Writers Abroad Magazine Issue 7 November 2017 | Page 31

WRITERS ABROAD MAGAZINE: THE THIRD SPACE
Rena’s Nova Scotia
Blueberry Grunt
A recipe from Sue Borgersen
Here’s an easy stovetop dessert
recipe. The only difficult part is
making sure your hungry ones are
at the table at precisely the right
time. This is my dear late mother-
in-law’s recipe.
Her doughboys were the lightest,
fluffiest dumplings I have ever tasted. Why ‘grunt’? Apparently it is because the
blueberries make a ‘grunt’ sound as they simmer beneath the doughboys.
Preparation time 20 minutes. Cooking time 30 minutes. All very approximate.
Ingredients
• 4 cups of blueberries. Wild preferably
• 1/2 cup of sugar (more sugar may be needed for cultivated or ‘tame’ - as
Nova Scotians would call them - blueberries)
• 1/2 cup of water
For the doughboys (dumplings)
• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp shortening
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup of milk
or your favourite scone or tea biscuit recipe could also work.
Method
Blueberries. Put berries, sugar, and water in a saucepan, cover and simmer
gently until there is plenty of juice.
Doughboys. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar into a bowl. Cut in the
butter and shortening and add enough milk to make a soft biscuit/scone dough.
Put the two together by dropping the dough by spoonfuls onto the hot
blueberries. Cover closely and do not sneak even a little look for 12 - 15 minutes.
After this time the doughboys will have floated to the top of the blueberries and
your gang should be sitting ready with their spoons. Serve hot with ice cream,
whipped cream or even custard.
An alternative is to bake in the oven like a cobbler.
30 | NOVEMBER 2017