Betty-Lou's Blueberry Roly-Poly

There are a million ways to use blueberries in the kitchen. Whether you add them to your cereal, pop them in your yogurt, bake them into muffins, or throw them into a delectable dessert, they're completely versatile and let's not forget absolutely Delicious!! One of my favourite ways to eat fresh blueberries is to bake up a batch of blueberry squares, I could literally eat the full tray myself. Unfortunately... or fortunately (I haven't quite decided yet), I've discovered another irresistible blueberry dessert I could also polish off myself: my mother-in-law's Blueberry Roly-Poly. This is my father-in-law's favourite blueberry recipe, and is always his main request come blueberry season. I completely understand why! I'm hooked.

Molasses Tart

If you've never experienced a freshly baked Molasses Tart filled with jammed, wild Newfoundland berries, you don't know what you're missing! Hands down one of my all time favourite desserts. I'm not sure where the recipe originated - probably a G.F.S. Cookbook somewhere along the way - all I know is that my mom has been making these tarts for as long as I can remember.

A few weeks back I decided to give the recipe a go, myself. One thing I've learned about family recipes (or at least my family's recipes), is that you must always call the person who gave you the recipe, the first time you attempt to make it - trust me on this! Guaranteed, time and time again, there will be tweaks and adjustments in their head that haven't quite made it to the original recipe you've copied. I can't even begin to tell you the number of times I've prepared one of my mom's recipes only to have it turn out completely different, then discover when chatting after the fact, that I should have...  doubled the sauce portion, halved the dough recipe, left out such and such ingredient, included such and such ingredient (listed nowhere in the recipe), baked for only half the time, or 3/4's of the time, or way longer... all actual examples I've encountered over the past few years. It's laughable at this point, and I know now to give her a call, butttt it can still be frustrating if I forget, or if I can't get ahold of her when I'm making it.

Note: This recipe yields 4 tarts - mom typically halves the recipe and prepares 2, but I prepped the full amount - I'm always wary about having enough crust for double crusted pies, so I figured I would make it all and use the leftovers in my mini cupcake tray to make mini tarts!

Lemon Panna Cotta with Blueberry Sauce

I love trying new recipes, especially desserts! However, like a good chunk of the population these days, I'm constantly trying to 'eat better', which means my experiments in the recipe world usually revolve around meals or apps or snacks... not desserts. God knows I have no restraint when they're in my house. In any case, special occasions present the opportunity for experimentation with sweets, and for Valentine's Day I gave Panna Cotta a try. After the tasty rack of lamb, I knew we would want something refreshing and this recipe from Italian Food Forever, sounded ideal.

I had never had panna cotta prior to making this recipe, so I wasn't sure what to expect - it was amazing! It requires a bit of time to set up in the fridge, but, once it does, it is silky, creamy and incredible. The Lemon Panna Cotta on its own was good, but the topping made it better again. I would highly recommend this recipe.

Apple-Blueberry Crunch

Bliss

After a meal of soup failure - by failure, I mean a soup that tasted like nothingness, with rice that literally sucked the remaining pot liquor dry (didn't even know that was possible)?! - I was left with a tremendous need to redeem/comfort myself with deliciousness.

Enter Crunch. One of my all-time favourite desserts. It's sweet, delicious, a bit 'crunch'-y and oh-so-satisfying, especially after a savoury meal (or a failed one in this case). Like many of my recipes, this was a favourite growing up. Typically, we would have either blueberry or apple crunch, but last week, with both on hand, I stared destiny in the face and created my new favourite version, Apple-Blueberry!

Pavlova - Check!

Yesterday was a big day for me, I crossed not only one, but two items off of my Food List Challenge. One of those items was Pavlova. To be honest I've always wanted to try it! I mean what's not to love? Meringue, whip and fresh fruit?! Not only is it very yummy, and not only does it look quite fancy and gorgeous, but it's actually quite simple to make. My recipe came from allrecipes.com.

Blueberry Squares

This recipe comes to you courtesy of my wonderful mother, who, over the years, has had a knack of discovering and creating recipes I don't just love, I crave! These things are probably my favourite cookie ever - delicious cake with a fluffy meringue and blueberry topping - they melt in your mouth! I could seriously eat an entire tray in one sitting - no joke. So naturally, after a day of berry picking, I just had to make them, especially once I discovered my husband had never had them before?!