Berry Tart with Honey-Yogurt Filling

Adapted from the Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/recipes/berry-tart-honey-yogurt-filling/15342/

Here's a perfect red, white and blue dessert for 4th of July weekend!  I rarely bake, so on the few occasions I need a graham cracker crust,  I've always grabbed Keebler right off the supermarket shelf.  Well, this crust takes about 5 minutes to prep and is delicious!  Well worth the time!  It's very moist, and barely fills the pie dish, so no extra calories around the edges.  And the yogurt keep it even moist - for the one day that it lasted!

The yogurt should be strained in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.  However, I only let it sit for 2 hours and it was fine.  Next time, I'm going to try using Siggi's Icelandic style yogurt (Skyr - at Whole Foods), which is very thick and creamy to begin with, and see if it needs to be strained at all.  I also might add a bit more lemon zest, since I liked the bites that carried that taste.  Once assembled, the tart should set in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or up to a day, before serving.  This dessert is not that sweet, but is somewhat addictive!

When comparing yogurts, I noticed something interesting.  The flavored ones come in 5.3 ounce servings, and have lots of sugar.  If you buy the large 32 ounce plain yogurts, the serving size is 8 ounces, each having much more protein (23 grams in Siggi's 0% plain) and MUCH less sugar than the small fruity containers.  Choose wisely.  If you buy the large plain yogurts, you can put a swirl of honey, real fruit without added sugar, and have a much healthier and filling meal or snack.

Tested size: 8 servings (3-4 in my house)

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups plain nonfat Greek-style yogurt
9 rectangular graham cracker sheets (4.8 ounces total)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons honey
3/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

4 large strawberries, quartered, or 8 small strawberries, halved
3/4 cup blueberries
3/4 cup raspberries

DIRECTIONS:

1) Line a fine-mesh strainer with paper towels and set the strainer over a bowl. Place the yogurt on top of the paper towel in the strainer; transfer to the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight. Transfer the thickened yogurt to a bowl, and discard the liquid that has drained off.  (See headnote for shortcut).

2) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

3) Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor to the consistency of fine crumbs. The yield should be about 1 1/3 cups. Add the butter, salt and water; pulse until the crumbs are evenly moistened.

4) Grease a 9-inch round pie dish (not deep-dish) or 8-inch tart pan with cooking oil spray. Use your fingers to press the crumb mixture into a pie plate or tart pan, including a bit up the sides. Bake until browned, 6 - 8 minutes. Keep an eye on it to be sure it doesn't burn.  (The baked crust might have cracks in it; that's okay.) Let it cool completely.

5) Add the honey and lemon zest to the yogurt, stirring to incorporate. Transfer the yogurt mixture to the crust, spreading it gently with a spatula so as not to break up the crust or drag crumbs.

6) Arrange the berries on top of the yogurt filling. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 1 day in advance.

photos:

Blueberry Ginger Smoothie

From Eat Your Vegetables: Bold Recipes For the Single Cook by Joe Yonan

As ginger lovers looking for a new recipe to use our freshly picked blueberries, this was perfect!  Ginger adds a slightly spicy, pungent taste, which I love.  It does need to be fresh ginger, not the dried ground type.  The mint completes an interesting taste combination.  For more healthy smoothie recipes that include fruits, vegetables and nuts, see Joe Yonan's Eat Your Vegetables book.

This one is great as a breakfast 'main course' or as a post-workout boost.  Add a little milk if you prefer thinner smoothies.  I've actually never made one without liquid before, but this consistency was perfect for me, between the nonfat yogurt, chopped ice cubes and banana.

Ingredients:

1 banana
1/2 cup blueberries, stemmed
1/2 cup plain low fat Greek yogurt
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
4 fresh mint leaves
4 ice cubes
1 teaspoon or more honey

Directions:

Puree all ingredients except the honey in a blender until frothy and smooth.  Add honey to taste.

Baked Bananas and Blueberries

From Quick and Easy, edited by Shelley Melvin

Made this with freshly picked blueberries from Butler's.  The baked bananas were actually the best part.  Would consider using more, possibly layering under and over the berries?
For July 4th would be great to arrange as a flag with red and blue berries with bananas as stripes.

Ingredients:

6 bananas
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/4-1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 - 1 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp butter
(sour cream, optional)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350

2) Slice bananas lengthwise and plae in a greased 9 x 13 casserole.  Sprinkle with blueberries, then sugar.  Pour orange juice over and dot with butter.

3) Bake for 20 minutes, serve hot, (topped with sour cream, if you wish).

Blueberry Ginger Smoothie

from Joe Yonan:  Eat Your Vegetables

Ingredients:

1 banana
1/2 cup blueberries, stemmed
1/2 cup plain whole mild Greek-style yogurt (may substitute)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger
4 fresh mint leaves
4 ice cubes
1 tsp honey (optional or more)

Directions:

Puree all the ingredients except the honey in a blender until frothy and smooth.  Taste, add honey if you'd like it sweeter and blend again to combine.

Baked French Toast with Blueberries

from food network.com

Excellent use of freshly picked blueberries from Butler's.  Made it for brunch at Thu's house for her and Troy's birthdays.  Went over well!

Ingredients:
Butter, for greasing
6 eggs
3 cups whole milk
3/4 cup maple syrup, plus extra for serving
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 lemon, zested
3 (1-inch thick) slices (8 ounces) day-old challah or sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cups (12 ounces) fresh or frozen, thawed, and drained blueberries
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions:
Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Add the milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, salt, and lemon zest. Add the bread cubes and mix until coated. Stir in the blueberries. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

In a small bowl, mix together the remaining cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the egg mixture in an even layer. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the top is golden and the filling is set.

Spoon onto serving plates and drizzle with maple syrup.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/baked-french-toast-with-blueberries-recipe.html?oc=linkback

Blueberry Banana Bread

From foodnetwork.com

Prep:15 min
Inactive:2 hr
Cook:1 hr

Yield:6 to 8 Servings

Level:Easy

(from another website, To prepare gluten-free, mix up flour:
1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup arrowroot starch/flour or cornstarch

Use 1.5 cups of this mixture to substitute for the wheat flour.

Taste is excellent; texture slightly grainy with gluten free flour.

Ingredients
Butter, for greasing the loaf pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the loaf pan
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed to yield about 3/4 cup of mashed banana
1 cup (about 4 ounces) fresh blueberries

Directions:

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9- by 5- by 3-inch loaf pan. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla until blended. Stir in the bananas and blueberries. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool for 15 minutes. Remove the loaf from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack, about 2 hours.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/blueberry-banana-bread-recipe.html?oc=linkback