Cliff-hanger

You just can't take it, can you? Admit it - ever since I said I was taking up some not-so-regimented healthy-eating habits, you've been dumbstruck (no, I'm not calling you dumb) sitting there waiting, wondering... would she make it, or would those goals be a distant memory mere minutes from setting them?

And then you see this... an innocent-looking piece of cake and the answer becomes quite clear. Or so you think (it's all mysteries around here, people).

And lest I interrupt you as you furiously scroll down in a panic (my writing is just that riveting, I know... and since there's nothing better going on in the world these days) - let me say this: oh ye of little faith! C'mon now people - give me a chance.

There, that's better.

Now, since you've so generously given me the benefit of the doubt, I will indulge your curiosity without taking up much more of your time (or rather, just a few quick seconds to say that I really like living in this fantasy world where folks actually care about and/or follow along with my ramblings).

About the cake, though... it's Cooking Light's Cranberry Upside Down Cake and never has healthy baking and eating been so good (heck, if I hadn't baked it myself, I never would have believed it was a light recipe!).

So there you have it... how to eat well while eating... well. If I'd known healthy eating tasted this good - my goodness, I'd have started long ago. And just for you, a few fewer of my very own words (win-win for you guys, right?)! *momentary pause so I can get this repeating words thing out of my system Let's be honest, though, the lack of words here is really because today is a designated dessert day so the longer I sit here, the less time I have to stuff my face with sweets! (this healthy eating thing is really working!)

On the Right Foot

As scary and inconceivable what I'm about to proclaim is, you must believe it because the fact of the matter is that it is indeed possible to be more of a 'black-and-white' person than I am today (which is a feat in and of itself)... just ask the Kara of years-past.

And well... with that proclamation under my belt, and here we are in the midst of the season of resolutions, you'd naturally think I was either going full-steam ahead with a very solid and thought-out itemized and bulletized list or heading in the direction of what seems to be a bit of a trend these days and blowing off the idea of resolutions altogether.

If you're even remotely still with me (yawn - hey, at least scroll to the bottom of my rambling for the recipe so you don't miss the good stuff), I'm about to blow your mind (this is big stuff, folks, really... important, mind-boggling stuff) because I'm here for one purpose today and that's to tell you about my Anti-all-or-nothing, just-the-basics plan, for 2010 for this here, Kara.

It goes something like this... one of my fun blog friends came up with the wonderful idea to gather interested people in her online community and rally together to just get healthy in 2010. There were no prescriptive instructions (which of course freaked this by the rules... there are rules, right? girl out!) except that we'd all commit to trying it for the first 10 weeks (and I suspect a lot of it will be habit by the end of that time period) - so off we went about setting our own goals and figuring out how to hold ourselves and each other accountable.

And wouldn't you know? I think I kinda like this. I started with an initial (albeit draft) list of goals and tweaked them even in these first two weeks already - and it didn't bother me one bit! But in the name of being held accountable (or at least being shamed into trying really hard) - I wanted to let you in on what I'm attempting to follow and changes I'm trying to make, both little and big (okay, mostly little). Your job here is to let me know other ways you go about your daily life making healthy decisions and share them here with the rest of us!

• get to sleep at 10pm (or earlier) one night a week (status: ah-hem, as they say... first is the worst)
• cut out alcohol consumption completely Sunday through Thursday evenings (status: so far so good!)
• only conscious eating, i.e. no snacking while reading the mail, etc. (status: pretty good)
• drink more water (status: this isn't really that fair because I already drink a fair amount but I'd like to drink more)
• go dessert-less 1-2 nights a week (status: good, but I need to be careful not to eat the dessert I know I won't have that night during the middle of the day)
• expand my repertoire of healthy recipes by cooking at least 3 new healthful recipes a month (status: great, thanks to Cooking Light!)
  

And less specifically food-related but still healthy (in my mind at least):

• write two cards to friends and family a month, for any (or no!) reason at all (status: Christmas cards and subsequent thank you notes have consumed my life for the past month but I'm ready to get started!)
  
