blueberry crumble

 

{a blueberry crisp}

the elements

• the filling

  • 6 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoon arrowroot powder
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

• the topping

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 2 tablespoons coconut flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/3 cup sugar

the method

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees. make the filling: mix blueberries, sugar, arrowroot, lemon juice, and salt in a bowl. transfer to an 8-inch square baking dish.
2. make the topping: stir together flour, oats, coconut, baking powder, and salt. cream butter and sugar in a mixer until pale and poofy. stir dry ingredients into butter. using your hands, squeeze topping pieces together into clumps.
3. sprinkle topping over filling. bake until bubbling in center, haloed by the divine light of delicious, and brown on top, about 1 hour. transfer to a wire rack, and let cool for 30 minutes before serving.

urban wildlife : morning walk : armadillo

Nine-banded Armadillos are solitary, nocturnal animals. They become more active during the night, twilight or just before sunrise. They can dig some really deep burrows at roughly 8 inches wide, 7 feet deep, and 25 feet long. They are highly territorial and always mark their territories. However, while females are exclusive with their territories, males tend to overlap into others territories. Their body has an excellent mechanism to get across lakes, ponds, and marshes. The armadillo either inflates its stomach and intestines with air, and floats across the water, or just sinks down and walks across the bottom, using its sharp claws. Their tail helps them to leap nearly three to four feet into the air, this leap particularly comes in handy to scare off predators, who come quite close to them. They do not curl up into a ball, as believed, but can easily leap and outrun its predator.

He was a cutie.

source 

destination : fredericksburg, texas

summer would not be the same without a drive to the wee hamlet of fredericksburg, texas and a walk down historic main street.  farewell, summer!

xo