Monday, January 31, 2011

Blueberry Macadamia Crumble


Hitting the organic blueberry jackpot at Costco the other day was cause for a blueberry celebration!  Arriving home with no less than 8 packages (the big ones... 5+ cups each!) of the plump, indigo berries my husband's eyes lit up.  His request for a blueberry pie has been duly noted and on file for at least 2 months, but the organic berries have either been too expensive to not available at all.

Berries are one of the fruits that we do nearly 100% organic.  Article after article has described the numerous pesticides and fungicides used on to control disease and pest issues on the tender fruits and we have decided to follow the advice of "organic or not at all" in the berry arena.  Unfortunately, the organic berries tend to be extraordinarily expensive and only available on occasion.  Luckily, the blueberries freeze beautifully and work well for stocking up so our Costco jackpot was a winning day indeed!


With both sets of grandparents coming for dinner and another family game night on the agenda, I set to preparing our blueberry dessert.  Dealing with the two diabetics, 1 quadruple bypass, numerous clogged arteries and one small stroke (not to mention the various replaced bionic "parts"!) we decided to do a healthier crumble in place of the pie.  Still high in sugar, but small portion worthy, we love the blueberry healthy benefits.  Blueberries are known to have one of the highest antioxidant capacities of all fresh fruits.  In addition these little guys can help to preserve vision, promote brain health and promote heart health.  A healthy dose of oatmeal adds to the heart health punch along with the monounsaturated fat rich macadamia nuts (which also adds a much welcomed slight tropical flair to our winter crumble).

The girls once again proved to be the winners with Liv avoiding the Queen of Spades during this round of Hearts and also winning a very extended game of Aggravation, which did indeed aggravate a person or two along the way.  Laughter was heard throughout the house providing another memorable evening of fun.

To ease the aggravation and the egos of the "non-winners" we served up our nutrient rich Blueberry Macadamia Crumble with a small dollop of sweetened whipped cream and settled back in our seats with coffee in hand.


Blueberry Macadamia Crumble
7 cups blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbs cornstartch
pinch of salt (optional)

Crumble:
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup spelt flour (may sub whole wheat or a/p flour)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 chopped macadamia nuts (may use extra!  I use salted)
6 Tbs butter, melted or very soft

Whipped cream or ice cream for topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 375º and spray a 2 quart baking dish.

Wash blueberries and drain.  Place into a large bowl and sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, lemon and pinch of salt, if using.  Stir gently to combine ingredients, pour into baking dish and set aside while you make the crumble topping.

Place oats, flour, brown sugar and chopped nuts into a large zip top bag.  Melt the butter, just until barely melted, and pour into the bag.  Zip the top and squeeze the bag for about a minute to mix the ingredients.  Alternatively, pour all of the ingredients into a bowl and work them together with your fingers or two forks.

Sprinkle the topping mixture evenly over the berries and place the baking dish on a foil lined baking sheet (just in case the berries bubble over... easier to clean the baking sheet than the oven!).  Place into the oven and bake for about 35 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and the berries are tender and bubbling.

Remove from the oven and set on a rack to cool.  Serve warm with sweetened whipped cream or ice cream.  Enjoy!

55 comments:

  1. Those blueberries are huge!! I've been seeing some great blueberries being sold at our local grocery store and I've been trying to think what to make with them (besides muffins). This looks flippin' fantastic!! Yes, I said flippin'! ;o)

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  2. I just went on a blueberry buying binge too, I can't resist those berries! This sounds amazing Kim, we will be trying this recipe soon!

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  3. I love when the blueberries start appearing at grocery stores again. True sign spring is coming.

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  4. Oh my word..what a beautiful color! Love your photos..stunning!

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  5. Great looking crumble! I hope that our Costco blueberries come down in price - $9.99 for a punnet. I thought the dietary requirements in my household were sometimes challenging but you win. I am glad you were able to make something so delicious, but also healthy, that would make everyone very happy to enjoy together.

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  6. Wow, Kim, this looks wonderful! Especially with those macadamia nuts in there...delicious!

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  7. Oh how I love Costco! They have great stuff! This looks really amazing...the color of the crumble is just fantastic! So nice to see during the wintertime!

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  8. wow, this looks fantastic. i feel like costco sized portions of perishable foods will never be fully used. let us know if you're able to finish the blueberries. i really think they should stop selling perishable items because while yes, people do buy them, most people end up throwing like half of it out! it's totally wasteful.

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  9. This looks awesome! Great pics, so vibrant n delicious:)

    US Masala

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  10. Wow, this looks so utterly fantastically delicious I can hardly stand it! Yum! Wonderful job!

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  11. What a lovely dessert, Kim. Seven cups, holy moly! I only buy blueberries by the package, lol. But it looks so scrumptious, nonetheless. I'm glad you all had a wonderful time together! Family time is always great :-)

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  12. Your blueberry crumble is gorgeous and so are the blueberries. I love the pic of the crumble with the whipped cream, sitting on the edge, just waiting for the cream to be spooned on top.

