no slouch, just slump, and a summer blog break

~ jama
slump
Please help yourself to some homemade Blueberry Slump.

Happy Independence Day!

Funny, I hadn’t planned on slump — but this sometimes happens when your husband’s no slouch.

The other day, I jotted down a grocery list for Len. Nothing out of the ordinary:

  • bananas
  • blueberries
  • 2 vine-ripened tomatoes
  • cucumber
  • 2 mangoes

I usually don’t specify an amount for the blueberries cause it’s always the same — a pint basket for my morning cereal.

Sure, my penmanship is nothing to brag about.

Still.

I got oodles and oodles of blueberries. A big bag, nay, an avalanche of blueberries. He couldn’t understand why I’d want “6” blueberries. So he bought 6 quarts.

Maybe he thought I was planning to bake 6 giant pies for 6 starving yeti?!

Me: !!!?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*&*#@(#!!!!

He showed me the list. I’d written “blueberries,” plain as day. So what if the “b” was slightly separated from the rest of the word? I’m one of those people who writes in “print-script.” I never connect all my letters in strict cursive form. He knows this. Yet he still thought my “b” was a “6.”

6 lueberries

Me: 6 lueberries? 6 lueberries?!

Oy. (Might I add that the stem on my “b” was straight up, not curved to the right?)

He was looking more yeti-like with each passing second.

Only one thing to do: make blueberry pancakes and blueberry muffins and blueberry bread and blueberry slump.

No, I’m not complaining. After all, he did fill the order. When it comes to grocery shopping, Len’s no slouch. Good thing it wasn’t watermelons. 😀

* * *

IMG_0874

NEW ENGLAND BLUEBERRY SLUMP
(makes b 6 servings)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Blueberry Mixture

  • 3 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Crust

  • 1 cup sifted flour
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup shortening
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted
  • Half and half, cream, or vanilla ice cream, as desired

1. Combine blueberry mixture ingredients in 1-1/2 quart casserole. Cover and bake in hot oven (400 degrees F) for 15 minutes. Uncover and stir well.

2. While berries are heating, prepare crust. Sift together flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening with pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add milk and stir only enough to moisten dry ingredients. Drop by small spoonfuls onto blueberry mixture, covering fruit completely. Drizzle butter over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

3. Return to hot oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until topping is cooked and browned. Serve warm with half and half, cream, or vanilla ice cream.

4. After you’ve had your fill, hug your resident yeti and practice your penmanship.

(Adapted from The Old Fashioned Cookbook by Jan McBride Carlton, Weathervane Books, 1975.)

Ribbet collage

* * *

Time to sign off for my annual summer blog break. I plan to read, write, dawdle, eat, rest, tidy up, think, walk, organize, explore, landscape, play the piano, and (gasp!) migrate all my data from my ancient PC desktop to a new iMac (any tips?).

Have a bang-up 4th of July — partying, parading, and picnicking!!

And enjoy your summer. See you in August! 🙂

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Copyright © 2013 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.

33 thoughts on “no slouch, just slump, and a summer blog break”

  1. Len is one smart guy — I love blueberries and all the tasty things they accompany. Enjoy your break, Jama — it sounds wonderful (well, except for the PC to Mac migration part — no tips from me, alas). And happy 4th to you and Len!

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      1. Well, that would be nice, but I was REALLY hoping you might personally deliver the slump. It looks so yummy, and it would be so lovely to sit and chat with you in person!

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    1. Can’t go wrong with fruit crisps, crumbles, slumps and cobblers. This slump recipe was so easy — cook the fruit a little, then drop the biscuit dough on top of everything and bake. Some people make slumps right on the stove in a cast iron skillet.

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  3. Great minds think alike! I talk about Sonkers today! :–)

    Hope you have a great Fourth and a great break! (even though I hate when you take breaks!) :–)

    And by the way, we have a pc that needs to be migrated to a mac, but the pc is so full of JUNK that I only trust things that I can attach as documents and email to the mac! Also, I bought Pages for the mac (which is their version of Word), and not only was it cheap, it is GREAT, AND can read all the word docs!

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    1. I was wondering about Pages — have heard both good and bad about it. Talked to a nice person at the Apple store yesterday to learn more about the iMac. The migration assistant didn’t work very well when I tried to move data from the PC to my Airbook. Might just selectively move over a few files via thumb drive.

      Off to read your post. Never heard of Sonkers! 🙂

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  5. Too funny! Luckily for you, they freeze beautifully. Enjoy your break and your Mac and your books and your piano… Whew—you’re wearing me out!

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    1. Alas, little to no room in the freezer. Guess I have to add “clean the freezer” to my list. Happy Fourth, Michelle!

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  6. Pingback: dessert recipe archive | Jama's Alphabet Soup

  7. Did you and Jill get together? Love your post. I’m a huge slump, grunt, crisp, and crumble fan. Our local blueberries haven’t started yet, but we have the last of the field-fresh strawberries. A little ice cream, some dark chocolate syrup, a slice of pound cake … that’s today’s dessert.

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  9. Lots of good tasty things from blueberries, and I always feel so virtuous eating them! Have a good break, Jama! I just had the mac store do my migrating, then I could be sure it was done. I have pages too, use it less still than word, but it does have its perks!

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    1. I like to eat blueberries every day — they are definitely packed full of great nutrients. I had thought of having the store do the migrating but don’t feel like dragging in my desktop tower. Will check into Pages.

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  10. my husband is more apt to forget something important off my list than bring me an avalanche of one of my favorite things (chocolate and raspberries please?). that was some sweet mistake. now i have a giant craving for something berrylicious. enjoy your break!

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    1. He claims my handwriting is impossible to read, and has brought home some “interesting” substitutes before, but this was the first time he went overboard with quantity. I think he just wanted more blueberry desserts. Have a nice summer, Valerie!

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  11. You can never have too many blueberries–which is why I still have some frozen from last year’s day of picking.
    And come to think of it, I have not yet made a dessert for the picnic we are going to for dinner. Blueberry slump? I’m on it.

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  12. What a funny story. That pie looks delicious, I might get my mum to bake it 😉 Enjoy your break!

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    1. It’s very easy to make. Basically a dropped biscuit on fruit. Of course the more ice cream or whipped cream the better!

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  13. At least “lueberries” are in season, so they’re probably excellent quality.

    And I will see you in a couple of weeks!

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  15. We went blueberry picking last weekend and picked three buckets full. My husband has been eating them by the handful, all day long. I made some blueberry pie filling to freeze and it was so good (and took so many blueberries) that I was sorry we hadn’t picked more! I should have brought Len.

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  17. So funny! Oh well, life gave you blueberries, so you made slump — not bad! 🙂 If you ever have leftovers, frozen blueberries are great. Jamie prefers them now to fresh (strange kid). But they are like eating little frozen candies, and you can get them all year round!

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  18. Hilarious, Jama! Thanks for sharing that great story. Grocery store stories always make me laugh because my father was such a horrible shopper and always made us groan and laugh by what he did or did not get on the list 🙂 We just picked our first wild 6lueberries of the summer and made muffins…yum!

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