Egg-Free Blueberry Lime Bread

Breakfast time is a challenge around here. Bean loves eggs. Roo's allergic. Looly likes oatmeal. Bean and Roo won't touch it with a ten foot pole. Bean likes beans for breakfast. The sheer thought makes Looly gag. Roo would prefer to skip the breakfast ordeal all together and sip a little soy milk. Standard offerings like toast, bagels, yogurt, waffles, and cereal are hit or miss. Mostly miss. And we need to be out the door by 7:40 am. 

Fortunately all the kids love fruit and they do drink milk in the morning, but facing a full day of school on milk and fruit alone won't cut it. More often than not I opt for a pressure-free snackfest to get something into their stomachs. And I'm always, always, on the lookout for new additions to the snackfest platter.

I've been honing my egg-free baking skills in recent years and I have a few really good eggless quick breads up my sleeve. Unfortunately, Roo still won't eat most of them. But the girls enjoy them and at least I don't have to worry about a stray crumb getting onto his apple slices. Now that he's attempting bites of toast and a triangle of grilled cheese from time to time, one of my goals for the year is to come up with a breakfast bread that Roo will eat.

Egg-Free Blueberry Lime Bread
adapted slightly from Bakin' Without Eggs by Rosemarie Emro

3 cups flour plus 1 tbsp to coat blueberries
1&1/4 cups sugar
1&1/2 cups milk
3 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp lime zest
2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen, but not thawed)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray one large or 4 mini-loaf pans with cooking spray.
2. Combine 3 cups flour, sugar, milk, lime juice, baking powder, baking soda, and lime zest. Mix until well combined. 
3. In a separate bowl, combine blueberries and remaining 1 tbsp flour. Toss lightly to coat. Gently fold blueberries into batter.
4. Spoon batter into prepared pans and bake 50-55 minutes for full size loaves, 35-40 minutes for mini-loaves, or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, invert pan and remove loaf. Cool completely.

I thought this bread was quite good - summery, bright, zesty, and it really hit the spot with a cup of green tea. Looly loved it and begged for more. The other kids were less impressed. Roo did not appreciate the chunks of real berry, too much textural variability going on for him. And Bean, usually my carb-lover, was underwhelmed. She asked for banana bread instead. hmph. So, the search continues but I'm keeping this one in the repertoire even if it's for Looly and me alone. More for us!

Michigan Blueberry Crisp Parfaits

These three are champion pickers. They've labored over buckets of sweet tiny strawberries. They've sported scars from thorny raspberry bushes and prickly cucumbers from the garden. They've plucked peppers and tomatoes from the vine, apples from the tree, and countless leafy herbs, but for this bunch nothing beats the late summer ease of blueberry picking.

You can't go to Michigan in August without picking blueberries. In our case, thirteen pounds of blueberries. Despite Mufasa's many mumblings to the contrary, thirteen pounds would have been a perfectly reasonable amount if we hadn't been on vacation and without a way to freeze or can those succulent little blues.

As if the idyllic peninsula setting weren't enough, the berries were perfectly sweet prompting Looly to confess she felt like she was picking candy. But to say the blueberries at Buchan's Blueberry Hill were abundant would be unfair. The blueberries were literally falling off the bushes into our buckets. I picked five pounds without moving my feet. Incredible. I don't know how long the season will run but if you're anywhere near Traverse City and able, go to Buchan's. Go now.

So in addition to blueberries for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, a blueberry crisp was an absolute requirement.

But just as northern Michigan is blueberry country, it's also pie country. Really good pie. So despite all those blueberries I simply could not help myself when a buttery crumble-topped cherry pie leaped into my arms at Grand Traverse Pie Company.

Berry dessert overload was setting in when my dear friend, Rhea, offered a most brilliant suggestion: Blueberry Crisp Yogurt Parfait. Suddenly blueberry crisp is a perfectly acceptable breakfast form.

Forget scones, muffins, and pancakes. Make me a parfait.

Blueberry Crisp Yogurt Parfait

6 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups flour
2 cups rolled oats
1&1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
2 cups plain lowfat yogurt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss together the berries, granulated sugar, and lemon juice.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Cut butter into small cubes, add to the flour mixture and using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut into the dry mixture until nice and crumbly.
3. Place berry mixture in the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan (or slightly larger - it's a big crisp!). Sprinkle the flour mixture over the berries. Bake 35-40 minutes until the berries are bubbling and the topping is golden brown.
4. Cool completely (or eat some with ice cream while it's warm and save the rest for breakfast).
5. Spoon 1/2 cup of yogurt into 4 bowls. Top with a generous scoop of cooled blueberry crisp.

Makes 4 parfaits, with plenty of crisp to spare.

Cherry Berry Gazpacho

After the tuna event earlier this week I felt I owed the kids a gimme. Typically cold soups aren't my thing. On a sweltering day I'd much rather fight fire with fire with spicy tortilla soup than chilled tomato gazpacho. But fresh berries and a blender? That sounds like a smoothie in a bowl.

Berry Cherry Gazpacho.

Cherry Berry Gazpacho with Honeyed Mascarpone
adapted from Cooking Light July 2012

For the soup
1 pound purple seedless grapes
1 pound sweet cherries, pitted and stems removed
8 ounces fresh blueberries
1/2 cup apple juice
2 tbsp. honey
2 tsp. lemon rind, grated
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
fresh mint leaves to garnish

For the Mascarpone
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1 tbsp. honey

1. Remove stems from fruit, wash, and pat dry. Put grapes, cherries, and blueberries in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add apple juice and honey. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender (or process in batches in a food processor or blender) until nearly smooth. Strain, discard solids, and chill at least 2 hours. Stir in the lemon rind, juice, and salt.
2. In a small bowl combine room temperature mascarpone and honey. Mix well.
3. Ladle soup into bowls and top each with a dollop of honeyed mascarpone. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and additional lemon zest.