Receta Blueberry Bread...
Today will be the 3rd day in a row where the temps will hit 90 or above...NINETY...to anyone East of the Cascade Mountains that's laughable I know, but to the sun and heat starved, it's the equivalent of being on the Sun itself. I hear some of you saying, "What's the big deal? You have air-conditioning!" Well, ahem, we do...but wouldn't you know this past weekend our handyman decided to come and fix the kitchen windows...windows were removed every day all day long...so I either had to run the air to cool the house AND the entire outdoors, resulting in an electric bill so big that any thoughts of life's necessities, i.e., jewelry, botox, lobster rolls, would be moot for at least 2.5 years...or shut it off to not burn up the bank account...in a word? AGONY! And so I turned it off and baked - the house was already hot - turning on the oven seemed like the right thing to do. (I should mention that the mister is out of town and has been, it's like he KNEW the heat wave was coming! He would run the air WITH the windows open, he's not interested in jewelry as most mono-syllabic men are, there isn't enough botox in all of California for him and lobster rolls would come in second over a bologna sandwich...translation: life's necessities mean NOTHING to him! Running the air, like peeing into the wind, would be, for him, sport. He would think NOTHING of it, as long as he was comfortable in his man-cave and ESPN was visible on at least four TV's.)
Mix, fold, bake, sit, relax, enjoy. A perfect recipe. And just look at all those brain-berries blueberries! The bread is practically bursting with them! It has a buttery crumb that will melt in your mouth and it's the perfect gift, along with a vat of ice water, for anyone suffering heat stroke.
- Blueberry Bread - Adapted From The Women's Club Cookbook, *Mrs. Frank Allen Whitten, 1935
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons butter melted plus 1 tablespoon butter melted, separated
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 heaping cup blueberries (fresh or frozen, do not thaw)
- 2 heaping teaspoons baking powder
Butter a small loaf pan (4x4x8-inches) and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat the egg until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes; add milk, then flour, baking powder and sugar. Add salt and melted butter. Mix well. Fold in berries. Pour mixture into bread pan, smoothing on top, and drizzle remaining tablespoon of butter on top of loaf. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until top is golden brown.
*Mrs. Whitten did not give a baking temperature or a time - just said to "bake until done." I've made this bread twice now, and will certainly make it again, so I think I've perfected the temp and time! I love the old cookbook this recipe is from even though baking from it is like a guessing game. Back in the 30's everyone just assumed if you were going to bake something that you knew how!
"As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it." ~Buddy Hackett
Life's necessities - A Disclaimer: I have yet to have botox, but I know it's in my future as surely as Joan Rivers/Kenny Rogers/Burt Reynolds will have another face lift...and anyone who doubts a lobster roll is not one of life's necessities has either never had one or is related to the mister - their entire family tree suffers from Taste-bud Malaise, a serious condition for which there is no cure. And just for the record, no lobsters were harmed during the writing of this post. About jewelry...I DARE you to even THINK it's not on the necessity list! Pashaw! Shallow? Yes. Apologetic? No. A girl has needs.