Blueberry Lemon Pie

This pie is light and refreshing. What you need:

• 1 small pkg. lemon gelatin
• 2/3 c. boiling water
• 1/2 c. cold water
• Ice cubes
• 3 1/2 c. thawed whipped topping
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 1 graham cracker crumb crust

Directions:

• Completely dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Combine water and ice cubes to make 1 1/4 cups. Add to gelatin, stirring until slightly thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. using wire whisk, blend in whipped topping. Fold in 1 1/2 cups of blueberries and chill until mixture will mound. Spoon into crust. Chill 2 hours. Garnish with remaining blueberries and additional whipped topping.

This recipe is from Locke's Fruitful Acres in Decatur. Give them a call at (269) 423-6536 to find out how the blueberry picking is going. They are open Monday - Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 12 to 6 p.m. Locke's also has a wonderful gift shop with many great country treasures to peruse.

Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake

This is one of the best coffee cakes I have ever made. I have made it with fresh and frozen blueberries and both are equally good.What you need:

• 1 egg
• 2 c. Jiffy Mix (a product of Chelsea, MI)
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 2/3 c. milk
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 c. blueberries, rinsed and well drained
• 1/4 c. Jiffy Mix
• Lemon Icing (below)

Directions:

• Heat oven to 400. Grease 8X8 pan. Beat egg slightly; stir in 2 c. Jiffy mix, sugar, milk, and lemon.
• In a small bowl, stir blueberries and 1/4 c. Jiffy Mix; gently stir into batter. Spread in pan.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes; drizzle with lemon icing. Serve warm (I like it cold, too).

Lemon Icing:

• Stir together 2/3 cup powdered sugar and 3-4 tsp. lemon juice until smooth.

I adapted this from a recipe by Betty Crocker.

Zucchini Bread

This is my Grandma Jacob's recipe. I have been making it since I was a child and absolutely love it! Even my husband (who doesn't like zucchini) and my son (who hates any vegetable) love this bread. Try it, I promise you won't be disappointed. What you need:

• 3 eggs
• 1 c. oil
• 2 c. sugar
• 3 tsp. vanilla
• 3 c. grated zucchini
• 3 c. flour
• 3 tsp. baking soda
• 3 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder

Directions:

• Mix together. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour at 350.

Rustic Fruit Tart

I plan to make this pie with blueberries and raspberries as soon as I have time to go out and pick the berries. It sounds delicious and easy - just my style! What you need:

• Ready made unroll and bake pie crust
• 3 cups fresh fruit (one fruit or a mix of fruits)
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Directions:

• Unroll pie crust on a baking sheet.
• Combine fruit, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl and stir well. Use a slotted spoon to pile fruit in a level mound in the center of the pie crust, leaving about 1 to 2 inches of bare dough around. Discard any juice in the bowl.
• One side at a time, fold up the edges of the pastry. The folded edges should cover some of the berries, but not reach the center. When all of the edges are folded up, the center of the tart should still be visible.
• Bake for 25 minutes, or until the pastry begins to brown and the fruit is bubbling. Remove the tart from the oven and cool until the juices set.

This recipe was adapted from one found at the Traverse City Record Eagle's website. The article accompanying the recipe is interesting.

Jake's Are You Feeling Devilish Strawberry Cake

Our toddler is turning into quite the chef/baker. He even has his own little John Deere apron to wear when helping Mama in the kitchen. We baked this cake last week. It was perfect because he was able to help with the mixing, pouring, and poked holes in the cake and didn't get in trouble for it! What you need:

• 1 devil's food cake mix
• 2 1/2 c. crushed Michigan strawberries
• 1 small pkg. instant French vanilla pudding mix
• 1 c. milk
• 1 small container strawberry whipped topping

Directions:

• Bake cake according to directions on box. Use a 9X13 pan. Cool on wire rack. Use the handle of a wooden spoon or your fingers to poke holes all over the top of the cake.
• Pour crushed strawberries over the top of the cake. You may need to use the wooden spoon handle (or your fingers) to make sure the juice goes down the holes.
• In a medium bowl, mix pudding mix and milk until thick. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over cake.
• Chill for 4 hours. Enjoy!

Roasted Strawberry Shortcakes

This is it. The pinnacle of all the delicious treats that you can make with fresh Michigan strawberries. Strawberry Shortcake. Just thinking about it makes me hungry for dozens of fresh berries poured over a hot piece of shortcake and topped with whipped cream (homemade if possible). Oh, yes. This is one of the finest treats of summer. The recipe below was found at the Detroit Free Press website. It looks delicious. Oh man, lets go get some fresh strawberries and cook this up! :)

Serves: 6 / Preparation time: 15 minutes / Total time: 45 minutes The biscuits in this recipe are made with whipped cream and have a delicate texture that pairs well with the warm berries.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar, plus additional for sprinkling

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided, plus additional milk or cream for brushing

2 teaspoons vanilla extract, or pure vanilla paste

2 pints small ripe strawberries, cleaned and hulled

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Butter a large baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a large, deep bowl, beat 1 cup of the cream on medium-high speed just until it holds soft peaks when the beaters are lifted. Beat in the vanilla.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, add the whipped cream and stir the mixture with a fork just until it begins to form a dough.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough several times, just until it is well combined. Pat it out to 1/2-inch thick.

With a 3-inch cutter, crinkle-edged if you have one, cut out 6 rounds; gather the scraps and pat them out again if necessary. Brush the biscuits with the whipping cream and sprinkle them with sugar. Place them on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until they are golden brown.

Let the biscuits cool on the pan on a wire rack.

Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl toss the strawberries with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Transfer them to a sided baking sheet. When the biscuits are out of the oven, roast the strawberries, stirring twice, for about 12 minutes, until they are soft and fragrant.

Just before serving, in a large bowl beat together the remaining 1/2 cup cream, sour cream and confectioners' sugar on medium speed until soft peaks form.

Split each biscuit in half and place the bottom halves on 6 serving plates. Spoon a generous portion of warm berries over each one, add a dollop of cream, add the biscuit tops and drizzle with the juices on the baking sheet. Serve immediately.

From "Luscious Berry Desserts" by Lori Longbotham (Chronicle Books, $12.97 at Amazon.com). Tested by Susan Selasky for the Free Press Test Kitchen.