clean-up easy.


Bake in a 425 oven until just brown.

Then serve with lots of unsalted butter and honey!


Tweet: Yummy herbed biscuits jazz up any supper #recipe @lucyburdette http://ctt.ec/6d8F8+

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And don't forget (how could you?), KILLER TAKEOUT will be in bookstores of all kinds on April 5, but is available for pre-order today

Scary Good Cornmeal Muffins for Halloween Zombies #recipe @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: I'm excited about this time of year because it brings my favorite Halloween event in Key West: the zombie bike ride. Last year, John and I and a friend rode in this with 10,000 other zombies--what a blast! I loved it so much that you'll find it's the scene of the murder in KILLER TAKEOUT.

But even the scariest goblins and witches and zombies need something that isn't too sweet before they head out to gather their treats or do their tricks. These muffins are sweet enough to appeal to all ages and go perfectly with a pot of chili or soup.
 

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups cornmeal
Three-quarter cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons featherweight sodium baking powder
1 teaspoon ENER baking soda substitute ( One half teaspoon if you are using regular baking soda)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Two eggs
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 400. Grease the paper cupcake liners with a little spray on olive oil. (I didn't do this the first time and they stuck to the bottom.)

 Combine all the dry ingredients well in one bowl. Beat the eggs into the yogurt and milk. Add the maple syrup and the kosher salt and mix. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a few strokes. Fold in the butter. Try not to over stir or the muffins will be tough.  

Distribute the batter between the 12 cups. Bake for about 16 minutes until a toothpick poked into a muffin comes out clean. 

Let them rest for three minutes and then remove from the pan and serve quickly with more butter, and honey if desired. 

Serve with chili or other hearty soup and send your trick-or-treaters on their way.

PS I think these would also be very good for breakfast with a cup of blueberries folded into them. It might extend the baking time a minute or two. 

Note: By using the non-sodium baking powder and baking soda, you omit about 1500 mg of sodium in these muffins!

KILLER TAKEOUT is coming next April, but available for pre-order today!

And you can follow Lucy on Facebook,

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