• stress myself out (especially over little things) less (status: as you might think, if you know me at all, figuring out how to stress myself out less is kind of stressing me out more... so still much work on this to be done)
  

A week and a half in and this challenge has proved to be just that, a challenge. Some of my goals, as miniscule as they seem, are quite lofty for me - but I've decided that they are all worth pursuing, even if I fall short in the end.

One of the easiest and most fun parts of this has been finding new healthy recipes for us to try out. This Turkish Carrots and Lentils caught my eye since I am full on obsessed with cooking with dried beans these days. Between this and the Black Bean Salsa Chili (that we made with slow-cooked dried black beans), we've been happy eating healthy and hearty meals (with left-overs to boot... the best of both worlds - good-for-you and easy on the wallet!).

Some Christmas Spirit

It's more than about time... I'll be the first to say that my behavior around here recently is downright unacceptable. We've had our Christmas tree up for over two weeks, I've been listening to Christmas carols for well over four (yes, I'm an early adopter - and proud of it!), and this is my first mention of a Christmas cookie?! Truly disappointing, really.

Try as I might (to find someone or thing to unjustly blame), it should be noted that I must take full responsibility for this catastrophe. I've even had the recipe sitting on our counter for weeks now (thanks to my dear friend had thoughtfully forwarded it to me in plenty of time for the season), crying for me to rally the troops... er, ingredients (that also all awaited my call from our trusty cupboards). But as happens for many of us (guilty as charged), the month of December, Christmas cookie baking (and subsequent posting, especially when there are more interesting things to write about like oh, a fully legal trip to the White House), and (ugh, don't even get me started) Christmas card writing, sneaked up on me... and might I add, there was a moment when it risked clear passing me by.

Lucky for us (and not so lucky for our waistbands), there were cookie exchanges to attend (and Christmas cookie events to enter)... so when I could find no more excuses (good or bad, at that), these Hot Chocolate Cookies were finally called upon.

Since then, any that remained have been quickly gobbled up, accompanied by a few comments wishing I hadn't made such a fun and delicious recipe only to be given away to others (some people around here don't quite have the Christmas spirit thing down just yet).

So with the holidays (or more like... the holiday rush) all but imminent at this point (thank you, Captain Obvious), I figured you, like me and the rest of us, might not have many more quiet moments to sit by the fireside with a toasty cup of hot cocoa... and if that's the case, these should tide you over quite nicely.

Hot Chocolate Cookies
yield: 4 dozen

Cookie ingredients
3/4 c butter, softened
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 c flour
1 c instant milk chocolate hot cocoa mix
1 tsp baking soda
24 large marshmallows, cut in half crosswise

Glaze ingredients
1 3/4 c powdered sugar
6 TBSP butter
1/4 c milk
2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 3/4 c butter and sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Add eggs, 1/4 c milk, and vanilla. Continue beating until well-mixed. Reduce speed to low; add flour, cocoa mix and baking soda. Beat until well-mixed.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes or until just set. Remove from oven; top each cookie with marshmallow half, cut-side down. Continue baking for 1 to 2 minutes until marshmallow just begins to puff. Immediately remove cookies to cooling racks. Cool completely.

Meanwhile, place powdered sugar into medium bowl; set aside. Combine all remaining glaze ingredients in 1 qt saucepan. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil; boil 1 minute. Remove from heat; cool 5 minutes. Pour mixture over powdered sugar in bowl. Beat until creamy and fully combined.

Immediately spoon glaze over cooled cookies decoratively. Store between sheets of waxed paper in a loosely covered container.

*And of course it wouldn't be the Christmas season without a submission to Susan's Eat Christmas Cookies event. YUM!

It's official! You can no longer say that I've never done anything for you. As a treat for having made it all the way through this overly wordy post, I'm going to let you in on a little secret: come Monday, you're going to want to make your way right back here... because for the first time ever, it might just be worth your while.

A Lesson in Self-Knowledge

Yesterday, the list of things that I'm 'not' (insert here any number of things like "good at" or "going to be when I grow up") grew quite a bit longer; at work, we'd say that I simply increased my self-knowledge and that's actually a positive thing so I'll stick with that.

In layman's terms (no offense, but I figure I've already lost you), what I'm trying to say is that I volunteered this weekend at the National Capital Area Cake Show and it became perfectly clear to me that I don't have a future in cake decorating, certainly not in the professional realm.

