Bacon and Blueberries

The beautiful blue of blueberries surrounds you during these next few weeks of Farmer’s Market. It was difficult to decide what to make for ‘Hunt and Gather’ with so many breakfast, lunch and dessert ideas utilizing blueberries. We had the grandkids in town this week, ages 6, 9 and 13 and so I decided to make something healthy, kid-friendly and yummy for a breakfast to sustain us through a full morning of Chicagoland sight-seeing and doing.

I made whole wheat blueberry pancakes with a blueberry sauce. I had maple syrup available, but the kids all opted for the homemade blueberry sauce, served warm, dripping with the melted butter onto a stack of plump pancakes.

The other thing that was really a hit with the kids and the grown-ups was the apple smoked bacon from Jake the Farmer. When I asked the Jake ladies if  they had bacon available, they replied, “Do we have bacon?!” They opened their freezer chest to reveal three choices: hickory smoked bacon, apple smoked and a spicy smoked they are newly marketing. With the prices competitive with what you pay at your local grocery store for a pound of bacon, you will be delighted with the quality and taste of their bacon. I went with the apple smoked as I thought the taste would appeal more to the kids than the spicy and I wanted to try something different.

There is nothing quite like the smell of bacon wafting through the house. As each person was entering the kitchen, they exclaimed, “What smells so good?”

And it was good. I cooked the entire pound of bacon—there is a little leftover for bacon cheeseburgers tonight. The pancake recipe makes about a dozen pancakes, a little larger than silver dollar size. They are very puffy, but light and taste wonderfully grainy and fresh.

As Nora Ephron so aptly said, “I don’t think any day is worth living without thinking about what you’re going to eat next at all times.”

See you next week. Au bon vivant! (to the good life).

Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

• 1-1/4 c whole wheat flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1-1/3 c milk
• ½ t salt
• 2 T brown sugar
• ½ c blueberries

Method:

Sift together flour and baking powder and set aside.

Beat together the egg, milk, salt and brown sugar in a bowl. Stir in flour until just moistened, add blueberries and stir to incorporate.

Preheat a skillet or flat frying pan over medium heat. Pour a little larger than silver dollar size batter for each pancake. Cook until bubbly and flip over. Continue cooking till golden brown.

Apple Smoked Bacon 

Cook in a heated pan till desired doneness. Our crowd liked it ‘medium.’

Blueberry Sauce

• ¾ c blueberries
• 2 T water
• ¼ c sugar (or more depending upon desired sweetness)
• Juice of ½ lemon, freshly squeezed
• Cornstarch if desired for thickness

Method:

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat till most of the blueberries have dissolved. Some blueberry chunks can remain and it makes for a more interesting sauce. Pour heated sauce over pancakes, pour your coffee or tea (or milk!) and enjoy!