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!