I mean, are ya kidding me? Those creations up there are cakes... yes, like the edible things that we all have childhood memories of being served on our birthday.

Give me a bar cookie recipe or a layered cake with any assortment of yummy frostings and I'm set, but don't ask me to make figurines or for that matter, a bird bath, out of cake.

Don't mistake this for me being ungrateful for such a cool volunteer opportunity - that's absolutely not the case. I'm just a realist and like to acknowledge when something is way out of my league.

This, my friends, is way out of my league.

A Keeper

Excuse the reference, but all I could think about as I pulled the incredibly tender and fragrant chunks of chicken from the slow cooker the other night was "I think I'm gonna like it here" (absolutely sung in true Annie fashion).

And although I probably lost some readers with such an antiquated musical reference, I really think there's something in here for just about everyone - so stick around.

Remember this? When I not so eloquently begged and pleaded for your slow-cooker suggestions... hints, and sage words of advice? Thanks to one of my favorite readers, I believe we will never go roasted-chicken hungry again in this house! But let this be a warning, from now on, don't get between me and a sale on whole chicken roasters in the Northern Virginia area.

Perhaps I'm still living on beginners' luck (though I really can't claim beginner status any longer), but it seems that risks in the slow cooker are well worth taking. If you start with this roasted, slow-cooked chicken, the options are limitless.

Slow-Cooked Roasted Whole Chicken

Whole chicken, rinsed and patted down to dry
2-3 TBSP olive oil
1 1/2 TBSP cumin
1 1/2 TBSP garlic powder
1 TBSP smoked paprika
salt and pepper, sparingly

Rub rinsed and dried chicken on breast side with olive oil. Sprinkle oiled chicken with 1/2 of all spices. Turn chicken over and place in slow cooker on top of 3-4 balls of aluminum foil (to act as a rack). Rub down the dry side of the chicken with oil and spices. Cook on low for 8 hours. Chicken will fall off the bone making it easy to separate the tender, juicy chicken.

I had seen these sandwiches in my Bon Appetit and thought that they would be perfect for gameday... and would be an ideal use for the roasted, shredded chicken.

The Warm Chicken Sandwiches with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Cheese did not disappoint - AND I was left with about half of the chicken. I was quite content to pop that portion into the freezer - and this weekend, I will add some BBQ sauce and a whole wheat crust and voila, instant BBQ chicken pizza. Yes, the slow-cooker DOES make (multiple) affordable and delicious meals - it's true!

And since this was such a delicious and EASY way of roasting chicken (and the added bonus of that incredible slow-cooked flavor and limitless versatility with the finished product), I'm submitting this to this month's Monthly Mingle: Healthy Family Dinners.

I know without a doubt, using this roasted chicken there are many more healthy dinners suitable for families, large or small, in our future.

Lightening Up

If this is what is considered eating healthier, then count me in (well, at least for the dinner part - we do still have a few more Oreo truffles staring back at me from the fridge)... maybe I will draft a few 2009 resolutions after all!

While we try very hard to be healthy eaters - and for the most part, we do a good job and have at least a serving of salad or fresh veggies with each meal (if not both) - I don't tend to seek out light recipes. My mom was the queen of no non-fat cooking or baking... but she has amazing will-power and a good eye for portion control (or so I've come to assume those are her secrets). I have followed somewhat in her footsteps - and I especially don't bake light - it's just not worth it to me... but I do, on occasion, when I think I can get away with it, lighten an otherwise hearty dish with some success.

So it came as quite a surprise that this recipe for Chipotle Chicken and Tomato Soup caught my eye... I'm attributing it to the fact that I had some chicken breasts awaiting their demise in my refrigerator and with only the purchase of two (very inexpensive) cans of beans, this recipe was already in my pantry. And wouldn't you know... those inexpensive and flavorful ingredients made one delicious soup.

*the only changes I made were to add another 1/2 can of navy beans, and I split the difference on the spices using 1/2 of a chipotle chile and 1/4 tsp smoked paprika - oh! and I skipped the olive oil, by mistake... the results were still delicious

And go figure, thanks to this soup and our side of veggies, we had a (very quick) delicious, hearty and healthy dinner!

