Sharing the bounty...Bluberry Coffee Cake

Build houses and dwell in them;
plant gardens and eat their fruit.
Jeremiah 29:5

Blueberry Coffee Cake

I was blessed with blueberries yesterday!! One of my favorite things about gardens and orchards "coming in" is the sharing of fruits and vegetables that goes on amongst family and friends. Even those of us without gardens or fruit trees get in on the giving! And, the sharing of fresh produced you've been given isn't even looked upon as "re-gifting!" As a matter of fact, it's expected! The only thing worse than not having your own garden to harvest and share from, is not sharing what others have blessed you with, with your other garden-less, and therefore, to-be-pitied, friends and neighbors!

We share by means of cooking and inviting each other over to dine on these delicious foods we've been given, or we cook a cobbler with part of the fresh fruits that have been bestowed upon us and take it someone else we know who doesn't have their own fruit trees. So, as you can see, we have a system down here that leaves no fresh veggie and fruit lover left behind. It's the South's own little distribute-the-wealth/grocery budget stimulus package! Maybe our friends in Washington should take a look at our little system! ;) I do believe it is pleasing unto the Lord to see His children sharing from the bounty of His good earth!

Last night, Aunt Jean came over and ate our veggie buffet with us. Dude had a meeting, so we "fixed him a plate" for today's lunch. Aunt Jean had been given a nice, big bag of fresh blueberries by her neighbor. She brought the bag and shared some of them with us! Judy and Nancy had both brought us tomatoes from their gardens. I shared some of those with Aunt Jean, who was tomato-less, which is a "no-no" in the South this time of year!! It was a great swap for both of us!!

To all our neighbors, friends, and family who share with those of us without a gardening spot - ok, even with those of us who are just too lazy to garden!;), we thank you for your generosity/pity!! God bless you!!

To continue sharing the wealth, I made this Blueberry Coffee Cake for Sunday School today!! It was a hit!! I pretty much came up with it by combining about three different recipes for blueberry coffee cakes and muffins. Fortunately, it turned out better than most of my Sunday morning experimental recipes! I ran into Donna and Shelby after church, and they confirmed that this is a keeper recipe!!

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Cake ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup milk
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Streusel Topping ingredients:

1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 tablespoons packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons firm butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Mix all ingredients until crumbly.

Glaze ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
3-5 tsp. milk

Whisk together until smooth.

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 13x9 inch pan with cooking spray.
Prepare streusel topping and set aside.
In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon juice. Using pastry blender or fork, cut in butter. Add milk, eggs and vanilla. Stir well.
Pour 3/4 batter into greased pan.
Sprinkle blueberries on top of batter.
Spoon remaining batter over blueberries.
Sprinkle streusel topping over batter.
Bake for about 30 - 35 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle with glaze.