Channeling an earlier age

Today, I had a good friend over. We haven't had a chance to catch up over the past month. So this morning, I baked a coffee cake, and we sat down and talked for several hours.


I think we (society in general?) have lost some of the soul warmth that comes from having a friend over and cooking for them. So often we say, "Let's go have lunch", and we meet at some restaurant where a stranger serves us different meals. Its another form of self involvement and not allowing people to get close.  But to have someone into your home (whether it's Donna Reed clean or not!), into your personal space; to consider and select a meal or a morsel that will be enjoyed by and comforting to a person you love. Shared feelings, shared experience, shared laughter, shared tears, shared love, shared food.   Part of it is solace, and part of it is the cement that binds friendships together.  Even if it is just coffee cake.


Blueberry Coffee Cake:

1/4 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup +2 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
4 oz  cream cheese, cut into cubes (optional)

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp butter, room temperature





Turn your oven on to 375*F.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Set them aside for a few minutes.
Cream your butter and sugar together until they're light and fluffy.





Add the egg and beat it in, too.  Start beating in the flour mixture and milk, alternating until its all beaten in and is a nice sticky batter. Add in the vanilla, and fold in the blueberries, gently.  Your batter is going to turn a light bluish purple from the berries. Fold the cream cheese into the batter too. Spread the batter into a greased 9 inch square or circular pan.






Mix the toppings dry ingredients together, then cut in the butter until it looks sandy.  Sprinkle it over the top of the batter.  It might clump.  If it does, that's okay!










Put it in the oven.  Let it bake for 45-60 minutes, until it starts to smell good and a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean. Put some coffee on while its baking.  You're kitchen is going to smell wonderful!
Let it cool for a few minutes- hot gooey blueberries are sort of like hot lava if you eat them straight from the oven!

Enjoy with friends.

Make something yummy for someone you love today!

What's cooking in your kitchen?