Blueberry Cobbler

It's that delicious time of year when blueberries are ripe and ready for the picking! I have been very fortunate to grow up in a house where we had a surplus of blueberry bushes and raspberry bushes. Every morning, I'd saunter outside in my pajamas, bed-head and all, and pick a large bowl of fresh berries for my cereal. More often than not my ratio of berries to cereal was grossly disproportionate. I basically had cereal with my berries for breakfast and preferred it that way. Naturally it comes as no surprise that one of my favorite summertime desserts celebrates these poppable little explosions of sweet-tart juices.

Blueberry cobbler is really not all that difficult to make. However, it can take some practice getting the sauce just right. It might take a few tries to understand how cornstarch works as a thickening agency. It doesn't instantly thicken up, but once it does, it's hard to miss. Although the recipe says to boil it for just one minute, sometimes it can take a little longer. So be patient, don't set your heat on high or you might burn it, and just keep stirring.

Also, this dessert is delicious either cold or hot. When cold, it tastes like biscuits and jam. When hot, it takes like warm pie filling. It's hard to go wrong with this dessert.

Blueberry Cobbler

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
4 cups blueberries*
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons shortening
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix 1/2 cup sugar and the cornstarch in a pan. Stir in blueberries and lemon juice. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for about 1 minute. Pour into ungreased 2-quart casserole dish; keep blueberry mixture hot in oven while preparing the biscuit batter.

Mix 1 tablespoon sugar, the baking powder and salt. Cut shortening into the flour mixture until it resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk. Drop dough by 6 big spoonfuls onto hot blueberry mixture.

Bake until topping is golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Serve warm and, if desired, with a little bit of vanilla ice cream on the side.

*You can substitute blueberries for several different types of fruit to make the cobbler how you like it best. Examples are: peaches, blackberries**, cherries, or raspberries**. Use the same measurement of 4 cups for whatever fruit you choose.

**If you choose to make a raspberry or blackberry cobbler, I recommend adding in 1 more tablespoon of cornstarch. Since both of these berries tend to be juicier, they need a little more cornstarch to thicken up the sauce.