Blueberries and Tians

It's blueberry season and I've been making as many things as I can using my local berries.  This is a simple cake that tastes pretty much like a giant blueberry muffin.  Here's the recipe: 

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup butter

• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
  
  

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• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 cup blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8-inch pan.I used an oval casserole.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Beat butter in a separate bowl until creamy; stir into flour mixture, alternating with milk. Beat flour-butter mixture until mixed, about 2 minutes. Add egg and beat until mixed, about 1 minute.
3. Combine lemon zest with blueberries in a bowl; fold into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan.Dust the top with vanilla sugar if you like.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 I made blueberry pancakes and forgot to take a pic of them when they were done.

 I also made lots of blueberry jam. I add 1-1/2 cups of sugar to 12 cups of berries.  Add the zest of 1 lemon and it's juice.

 Cook over medium heat until the sugar melts.

 Bring it to a boil and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring often.  Then turn the heat to a simmer and cook until it begins to thicken, about 15-20 minutes.

Pour it into containers and refrigerate.  I'm making biscuits today and a lot of this is going to friends.

 I made a small tian a few days ago using potatoes.  Though my family liked it, they requested one of my regular tians which I make without potatoes.  So, I made a bunch of them for everyone.

Start by sauteing onions in a bit of olive oil with salt and pepper.

 Cook them until they soften but don't let them get mushy.  I added lots of fresh herbs from my garden....thyme, sage, basil, summer savory, rosemary and parsley.  Tians are all about fresh...use the freshest ingredients you can find.

Add 8 minced garlic cloves.

 I slice my tomatoes and place them on paper towels and let them sit to dry them out a bit.  Otherwise, your tian can be too watery.

Slice eggplants and zucchini.

 Then start layering. Brush your pan with olive oil and put down a layer of eggplant.  Top this with some grated cheese.  This is a good time to use up leftover cheese.  I used gouda, swiss, parmesan, mozzarella, asiago and provolone.

 Next, add a layer of zucchini.

 Then add your onion/garlic mixture and spread it out.

 Oh, I almost forgot...I added a cube of my homemade pesto to the onion mixture to add more flavor.

 Add more cheese.

 Then tomatoes.

 Keep layering until you run out of ingredients.

 Top with more cheese.

 I like to top these off with kalamata olives and this time I added some diced sun-dried tomatoes.  I drizzled some of the sun-dried tomato oil over them.

 Bake at 350 degrees for about 1-1/2 hours until the are bubbling and golden.

 Let them sit for about 15 minutes before serving so they will slice easily.

 We actually prefer them at room temperature.

Tians make summer a bit more bearable!