MJ's Moderation

Blueberry Crumble Pie

Juicy wild berries and a crunchy, spicy topping are the perfect pair for this pie!


Crust: 
Use a pre-made style pie crust dough (i.e. Pillsbury) from the dairy case or make your own favorite 1-crust recipe.

Directions:
Roll out crust and place into a 9" glass pie-pan. Cut off any excess and flute edges.

Filling:  (Note: this recipe uses frozen blueberries.  If you use fresh berries, you will need to adjust the lemon juice and the thickening agents, i.e. flour and sugar.)
5 cups frozen wild blueberries.  
4 T. flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Juice from one lemon

Topping:
3/4 cup old fashioned oatmeal (uncooked)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt 
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves 
1/8 tsp. of freshly grated nutmeg
5 T softened butter

Directions:  
In a small bowl, with a pastry cutter blend topping ingredients until they resemble coarse crumbs.   Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix filling ingredients and pour into prepared (unbaked) pie crust.  Spinkle topping evenly over filling.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.  Check for even baking and cover crust edges with foil if getting too dark. Bake another 10 minutes until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly.

Cool pie on a baking rack until room temperature.  Serve with vanilla ice cream or cinnamon whipped cream.

 

Farmer's Market Veggies

The selection is always overwhelming at the Saturday morning farmer's market around Capitol Square in Madison, Wisconsin. This vendor had a variety of gorgeous looking produce on his tables.

Conveniently, this post fits in nicely with City Daily Photo's September Theme Day of "Open Air Markets."

City of the Big Shoulders

We drove down to Chicago last weekend to see our son, Seth. He won a trip through his work (top regional sales!) and flew in from Phoenix for a 4-day visit. Saturday afternoon was the only free time he had and the weather was ideal: blue skies, sunny and warm, but not too humid.  And talk about people!  The streets were teeming with them, walking, skating, biking, site-seeing, and shopping.  We stopped at a great little restaurant called the "Gage" - right across from Grant Park on Michigan Ave. and had a delightful lunch together.  We sat near the front windows with a super vantage point for people-watching! Afterward, we wandered past the Art Institute of Chicago (our favorite), through the park, and enjoyed browsing an art show on the green. Next was a stroll down to Lake Michigan to watch the sailboats, and then back again through Millennium Park.  All around us the skyline was such an interesting backdrop. I love the architecture in this city.

A perfect day - but much too short, as then we had to say our good-byes and be on our way.  We'll see Seth again in October when he flies back home to Milwaukee for a GB Packers game.  We'll be back down to Chicago, that toddlin' town, any other time the opportunity presents itself.

Pear Tomato and Basil Salad

This savory side salad is a household favorite near the end of the gardening season, when all the required ingredients are plentiful.  We grow the ruffled opal basil, but regular purple basil will work just fine.  Both have a bright, mild anise-like flavor, which complements the sweetness of the tomatoes. The contrast of bright gold and deep purple is so pretty!

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh yellow pear tomatoes, cut in half
2 large stalks of celery, thinly sliced
1/2 cup julienned fresh opal (purple) basil leaves
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper (or to taste)
1/4 cup of prepared balsamic vinaigrette- we use Ken's or Newman's Own.

Combine above ingredients in a medium bowl and toss well.  Store covered in the refrigerator for at least two hours to chill and allow ingredients to "marry."  Serve over a bed of mixed butter lettuce and red-oak leaf lettuce. Delish!

Any leftovers store well in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.

Sunflowers!

A series of sunflowers from our garden.  We usually grow a row of tall multi-color sunflowers as a back-drop to our vegetable garden. While this summer's torrential rains and hot, humid weather seemed to stifle most of our tomatoes and peppers, the sunflowers thrived.  To all things there is a season...

Fountain

While visiting Salt Lake City back in May for the Rugby National Tournament, we also toured the Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormon) Temple Square. I thought it was interesting the way the fountain mimicked the temple spires in the background.