Blueberry Custard Pie

I made this pie last summer with blueberries my husband and I picked at Locke's Fruitful Acres in Decatur. The pie is delicious and I can't wait until we pick blueberries this summer so I can make it again. What you need:

• 1 quart fresh blueberries (washed, drained & divided)
• 1 c. water (divided)
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 (3.4 oz.) pkg. instant vanilla pudding
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 (10 in. diameter) baked pie crust

Directions:

• In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, simmer 1 cup of the buleberries with 2/3 cup water for about 3 minutes.
• In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and remaining 1/3 cup water; add to simmering fruit mixture.
• Bring to a boil and boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
• Add lemon juice. Cool fruit filling in pan.
• In a medium chilled bowl with electric mixer, whip dry pudding mix with whipping cream, milk, and vanilla, until blended and thick, about 30 seconds.
• Spread custard evenly over cooled pie crust in pie pan.
• Place remaining 3 cups uncooked blueberries on top of custard.
• Pour cooled fruit filling over fresh berries.
• Refrigerate, covered loosely with plastic wrap, until firm. Serve cold.

This recipe was found in Deanna House's column in the Kalamazoo Gazette last summer.

Root Beer Cake

My family is obsessed with root beer. My husband is in the process of brewing up some homemade root beer for our son's birthday. This got me thinking, what other root beer things can I make for his birthday? I searched the internet and found several ideas for making a root beer cake. I used a combination of things from the different recipes and this is what I came up with. My family thinks the cake is delicious and we are definitely making it for the party. What you need:

• 1 pkg. butter cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c. oil
• 1 can (12 oz.) root beer

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9X13 pan.
• Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed for 4 minutes. Pour into pan.
• Bake for 33-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cake to cool.

Frosting ideas:

• Combine 1 box of instant whipped topping mix with 1/2 cup root beer. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes or until peaks form. This tastes like a root beer float - yum!
• Combine 1 box of white frosting mix with 2 Tbsp. root beer.
• Combine 2 Tbsp. of root beer with powdered sugar to make an icing.

Back up and Writing

Well, we had some pretty bad storms come through southwest Michigan Monday night and as a result I am finally back online. We lost power during the night on Monday and my internet service was knocked out until this afternoon. We use a wireless internet service and their tower was damaged in some way (I never get a straight answer out of them) during Monday's storms. Anyway, that is the reason for a lack of posts and some problems with the phone. Sorry we missed your calls and emails. Technology is great when it works, but it really makes things difficult when it is out of order.

Michigan Gas Prices Week of 7/17/06

The average price per gallon of gas across Michigan as of today, July 17, 2006, is $2.99. The big price jump has (thankfully) not ocurred (yet). We are only about $.20 from the all-time high price for a gallon of gas in Michigan of $3.205 which was set Labor Day Weekend of last year. Last year at this time we were paying $2.36 per gallon of gas on average in Michigan.

One of these weeks, wouldn't it be great if we heard that Ford or GM was going to announce a new model that would simply sip gas and get 40 to 50 miles per gallon? Or better yet, a vehicle that did not need gasoline at all. Yeah, that would be great. Just dreaming, I guess.

Gas price data courtesy of AAA's Fuel Gauge Report.

Michigan Sweet Corn Tips and Facts

From the Michigan Dept. of Agriculture website.

Selection and Care:

"When buying corn, choose ears with medium-sized kernels. Very small kernels are immature, and large kernels have a starchy taste, rather than a sweet one. The husk of the corn should be moist and green. Leaving husks on when storing corn preserves the flavor.

At room temperature the glucose in corn will convert to starch in as little as 24 hours. Therefore, refrigeration of this vegetable is critical for maintaining freshness."

Michigan Sweet Corn Facts:

• Michigan produced over 10,000 acres of sweet-corn in the year 2000 for fresh consumption alone
• One ear of corn averages 800 kernels in 16 rows. A pound of corn consists of approximately 1,300 kernels
• An acre of corn yielding 100 bushels has about 7,280,000 kernels
• Sweet corn is rich in vitamin C, iron, thiamine and riboflavin, not to mention fiber