I got tired of  making blueberry crisps, so I made a Blueberry Cobbler instead. (just like that) I searched online for a recipe and discovered that there’s LOTS of recipes out there….and they are all a little different!

After reading (err..scanning) thru many recipes I finally found one that suited my needs. This is code for …I had all the ingredients in the pantry/fridge.

It’s a winner. The blueberries become all goo-ey and the cobbler part was perfect.

Here’s the recipe:

Blueberry Cobbler (taken from www.wickedgoodkitchen.com)

Ingredients:

For the Blueberry Filling

6 cups of blueberries

1 cup of sugar (I used less)

2 teaspoons of grated lemon zest

3 tablespoons of all purpose flour

For the Buttery Biscuit Crumble Topping

1 cup plus 5 tablespoons of all purpose flour

6 tablespoons of sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of salt

6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, chilled and cut into bits

1 large egg, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 tablespoon of sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly butter a pie plate, baking dish etc.

2. Prepare the blueberry filling: Place blueberries into the prepared baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Add the flour and whisk until thoroughly combined. Sprinkle evenly over the berries and toss gently.

 

3. Prepare the buttery biscuit crumble: In a bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until well combined. Using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles a course meal with small pea-sized pieces of butter.  In a small bowl, whisk the vanilla into the beaten egg. Gently toss the egg and vanilla into the flour mixture until moistened and the dough starts to hold together.

4. Assemble the cobbler: Sprinkle the biscuit crumble evenly over the fruit filling. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon (if desired).

5. Bake for 40 minutes.

**I promise that your kitchen is going to smell delicious and the blueberries will be bubbling away.

This recipe was so good that I’ve made this cobbler twice in one week.

Sadly I never have ice cream in my freezer but I bet this blueberry cobbler would be absolutely perfect with a scoop of ice cream!!

Happy Baking.

 

I stumbled across this banana cake recipe online and it intrigued me for these two reasons:

a) You bake it at 275 degrees for 1 hour and 10 min.

b) You transfer the cake right from the oven into the freezer for 45 minutes.

So I tried it and it was SO good that I made it three times in one week. Not to mention I had these two compliments;

a) my mom said it tasted similar to the Sara Lee Banana Cake (that we use to eat decades ago)

b) my aunt actually tried it and then made the recipe the following week. She’s an amazing baker so this was a huge compliment!

Here’s the recipe for you to try (in your spare time ..of course)

CRAZY BANANA CAKE WITH CREAM CHESE ICING (credit: www.happyhooligans.ca)

• 1.5 cups very ripe bananas (3 fresh bananas or 4 thawed, previously frozen bananas)
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
•  3/4 cup soft butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1.5 cups buttermilk (OR milk soured with one tbsp vinegar or lemon juice….I used this method as I didn’t have buttermilk hanging around my fridge)

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 275º F, and grease and flour (or spray), a 9×13 cake pan.

Mash banana and mix with lemon juice and set aside.

In a med bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

If you’re making your own buttermilk, combine milk and vinegar (or lemon juice) in a small bowl, and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. ( I used a mixer for this step to make it light and fluffy)
Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Stir in vanilla.

Beat in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk.

Stir in bananas.

Pour into greased/floured (or sprayed) cake pan and bake at 275º F for 1 hour and 10 mins (or until knife comes out clean).

HERE’S THE INTERESTING STEP:

Immediately place in the freezer for 45 minutes. (if not completely cool upon removal from freezer, let cool further before icing).

No need to cover the cake, but you’ll want to place it on a thick, folded towel to protect items underneath.

FINAL RESULT:

Cream Cheese Icining: (which as you can see from the photo I did’t make as I think it’s amazing on it’s own)

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temp.
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3.5 cups icing sugar (also known as powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar)

1. Cream butter and cream cheese.
2.  Beat in vanilla and icing sugar on low until combined, then high until smooth.

Note: This makes a ton of icing so you might want to halve the recipe.

Happy Baking!!

 

 

At one my point in my life I was a Food Sales Rep. This meant I was visiting 12-15 grocery stores a day. However my fridge was ALWAYS missing something.

I really do have a love/hate relationships with Grocery Stores. Thankfully Loblaws has introduced a program called Click & Collect, so I can “love” grocery shopping more than hating it!

Here’s my experience using it:

1. I sat on my couch one night and ordered my groceries online using this website: https://shop.loblaws.ca/

After a few clicks, my online cart was full of things I needed…ie Kale, Almond Milk, frozen spinach, and other goodies!

2.  I then clicked on a convenient time for me to pick up my groceries. Sweet.

3. The next day, I drove to Loblaws (there’s 3 locations that are offering this program). When I drove thru the parking lot I saw these “Click & Collect” signs so I parked and followed the instructions. i.e I made a phone call where a friendly customer service rep reviewed my bill.

For more information about substitutions, pricing, etc. please click here: https://shop.loblaws.ca/faq

4) The friendly customer service rep came out with my groceries and put them in my car.

5) See me smiling from the comfort of my car? I was SO happy with the service and the fact that I didn’t have to leave my car!!

Things you should know;

a) There is an additional service fee depending on the time slot you choose. I must have picked a great time, as I only had to pay an additional $3 for the service.

b) You need to spend a minimum of $50

c) There’s 3 locations in Toronto that are offering the  “Click & Collect” program.

Loblaws: 17 Leslie Street, Toronto

Loblaws: 11 Redway, Toronto

Loblaws: 301 High Tech Road, Richmond Hill

Would I use the Click & Collect program again?  YES. YES. YES!!

Happy Clicking and Collecting!!

Disclosure: I was compensated to try the Click & Collect program however all opinions are my own