Resolution #1: try more light recipes... but don't eat more just because they are light!

I'm sending this recipe to Joelen who's hosting her monthly Chef Spotlight Dinner; this month the spotlight is Health Conscious Chefs!

Nanino? Nanaimo?

What's in a name anyway!?!

I asked myself that same question as I hunted down this recipe, a true family favorite... (read: even though my mom usually made well over 15 varieties of cookies and 6-7 desserts each year, my brother and I still favored these bars over all the others). In the end, I was so thankful that my mom had the recipe she's always made because not only are there many many versions out there, there are even two spellings of this delicious treat! My head was spinning by the end of what I thought would be an innocuous little search.

I did, however, come across some fun anecdotes about the actual name of these bars - if you're short on time, the punchline is that no one has conclusively determined when or why these were dubbed Nanino/Nanaimo Squares... but I found the iterations that folks have gone through to not make a decision the most interesting.

It seems most likely that this recipe dates back to the 1950s and has been called all sorts of names throughout the years - my favorites being Miracle Bars and Georgia Street Slices.

Nanino Squares

First layer
1/2 c butter
1/4 c sugar
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg, beaten
2 c graham cracker crumbs
1/2 c chopped nuts
1 c flaked coconut

Combine butter, sugar, chocolate, and vanilla in double boiler. Cook over boiling water until well blended. Add beaten egg and cook 5 minutes. Add crumbs, nuts, and coconut. Press with hand into buttered 8x8 inch pan. Chill at least 25 minutes.

Second layer
1/2 c butter, softened
2 TBSP instant vanilla pudding mix powder
3 TBSP milk
2 c powdered sugar

Cream butter until fluffy. Beat in pudding mix and milk. Add powdered sugar gradually and beat until smooth. Spread over first layer. Chill 15 minutes.

Third layer
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
2 TBSP butter

Melt over low heat. Spread over second layer. Chill for about 15 minutes and then score the top layer. Cut into squares and keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.

*Can be made ahead of time and frozen!

And of course it wouldn't be another Christmas without Susan of Food Blogga's Eat Christmas Cookies event. So I'm adding these Nanino... er, Nanaimo Squares to her Christmas cookie platter!

So while it may be too late to make many of them this year, bookmark and check out the round-up for ideas for next year!

"Some Like It Hot"

While these cookies do remind me of everything delicious and fragrant about fall, they aren't the least bit hot... however, that saying was the first thing that came to mind when I saw Anita's post that she'd be hosting Sugar High Friday this month, and her selected theme was "Spice Up Your Life"!

I admit that there are more creative uses of spices in the wide world of baked goods than these cookies, but you really can't get a better mix of fall flavors packed into one cookie than these so without really a whole lot of deliberation, I knew they would be my entry... even though these yummy treats might only make use of cinnamon in the spices category, there's just no better combination than cinnamon and pumpkin!!

Great Pumpkin Cookies
makes about 20 large cookies

2 c flour
1 c old fashioned oats, uncooked
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 c butter, softened
1 c brown sugar
1 c granulated sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c solid pumpkin
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Cream butter; gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Alternate additions of dry ingredients and pumpkin, mixing well after each addition. Stir in morsels. For each cookie, drop 1 TBSP to 1/4 c (depending on your preference) dough onto lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake 20-25 minutes, until cookies are firm and lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets, cool on racks.

Prepare to enjoy one of our favorite fall treats - but act fast, they will go quickly!

By the way, if you haven't checked out Anita's blog, Dessert First, you MUST. She has absolutely breath-taking pictures of even better sounding recipes. Check back for my attempt at her favorite cookie ever... how can you pass up a cookie with that kind of a recommendation!

From the Bottom of my Heart...

No official polls were done or surveys taken, but I think we can easily say this round of Operation Baking GALS was another huge, sweeping success. Even just on our own little team, we had groups of bakers coming together around the globe, literally, to make some homebaked goodness to some very lucky soldiers. I am so thrilled to report that not only did new and old friends and family jump on-board for this particular effort, but that it also got some folks thinking about involvement on even a much bigger scale. Nothing could make this girl happier.

