Mom's Blueberry Buckle - A Family Favorite!

My mom has been making the most delicious blueberry cake since I can remember. As you can see from her tattered, ingredient-covered, torn out recipe page, this recipe has served us well for many years. One thing my mom likes to do is add a little note and the date when she makes a new or popular recipe. All her cookbooks act like a little journal of all our special occasions, holidays, and memorable dates. This blueberry cake is now part of our family. I can't imagine a holiday or special occasion without it. Whenever we go to see our extended family, people expect a tray of blueberry cake to be traveling with us. Along with her whoopie pies (which I will post soon) this recipe has made my mom one popular lady!

This past Labor Day weekend, Ryan and I planned to see my friends on the North Shore to celebrate our engagement and to see Beth and Phil's new puppy, Tuck. Beth arranged to have a brunch on Monday morning and I wanted to carry on my mom's tradition by making this blueberry cake to share with my friends. It was so special to make this with Ryan (who did most of the work by the way!) as our first shared baking experience as an engaged couple.

This recipe is so simple and takes minutes to prepare. I suggest using a mix of fresh and frozen blueberries but one or the other is fine too. Also, I always add a bit more berries than what is called for. And you can cut the sugar a bit too or use Splenda. If you can't read the recipe on the picture it is as follows:

Mix Together:3/4 Cups of sugar

1/4 Cups of butter or margarine

1 egg

Stir In:

1/2 Cups of milk

Sift together and add:

2 Cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Add:

2 Cups will drained blueberries

Pour into greased pan and sprinkle on top:

1/2 Cup sugar

1/2 Cup flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 Cup soft butter or margarine

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes and Enjoy!

A well-worn recipe :)

Everything you need! (minus the blueberries and the milk is hiding in the back)

When the dough starts to turn a bit purpley you know you are in for a REALLY good batch

Ryan makes the crumble! (the most important part)

Sorry, no pics of the final product - we were in a rush!

You will have to make it yourself and see how delicious it looks (and tastes!)

Engaged!!!

This past Saturday, August 29th Ryan asked me to marry him and I accepted! We had an amazing weekend beginning with a visit at Phil and Beth's (my friends on the north shore) on Friday night. We stayed at their new (and beautiful!) house and got to play a rousing game of "bolberdash" and hang out with them on Saturday before heading to a wedding in Topsfield for one of Ryan's close friends. Despite the weather being terrible, like TERRIBLE (monsoon-like conditions), we had an amazing time. Corey and Diana are going to have such a great life together and I could hardly contain my excitement thinking about my future with Ryan. Little did I know that Ryan had the ring with him during the entire weekend and was even carrying it in his suit pocket while we were at the wedding! When we got back to the hotel I played a little joke on Ryan pretending that I had left my purse at the reception. I got a good kick out of "getting him good" since he played a little joke on me earlier in the day and I was dying to get him back. While I was dancing around victoriously (Ryan is a tough guy to trick!) I bounced into the bathroom and Ryan said "Jo can you come here a second?". I came out and watched agasp as he pulled the ring out from his pocket and got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I immediately burst into tears and told him to "say more things!" because I wanted to take in the moment. He said how much he loved me and asked again "will you marry me?" and I said, "yes! - nothing would make me happier!" Ryan picked the perfect moment to ask - a moment I've dreamed about since I first met him. A couple minutes later I called my family who seemed to all have a phone under their pillow and were so excited to hear the news. They were laughing and screaming and crying and it was so special to have them share the moment. Then I called my friend Erica who was screaming and professing her love for me and Ryan and completely made a perfect moment all the more special with her excitement. We caught our friend's Amy and Dave in the elevator and they too (well Amy was) screaming and jumping up and down and were so excited for us. We got to spend the rest of the night with Ryan's friends who couldn't have been happier, then drove around on Sunday stopping to see my friends, Ryan's family, and my family to officially tell them the news and of course show them the ring (which is breathtaking!). This week has been so crazy - I've hardly slept or eaten a thing. Yesterday I came in quietly to work then tried to slowly tell people one at a time. Of course that plan failed miserably as people were rushing up to me to hug me and congratulate me and see the ring (which made them all take a step back and gasp!). They all know Ryan since he used to work here and they all love him so much and miss him terribly! We are so blessed to have so many friends and family and coworkers who are supportive of us and can share in our excitement. I can't wait to start planning all our wedding activities and sharing my ideas on my blog!