Cascadian Farm Organic Goodness

Something about the greening of the grass in my backyard spurs the urge to make brunch. Where cold and gray winter mornings have me reaching for a bowl of warm oatmeal, I'm now craving crêpes or a spinach omelet eaten in the morning sun with the day still ahead, just as the summer is yet to come.

It's such cravings that lead to the production of 80 cinnamon rolls as I search for the one I am dreaming of. Of course, now armed with the recipe, it's only right that we should tinker a bit, and what came next was the spreading of blueberry preserves, tucked into an ever-so-lightly lemon-dusted dough and baked into fist-sized puffs of breakfast heaven.

These lemon blueberry rolls take a traditional cinnamon roll dough and introduce it to the brightness of lemon zest and a filling of blueberry preserves. They are a fun and unexpected twist on the classic.

Lemon Blueberry Rolls

1 ¼ cups whole milk

12 tablespoons unsalted butter

½ cup sugar

2 teaspoons lemon zest

½ teaspoon salt

2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast

4 cups all-purpose flour

For the filling:

10 oz Cascadian Farm Blueberry Fruit Spread

Before baking:

1 egg

2 tablespoons water

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

3 teaspoons milk

1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice

Heat the milk in a medium saucepan until bubbles form around the edges. Turn the burner off and add  butter, sugar, lemon zest and salt. Stir to combine, then continue stirring until the butter melts. Allow the mixture to sit until it reaches between 110º and 120º F. Add the yeast and let it sit for 10 minutes, until it turns frothy. 

Pour the milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and start adding the flour a ½ cup at a time. Once all the flour is incorporated, cover and let it rise in the bowl for one full hour. Punch down the dough and knead lightly. Roll the dough into a large rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Spread the blueberry preserves over the entire surface and roll into a long tube. Cut 1 1/2" sections from the tube for the rolls. Place 2” apart on a parchment-lined sheet or in a baking dish. Allow to rise for 45-60 minutes. The dough will continue to rise after you put it in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 425º. Beat together egg and water and brush over the tops of the rolls. Bake for 8-12 minutes, remove from oven.

Mix together all glaze ingredients. Drizzle lightly over warm rolls. Serve warm or up to 24 hours later if stored in an airtight container.

Makes 20 cinnamon rolls.

Photo by Shaina Olmanson

The sun has finally been showing its face in my neighborhood, and slowly but surely, the snow is starting to melt. While the temperatures are nowhere near the shoulder-baring variety, they are warm enough to allow us to spend a few hours outside, even if it is only to pick up the debris from a long winter and get started cleaning out long dormant gardens.

With spring underway and summer around the corner, it's time to start thinking about picnics and summertime entertaining, and what better way to do it than with a few finger food dessert options, like mini cheesecakes with a hint of honey and the burst of summer blueberries

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake with Blueberry Cream

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

¼ cup honey

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 egg

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 cup Cascadian Farm Frozen Blueberries

2 teaspoons honey

24 mini phyllo shells

1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350º F. Beat softened cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add in ¼ cup honey, lemon rind and egg and beat. Stir in sour cream. Set aside. Over medium heat, warm blueberries and 2 teaspoons of honey in a saucepan until soft and juicy. Using an immersion blender, blend into a lumpy syrup. Add in ½ cup of the mixture to the cheesecake batter and stir to combine. Reserve remaining blueberry sauce.

Fill phyllo shells with cheesecake batter, just slightly below the top. Bake at 350º F for 15- 0 minutes until centers are set. Remove from oven and cool.

Just before serving, beat together 2 tablespoons blueberry sauce with the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Pipe onto the mini cheesecakes and garnish with a single blueberry and grated lemon rind.

Makes 24 mini cheesecake bites.

Photo by Shaina Olmanson

This past weekend I was on a mission. Inspired by an amazing stack of Vanilla Blueberry Almond Pancakes (at my favorite breakfast spot, the Coffee Cup) I was determined to bake a loaf of bread that combined those delicious flavors. And since I love baking Banana Bread, because it’s so quick and easy, I wanted to come up with a bread recipe for the summer time – using blueberries. This bread makes a perfect breakfast or snack with your afternoon tea. Add a glaze, it’s a tasty dessert. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did – I baked 3 loaves!

1 cup organic blueberries, washed and dried

1/4 cup sliced almonds (plus a few more to sprinkle on top)

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour (plus ¼ cup to coat berries & nuts)

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla

Pre-heat the oven to 325°. Grease a 8.5” x 4.5” loaf pan.

Toss the berries and almonds with 1/4 cup of flour to keep them from sinking in the batter.

In a large bowl, combine 1 ½ cups of flour, oats, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined. Fold in the almonds and blueberries.

Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan and bake for 55 - 65 minutes, rotating the pan partway through. Allow bread to cool completely before slicing.

Photos by Kari Burks