As for our recent efforts... I think Colin's initial response upon receiving the first 4 packages says it all: "Well the first four packages have shown up, I don't think I had a handle on the scope of this. Its going to be a ton of treats." While I don't know if he'd actually weighed our packages, I'm willing to bet it wasn't too far off a ton...

So even though I know that my debt of gratitude goes without saying, since I did want to say something to all of you who felt the call to send our fearless soldiers a little bit of your homebaked love and support, I thought why not add some (of your very own) mouth-watering pictures!!!

OUR TEAM

Allie Parker, San Francisco, CA, sent some moist and rich 'brownie cookies' and also, one of our soldier's favorites, Snickerdoodles.

Andrea Garrity, Falls Church, VA, sent an assortment of amazing cookies - Chunkies, Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Bars and Crinkles. Good thing she lives just up the road from me so I can taste-test the next batch!

Team Forney, TX: Cappie McBeth, Hollie Cantrell, Viki Colon, and Laura Musgrave sent another great assortment of Chocolate Chip cookies, Ginger Snaps, and "Dishpan" Cookies; I can't wait to hear how the "Dishpan" Cookies were as they are Cappie's specialty. Chris Wallace, Sandy Springs, GA, sent two different bar cookies including her crowd-pleasing Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars.

Christie Stump, of Stump the Chef, Orlando, FL, tried out a new recipe: (Paula Deen's) Three Chocolate Cookies and determined that it's a keeper!

Christy Parker, of CP in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark, was the first to get her box in the mail not knowing how well the Danish postal system would oblige. She sent delicious Oatmeal Raisin Walnut cookies and Pumpkin Oatmeal Raisin cookies, just perfect for fall!

Dolores Ferrero, of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity, East Bay Area, CA

Elizabeth H de Saint-Aignan, Providence, RI

Falon Mitchell, Prosper, TX

Heather Peskin, of Sherry Trifle, New York, sent some of her rated 5-STAR cookies including Chewy Chocolate Coco-nut Squares, Peanut Jumbles and some cookies I can personally recommend, Celebration Cookies.

Jen Jaglowski, of The Latest and Greatest, Pittsburgh, PA, with her little Sam by her side sent the troops a couple of loaves of Pumpkin Bread as well as some Chocolate Chunk Cookies! Colin should rest easy knowing these are "Sam-Approved"!!

Karen and Kayla Polascak, Broadview Heights, OH

Kristy Hudson, of Hokie Crib, Herndon, VA, made the perfectly caramel-y Caramel Bars. She said she took "baker's liberty" with the recipe but it looks to me like she made all the right changes!

Lesley Roberts, Alpharetta, GA

Lila Easton, San Angelo, TX, sent some Salted Nut Bars, which she promised is a favorite for her friends in Texas. She packed her box tight filled with gum, individual packets of Crystal Light, banana chips, and Jerky.

Linda Linden, Sherman Oaks, CA

Liz Clouthier, of Cooking the Books, Bremerton, WA, sent the always popular Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies and "off the container" Quaker Oatmeal Raisin Cookies!

Marisa Rosenfeld, Brooklyn, NY

Megan Hurst, of Apples N Carrots, Alexandria, VA

Missy Mayweather, Radford, VA

Monica Harvell, of Cake Goddess, Atlanta, GA, packed Colin and his friends some real treats: Spumoni Biscotti, Chocolate-White Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and Snickerdoodles.

Tamera Butler, Atlanta, GA, sent an amazing variety of gourmet "Cake Truffles" including chocolate cake with Kahlua, chocolate cake with caramel and toffee bits, white cake with rum and caramel/toffee and white cake with lemon zest in white chocolate. I kind of wish I had had her box routed to me instead of overseas!

Tara Liptak, of Smells Like Home, Connecticut, sent some classic Oatmeal Raisin cookies. I loved her picture of the cookies.

Tia Lynn and Sandy Emmett, Atlanta, GA, sent an enormous box stuffed full of goodies that the troops are sure to enjoy!

To round it all out, I sent Colin and his friends some fun and fruity "Rice Krispie Bars" and one of my latest go-tos, a version of Brown & White Walnut Bars.

