Recipe: Blueberry-Ginger Crumble

[ysabetwordsmith]

Today we went out to an Amish meat market. On the way, I spied a roadside stand with an honor box. That is, you pick out what you want, read the price, and put the appropriate amount of money in a locked box -- on your honor. It's good for people to exercise honor. I love this system; in today's paranoid world, I'll go out of my way to patronize it. I usually put in more money than required, by way of encouragement. What this stand had that I wanted was a carton of fresh blueberries. I gallantly resisted the urge to gobble them up on the ride home. And then I did this to them.

Blueberry-Ginger Crumble

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons ginger chips (minced crystallized ginger)
1/3 cup butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350º.

Put the blueberries in a medium-sized glass bowl and rake the edge of a spoon through them to bruise the fruit slightly. Add 1/3 cup white sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice; stir, then set aside.

In a second bowl, combine 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup rolled oats, and 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar. Then stir in 2 tablespoons of ginger chips. Slice the butter into squares and add to the dry ingredients. Use a butter cutter to mix the contents until loose and crumbly.

Stir the blueberries and spread them in the bottom of a glass pie plate. Then sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over the blueberry filling. Bake at 350º for 20-30 minutes, until topping is golden-crisp and filling is bubbly.


Notes:
I used fresh blueberries this time. Frozen ones should also work.

The Ginger People brand sells ginger chips by the can. If you can’t find that, buy ordinary dried crystallized ginger and mince it finely.

This crumble dessert was received with great enthusiasm.

Comments

Yummy!

[wylde-writer.livejournal.com]

As soon as I recover from my current deadline mania, I am going to go into the kitchen and commune with this recipe. Thank you!

Re: Yummy!

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

You're welcome. Feedback would be lovely, if or when you try this recipe.

mmmmm

[morningdove3202.livejournal.com]

Could you use fresh ginger, or ginger paste?

Oh, BTW, where I live we have quite a few road side stand that use the honor system. If I ever grow enough to share, I will probably do the same thing...but not this year. I have just enough blackberries to make a Blackberry Buckle for our Lammas ritual.

Dove

Re: mmmmm

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately different forms of ginger really don't substitute well. Powdered ginger is very subtle. You could put it in -- 1 teaspoon is the typical amount for dried spice in this recipe's crust -- but the result would be a different tasty dessert. The ginger paste I have tried was also very subtle, and unlike candied ginger, it's wet.

Fresh grated ginger is hot, which is similar to candied ginger; but it's also wet in a way that candied ginger is not and it doesn't have the sugar coating. To get a similar effect, maybe try dicing the fresh ginger and stirring it into the dry ingredients. Then see if you need to add a little more flour and/or sugar. Then cut in the butter.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

The King Arthur Flour company's baking catalogue (http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/landing.jsp?go=Home) also sells candied ginger chips (which I adore). They call it something slightly different, though.

*notes down recipe*

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Looks like either of these would work:
Ginger - Soft Diced
Item 1467
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/detail.jsp?id=1467

Mini Diced Ginger
Item 1404
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/detail.jsp?id=1404

I also note:

Medium Diced Ginger
Item 1130
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/detail.jsp?id=1130

Ginger Slices
Item 1191
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/detail.jsp?id=1191

[ivy-broom.livejournal.com]

Oh Great Goddess!

I will absolutely have to try making this!
My mouth is watering...

(and from the Wizard of Oz):
"I'm melting!!!!"

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Something else I want to try is crumbling up crisp lemon cookies to add to the crumble topping.

[minor-architect.livejournal.com]

I make something similar to this with fresh peaches, candied ginger, Jiffy yellow cake mix, butter, brown and granulated sugars. To really let the flavors marry, I bake it at about 225º for two hours. Easy to assemble and worth the wait!

This is the first time I've heard of combining blueberries with candied ginger but it sounds worth a try. First, however, I will be using any blueberries I buy to make Blueberry Focaccia. :9

Blueberry-Ginger Crumble - I'm a Fanatic!

[ivy-broom.livejournal.com]

I made this recipe on Monday, August 11th. I used local, wild blueberries as I try to buy local produce whenever I can. I found the crystallized ginger in my neighborhood health food store in bulk bins.

I liked it well enough the first night and gave it a score of 4.5 out of 5 pentacles then. The next morning I decided to have it with my breakfast tea and just totally went nuts over it. I thought it was even better after spending a night in the fridge. I gave it a 5 full pentacles up, and would have given it more if that wouldn't have spoiled my rating scheme.
By the way I can see trying your idea of the crumbled lemon cookies as well.

Mmmmmm. Yummmmmmm. OMGoddess! Out of this world excellent!

Please keep sharing absolute winning recipes like this! :-)

Mmmyyuuummmhmmmmmmhhhyyyyummmmmyumyum.... oh no it's all gone, I've eaten it all up! :-(

Re: Blueberry-Ginger Crumble - I'm a Fanatic!

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

"local, wild blueberries"

*droooooool* When I was little, a family friend used to bring us a monster case of blueberries fresh from Michigan, once a year.

Thanks everso for the recipe feedback! Yes, I'll keep posting. Recipes have proven surprisingly popular in what's mainly intended as a writing career & personal tidbit blog. I guess everybody loves foodpr0n.

[team-tim.livejournal.com]

*bookmarked*

Blueberry Cobbler

[(Anonymous)]

This looks totally yummy. I think the only substitution I'd have to make (to make it vegan) is the butter. That's easy! Blueberries are ready locally here ... and I just happen to know where some wild bushes are growing. :)

Thanks for sharing!

Small Footprints
http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com

Re: Blueberry Cobbler

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Hmm ... you could try it with margarine or other vegetable fat. It would probably work in this recipe, though I've found that there are some where margarine does NOT work. The crumble topping basically needs a binder.