Blueberry bread

Blueberry bread -- a sturdy, not-too-sweet bread with a delightfully crunchy top for breakfast for breakfast or snacking. 

Yes, it is September and I am a food blogger -- but The Ninj is not posting about pumpkin.

It seems to me that the "Summer is dead, long live Fall" battle cry happened far, far too early this year. Weeks before Labor Day, I saw Halloween candy for sale in the grocery store, and the number of pumpkin recipes appearing on food blogs is overwhelming.

And, frankly, absurd. I can't imagine anyone has very many pumpkins popping up in the garden quite yet.

What happened to seasonality, people??!!

Which is why The Ninj is making a solemn pledge to stay out of the freakin' pumpkin patch until October, when pumpkins are seasonally appropriate. You have my word.

This is also why I'm sharing a great recipe for blueberry bread today. I'm still harvesting blueberries off my backyard bushes, and I just passed an open Pick-Your-Own blueberry farm yesterday.

Seasonality. Say it with me. Say it to your friends. Write it on your favorite bloggers' Facebook pages.

Now, if you live somewhere warmer than the Northeast and have already moved on to fall greens and apples, good for you: we're hot on your tail. But this recipe is still for you, as it works well with fresh or frozen blueberries.

Perhaps the thing I like the most about this blueberry bread is that it is very dense and not too sweet: it is not cake masquerading as breakfast bread. You could easily toast it a bit and slather it with butter and it would totally stand up to that.

But it's truly lovely eaten just as is, still a little warm from the oven.

I just don't think it would be very good with a pumpkin latte.

Blueberry Bread (adapted from PBS Food)
Note: You can use whatever zest you like but, having tried them all, I think orange is the best in this particular recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups blueberries (if frozen, do not thaw)
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
Zest of one orange
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used non-fat)
Coarse sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Remove one tablespoon of the flour mixture and toss it with the blueberries in a separate bowl; set that bowl aside as well.

With a mixer (stand or hand), cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and mix until well blended, then mix in the orange zest. Add the flour mixture and blend until just incorporated. On a low speed, blend in the yogurt. Then gently, BY HAND (don't use the mixer), fold in the blueberries.

Spoon the batter into a prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the top with coarse sugar. Bake for about an hour and 5-10 minutes (start checking at an hour) or until the top is browned and crunchy-looking and a tester comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before removing the loaf and cooling on a wire rack.