In a food processor you will first combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and half of the rolled oats. Ten tablespoons of cold butter that has been cut into small pieces is then added. Pulse the mixture until it is damp crumbly. Pour into another bowl and mix in remaining oats. I like to see and taste the oats in my crisp so I don't process all of them in the food processor. This is an added step, one definitely worth taking.
Recipe
Blueberry Crisp (more than a slight adaptation to a recipe published in Yankee Magazine ages ago)
Updated Recipe (May 2020)
Ingredients
3 pints (992g or 36 ounces) or 6 cups of fresh blueberries (or 5 cups blueberries and 1 cup blackberries)
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
Juice and finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 rounded teaspoon cinnamon (recommend using Saigon cinnamon)
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (200 g) packed light brown sugar
1 cup (100 g) rolled oats plus 2 Tablespoons, divided
1/2 rounded teaspoon cinnamon (recommend using Saigon cinnamon)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
11 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
Vanilla Ice Cream for serving
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Generously butter a 9" x 12" ceramic or glass baking dish or 10 inch round ceramic baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, mix the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, flour, kosher salt, and cinnamon. Pour mixed berries into prepared dish and set aside.
3. Combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and half of the oats in a food processor.
4. Add butter and pulse repeatedly until mixture is clumpy, like damp crumbs.
5. Pour mixture into a bowl and mix in the remaining oats.
6. Spread crumbs evenly over the blueberry mixture.
7. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly hot. Remove from oven. Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.
8. Serve warm or at room temperature.
9. Serve with the best vanilla ice cream you can find (if you live on the east coast, highly recommended Bliss vanilla)
Notes: (1) If you like a crunchier crisp topping use 12 Tablespoons instead of 11 Tablespoons of unsalted butter. (2) You can easily cut this recipe in half. Use a smaller baking dish. Baking time will be the same. (3) A small lemon will give you between one and two tablespoons of lemon juice. If using a large lemon, you will not want to use all of the lemon juice as it could make your blueberry crisp a little more lemony than you might like.
If summer had to be described in one color, for me it would be the color blue. Blue skies, the ocean, hydrangeas, and blueberries are just some of the things that make this season my second favorite (fall still ranks as my most favorite season). And if there could only be two seasons a year, my choices would be summer and fall. Both are so bountiful and beautiful on so many different levels. Having a Little House on the Prairie winter experience this year (three days without power in house with one fireplace, electric heat and a well), I think I could be good only looking at snow on the tops of mountains for at least a year. Maybe if I put some distance between my memory of this harsh winter and snow, I will go back to embracing winter again someday.
But for now, I need to just focus on savoring summer without looking ahead or looking back. There is much to be said about the concept of living in the moment (sometimes easier said than done). Have you ever just finished eating breakfast and someone says 'so what's for lunch, what's for dinner?' Or have you ever been in the company of someone you absolutely love spending time with and all you can think about is when the next time you get together? Or have you just had a perfect moment and interrupt it with wondering how long it will last? I had a friend once who would say to me (when all of these not living in the moment thoughts would come into my head) 'breathe, just breathe'. Sometimes we aren't able to listen to the advice others give us 'in the moment'. Sometimes it takes awhile for this advice to set in. So for me on days when it all seems just right, I remind myself to 'just breathe' trying not to think about what's coming next, trying only to enjoy the moment. And even on days when things aren't going as well, the words 'just breathe' help me get through those moments.