Welcome to My Kitchen

Blueberries will soon be in season, and blueberry pancakes and muffins are a favorite of many. Most prepared pancake mixes include optional directions for adding blueberries, as do most plain muffin recipes. My favorite recipe for blueberry pancakes is a variation of the Darigold Buttermilk Pancake recipe. With no added sugar in cakes, they are a perfect compliment to maple syrup or honey.

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, unbeaten

2 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup melted butter

1–1 1/4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries tossed with 1 Tbsp flour

Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk and melted butter and mix until just combined. Mixture will be thick and lumpy. Fold in blueberries tossed with flour.

Heat pancake griddle or large skillet over medium heat until a sprinkle of water sizzles. Lightly grease the griddle then drop batter by heaping spoonfuls onto griddle and spread with the back of the spoon. Turn cakes when top bubbles stay open and bottom is golden brown. Yield: about 12 pancakes.

Note: this recipe is also good without the blueberries or with banana slices or other fruits.

My favorite Blueberry Muffin recipe is attributed to Mary Ruth Goodale, granddaughter of the late Emma Jean Napier. Simple ingredients allow the delicate blueberry flavor to shine.

Blue Berry Muffins

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup, or a bit more, fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously grease 12 regular muffin cups, or line with cupcake liners and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine egg, milk and oil and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add egg mixture and stir gently until just combined. Fold in blueberries.

Spoon mixture evenly into prepared muffin cups. Bake 25 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot. Yield: 12 regular-sized muffins.

Note: for most recipes, do not thaw blueberries before adding to recipes. Tossing blueberries with a tablespoon of flour before adding to recipes helps keep the color from bleeding into light-colored batters.

Egg salad sandwiches are a popular summertime treat. There are many variations from simple eggs, mayonnaise, salt and pepper, to all sorts of add-ins and seasoning choices. Dilled Egg Salad is a perfect recipe for early summer, when and abundance of young dill springs up in area gardens.

Dilled Egg Salad

2 eggs, boiled, peeled and chopped

2-3 Tbsp mayonnaise

1/2 tsp prepared mustard

1-2 tsp minced green or sweet onion

1 Tbsp chopped dill pickle

1 tsp finely minced fresh dill

Salt and pepper to taste.

Combine all ingredients and spread on your favorite sandwich bread. Yield: 1 large sandwich.

Allow 2 eggs per sandwich and increase the other ingredients for as many sandwiches as you would like to prepare.

Note: a thin coating of butter on each slice of bread will prevent the filling making the bread soggy.

Pickled beets are a favorite summertime side dish that many home gardener cooks preserve for winter enjoyment. Easy Marinated Beets is a refrigerator recipe, perfect for early thinning of beets grown in a home garden or purchased at market. This small-batch recipe is a refrigerator recipe, no canning involved.

Easy Marinated Beets

3 cups cooked, peeled and sliced beets, about 20 golf ball size

2 small red onions, thinly sliced

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

2 Tbsp honey

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

2/3 cup water

Place sliced beets in a large glass bowl or jar and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine sliced onions, salt, honey, vinegar and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes.

Pour hot mixture over beets and mix well. Refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours, but overnight is better, to develop flavors. Serve chilled as a side dish or condiment. Keeps refrigerated up to one month.

Not everything I mix up in the kitchen is meant to be eaten, at least not by humans. The following recipe is for capturing coddling moths, those pesky little sneaks that ruin lovely looking apples by boring holes throughout the fruit.

There are professional sprays and home application mixtures to treat trees, but if you want to avoid harsh chemicals you might want to give the following recipe a try. You have to be consistent over several years, and it helps if you convince close neighbors to do this also.

Coddling Moth Trap

1 gallon clean, empty milk jug

1 cup cider vinegar

1/3 cup dark molasses

1/2 tsp ammonia

Enough water to make 1 1/2 quarts liquid

Carefully cut a hole the size and shape of an egg just below the shoulder of the jug on the side opposite the handle.

Combine all ingredients and pour into the jug. Tie the jug by the handle onto a sturdy limb of the apple tree. Use two or three jugs spaced out for large, full-sized trees and one per each dwarf or small tree.

As the liquid evaporates, use a garden hose to add more water. Leave them up until leaves begin to fall or all fruit is picked.

Kids, remember to sign up for the GoOdessa Recreation cooking classes starting June 23. Pizza is our first class. Follow Welcome to My Kitchen on Facebook for more summer cooking and kitchen tips.

– Share your favorite summer recipes by sending them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159, email therecord@odessaoffice.com or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office. Evening watering is best for vegetable gardens and flowerbeds, as the plants take up the moisture better when it is cool.