July 24, 2015:vegan Friday

In the early 1970s, when I was in grade school, grocery prices were very high. I remember accompanying my mother on weekly trips to the supermarket, begging for plums, nectarines, raspberries, and blueberries, all of which were too pricey for our budget. We usually had bananas, apples, and oranges, and melon in the summer; more than what many of my friends' families probably enjoyed at the time. 

This summer is our first year living in the Smoky Mountains in Cullowhee, NC. In early June we found berries growing all over the mountain where our house is; first, black raspberries, then blackberries. And a few weeks ago we discovered a large u-pick blueberry farm just a five-minute drive from our house. We've had berries for breakfast every day for the past two months, a luxury unthinkable back when I was a little girl. There are still plenty of berries that aren't yet ripe, and we've managed to store some in the freezer, so we'll be enjoying these healthy treats for a while.

Berries--blackberries and blueberries--seemed to be at their peak this week here in Cullowhee, so we looked for some recipes to put the surplus to use. These blueberry bounty buns, a recipe from Dreena Burton's Vive le Vegan!, are so good eaten warm out of the oven with a glass of iced tea! They are good with either blueberries or blackberries, though Bryan expressed a strong preference for the blueberry.

Blueberry Bounty Buns 
(a cross between a scone and a muffin)

1 cup + 1 tbsp ground oats (grind them in the food processer)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon or nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vanilla non-dairy milk
1 tbsp flax meal
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl combine the ground oats and flour, and sift in the baking powder and baking soda. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients and mix to combine well. In another bowl, combine the non-dairy milk and flax meal, stir and let sit for 1 minute. Add the maple syrup, vanilla, and canola oil, and stir through. Add the blueberries. Immediately add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, and stir through until just well combined. Scoop large spoonfuls of the mixture (~1/2 cup each) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20-23 minutes, until the buns a lightly golden and are set in the center (gently touch to check). Remove from oven and let cool on pan for 1 minute, then transfer to a cooling rack. Makes 6-7 buns.