Blueberry Cobbler French Toast

 Say  'good morning' with this  easy, warm  casserole of bubbly blueberries crowning thick,  puffy golden french toast,  and have a little more than you might otherwise, since  it might be , depending on which ingredients you choose,   pretty  healthy  too.   It's best  when soaked overnight but in a pinch you can get by with  a 2-hour head start in the morning.

Use  an 8-oz loaf of French or whole grain french-type bread, sliced diagonally into 10-14  3/4" thick slices  placed on a rimmed baking sheet.  In a medium bowl, whisk  together 4 eggs (use Egg Beaters if you choose), 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 c milk, 1 tsp vanilla.  Slowly spoon/pour  over the bread slices, turn to coat them completely.  Cover with plastic wrap and  refrigerate overnight or let sit at room temp for a couple hours.

Preheat oven to 450.  Butter (or spray) a 9x13  baking pan and dump in 2 1/2c   fresh or still-frozen blueberries into it.  Sprinkle with 1/2 c. sugar or splenda, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp cornstarch.  Stir to coat the berries. Fit the bread slices in the dish,  wet side up.  Wedge/squish tightly,  (even so,  you may not always get them all in).   Brush the tops with 2 tsp melted butter, and bake in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes..the time may vary depending on the thickness and density of the bread..When the berries are bubbling around the edge, remove  from the oven, let it sit for 5 minutes  before serving.   Just lift the slices onto plates and spoon the berries over.  Sprinkle with 10x sugar if you like.

If  it's a birthday breakfast, top with a little vanilla ice cream for a decadently  melting  start to the day, and leftovers served chilled  can be presented as a delicious blueberry bread pudding.

Blueberry-Rhubarb Pie

Picking  the bigger   variety blueberries  is usually more fun because  the  bushes grow to about 8' high, so there's not as much bending ( and aching backs) as with the smaller but more commonly found  berries.  Blueberries and rhubarb...  what a surprise this  taste combination is.  Whether you pick & pull your own  "berries 'n' barb"   or buy them at the store, you will love this  sweet-tart   pie.

Preheat the oven to  425.   Combine  1 1/2 c. sugar,  1/4 c. packed light brown sugar,  1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp salt, 3 Tb quick-cooking tapioca, 2 c. rhubarb cut in 1/2" pieces,  and 2 c. blueberries.  Let sit for ten minutes. 

Pour into an unbaked pie shell, top with second crust,  flute, and slash the top so steam can escape, Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to  400  for 30 minutes or until the crust is browned  and the juices are bubbling up through the vents.   Cool on a wire rack completely before serving. If you taste it and find you've  gotten hold of  a batch of unusually tart rhubarb or blueberries, just sprinkle your slice of pie with some extra  granulated sugar to sweeten it up.

Cherry Berries on A Cloud

A baked meringue, topped with a cream cheese/whipped cream/marshmallow layer  and then your choice of   colorful, seasonal fruits...what's not to love?  An Americanized version of a Pavlova, essentially.   Thanks to Jed Metzger, who contributed this recipe to a 1991 cookbook I did for charity, we've enjoyed this dessert many times, in many  flavor combinations.

  This photo shows  cherry pie filling with fresh blackberries and fresh strawberries.  Use blueberries instead, for a patriotic   red-white-and blue summer dessert, or reverse it with blueberry  pie filling and fresh strawberries or raspberries.   I've made it with blueberries in peach pie filling,  and  kiwi  in raspberry filling for a Christmas-y dessert.    Blueberries in lemon  filling might be interesting, too, just add more  berries.   Remember though,  this must be  started  at least a  full day ahead.  There's  not much work to be done, but  there are  two 12- hour 'wait' periods. It keeps well for a few days so  fine to make ahead.  There's no rushing the wait time..one period lets the meringue cool and fall, the second allows the marshmallows to sort of dissolve into the cream and that layer to bond with the meringue. . 

Heat oven to 275 and grease a 9x13 pan, all the way to top edges.  Beat 6 egg whites,  1/2 tsp cream of tartar, and 1/4 tsp salt til frothy.  Gradually beat in 1 3/4 c. sugar, until very stiff and glossy, about 15 minutes.  Spread in the prepared pan, bake 60 minutes at 275.   Turn oven off and leave the meringue in the oven until cool,  12 hours or overnight.

Beat  6 oz softened cream cheese with  1 c. sugar,  and 1 tsp vanilla. Gently fold in  2 c. whipping cream, whipped, and 2 c. white miniature marshmallows.   Spread over the cooled meringue, cover and  refrigerate it  12 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, cut in squares and serve  with some of the fruit topping.

Topping:   Combine 1 can cherry pie filling, 1 tsp lemon juice, 2 c. total of  sliced fresh strawberries &  blackberries.