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  13. A sublime treat to help get through winter. We also had some lovely blueberries - but we ate them before baking could begin. However, I froze from the summer and hmmmm .... you have me thinking how grand this would be on my table.

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  14. Yum! I just used macadamia nuts also... why are they so expensive?!
    This crumble looks great, I love blueberries - they are up there at the top of my list of favorite fruits.

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  15. Mmm...fruit crumbles are so wonderful and comforting. I love how blueberries burst in them when they're baked!

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  16. I lucked out on some huge blueberries at the market this week too! They weren't organic, and they were imported from Chile, but I don't think that matters because they were delicious! If I can get a hold of some more I'm going to try them out in your crumble recipe!

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  17. This looks so amazing!!!! I love any fruit with crumble on top, YUM!!!! BUT macadamia, well just a wonderful rich, amazing flavor:)
    Take care,
    Terra
    www.cafeterrablog.com

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  18. Crumbles are definitely among the top of favorite desserts. They're forgiving and use up real fruit. Your blueberry one looks delish. Love how you used spelt and macadamia nuts. Yum!

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  19. Wow, maybe I should make time for Costco to see if there are any blueberries left for me. I've been wanting to make a blueberry pie, too. The crumble looks gorgeous, a feast for the taste buds, too, I bet!

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  20. Yum! My mountain man is going to love this! He loves macadamias and I love bluberries :) Perfect combination!

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  21. Oh, just gorgeous! A costco jackpot indeed!

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  22. So delicious looking...something extra special about a fruit dessert in the winter. Mmmmmmmm...

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  23. Blueberries and macadamia is like a magic combination! And I love crumbles so this recipe must be done soon. I need to go to Costco and hope to hit a blueberries jackpot too :)

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  24. delicious this would be a lovely dessert for these cold days Kim this looks wonderful

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  25. Beautiful crumble! I hope you bought the large can of macadamia nuts at Costco too;-)

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  26. Just gorgeous! I have a tin of blueberries waiting to be dug into! :)

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  27. Looks delicious.. I guess cause there are so many blueberries in it :)

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  28. I can't resist crumbles and this sounds absolutely delicious! Sounds like you guys had fun with the games...I love a good game night myself!

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  29. I don't have macadamias on hand. Do you think I could use hazelnuts?

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  30. I so wish it was berry season here... I miss all the summer produce! This looks fantastic!

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  31. I love how you put macadamia nuts in the crumble. What a great idea. I just love crumbles and blueberry macadamia crumble sounds incredible! Once again, your photos are just gorgeous :)

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  32. Well, I'll be! This looks fantastic!

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  33. yum! saving to my online cookbook, cookmarked.com immediately!

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  34. Nice twist with macadamia nuts! I love blueberries in all forms for sure.

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  35. I love this crumble. This should get an award. We love blueberries in my family and my parents have had blueberry bushes for years. Keeping in tradition I have one of my own. It's so much better than the chemically treated ones from the store and they're right in the back yard. ;) I may still have some in the freezer from last year. If I do, I'm making a crumble.

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  36. This is gloriously delicious! Love the blueberry and macadamia combo - one I've not tried yet!

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  37. something to die for. they look heavenly!

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  38. Wow, congratulations are in order again! Another Top 9!

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  39. This looks DIVINE! I definitely want a big dollop of whipped cream on top of mine. :) Congrats on foodbuzz top 9 today!!!

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  40. Congrats on Top 9! What a beautiful dessert. I love it when Costco has the big packages of blueberries. I will have to go there soon to see if they still have any!

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  41. those blueberries looks so plump and juicy! :)

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  42. Your Top 9 looks good even from as far away as Switzerland!

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  43. I just found some organic blueberries at Whole Foods the other day and I was so excited! I didn't pick up enough to make this crumble, but I'm planning a Costco trip soon, so hopefully they will still have some when I go.

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  44. hi Kim
    your crumble sounds delicious...wow...I would never have thought of adding macadamia to it, and the spelt flour and oats must have added so much flavor!
    Congrats on your top 9!
    Dennis

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  45. oh my, this looks delish!!! love the blueberry macadamia combo! congrats on top 9 :)

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  46. Hi Kim-I love that you added macadamia! These crumble looks wonderful!Gorgeous and congrats on the Top 9!!:)

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  47. Congrats on Top 9 and hitting the organic blueberry jackpot. I love that macadamia for crunch in the crumble! Everyone was a winner with that crumble for a dessert. Love the game pic.

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  48. Cool. Three of my favorite and healthiest ingredients in one great dessert. Who said everything good has to be decadent?
    But as to hearts... I can never play it because I try to shoot the moon too often. When it works, it's grand, but it doesn't often happen!

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  49. WOW! Looks so delicious and beautiful..Congrats on Top9.

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  50. This looks wonderful. I love macadamia nuts.

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  51. love the recipe- amazing recipe, great pics

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  52. This looks so wonderful. I just found your blog and love it! I've been on a blueberry kick lately, so this is perfect for me! Thanks!

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