Alas, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to each and every one of you who stepped up to participate with us. You all will never know how much your involvement has warmed my heart; from putting our team together, to receiving your emails, and finally seeing the fruits of your labor and how much love you put behind it all; in all sorts of amazing, different ways, each of you put your heart into this effort and supported a troop(s) that you didn't even know but took my word for, and for that, I am forever indebted.

With that, you must forgive the sales-pitchiness of this, but as you all undoubtedly know, there are still many many troops serving our great nation overseas, so if you would like to continue to be involved in this effort, please head over to Operation Baking GALS where round 3 is gearing up. We'd love to have you all!

From the bottom of my heart... THANK YOU.

Press Release

Lots of very news-worthy events going on these days... it's hard to ignore the Olympics *or at least it is for us: Michael Phelps achieved the greatest individual performance in a single Olympics winning his 8th gold medal; and, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won the first-ever second consecutive gold medal in Olympic beach volleyball while securing their 108th win in a row; meanwhile, in non-Olympic news, AP pre-season ranked #23 Wake Forest's season opens against Baylor August 28, both Republican and Democratic National Conventions are heating up and maybe even announcements of running mates (and by NO means is this me asking for any type of political debate), and last but not least, I won a cookbook!

Yes, this is newsworthy - not only because as everyone who wins something for the first time says... I never win anything in contests like these, but also because it's THIS cookbook!

Thanks SO much to Donna at Spatulas, Corkscrews, and Suitcases *cutest blog name ever! and The Taunton Press.

Last week, I had the good fortune of stumbling upon Donna's blog and of course all of her grilled pizzas caught my eye (so much so that last weekend in an inaugural effort, we grilled 6 different pizzas... did you know that certain blogs are searchable even via Blackberry; thanks to that nifty technology, I was able to access my favorite homemade dough recipe even though we were nowhere near a computer) so I quickly entered her contest to win this delicious-looking cookbook, Pizza on the Grill by Elizabeth Karmel and Bob Blumer! And now that we've officially entered into the world of pizza-grilling, I'm drooling even more in anticipation of all the recipes calling to me from underneath its covers. I still can't believe I won!!

In the spirit of all things grilled... I present to you an innovation in grilling corn! Ever grilled corn out of the husk and gotten really dry, burnt corn? Not if you marinate it like we did. *don't be scared of this method - try it once and you'll never go back, this eliminates the messy hassle of having to butter your corn once it's cooked!

"Marinated", Grilled Corn on the Cob
serves 8

1 c butter
1/4 c honey
1 tsp hot sauce
salt and pepper, to taste
8 ears of corn

Microwave first three ingredients in microwave-safe bowl until completely melted. In a large, sturdy plastic bag, pour melted marinade over all ears of cleaned corn and toss gently. Leave to "marinate" for at least an hour, or up to 3 hours. Grill all ears of corn over medium heat until tender, being careful to turn at even intervals to protect from burning.

Yes, Please

My first adventure into the world of fresh berry sauce... and we're hooked! I am so thankful I stumbled upon these blueberries the other day staring back at me at my friendly grocery store - not only were they perfectly beautiful and fresh, but on sale?! I took one look and decided they were coming home with me.

And it couldn't have been better timing seeing as how the period I had to enter Susan's Sugar High Friday #45 was nearing the end.

When I got the aforementioned blueberries home, it was decision-time... what to make. One quick glance into the freezer was all I needed - I still had some homemade vanilla ice cream left so what would be better than a delicious and quick blueberry sauce! This recipe was SO easy, came together in a second, and gave us excellent results!

No big surprise, thanks again to Susan at Food Blogga, I've been inspired or found a new "go-to" recipe!

Blueberry Sauce

1 cup fresh blueberries
2 TBSP water
1/2 c lemon juice
1/4 c and 2 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP cold water
1 TBSP cornstarch
1/4 tsp almond extract

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries, 2 TBSP water, lemon juice, and sugar. Stir gently, and bring to a boil.

In a cup or small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and 2 TBSP cold water. Gently stir the cornstarch mixture into the blueberries so as not to mash the berries. Simmer gently until thickened to your liking, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract.

Adapted from this recipe at AllRecipes.com

And, since this is my latest foray into cooking with fresh berries, this is my entry for Sugar High Friday Berries! Check back at her site after August 3rd for what is sure to be a delicious round-up!