Tuesday Gain! & Stovetop Blueberry Pie/Cobbler

It could be the chips I ate yesterday. Or, it could be the fact I ate something just before I weighed. It wasn't much food, but the gain was not much either--1/4 lb. Actually, it was 0.2 lb, I believe--1/5 lb. But, a gain is a gain. If I had lost anything at all, I could have eaten the orange juice and tiny bit of chicken breast without gaining. All my fault.

It is so difficult for me to lose weight in the summer! This will have to be a different kind of summer, a summer of losing weight! Maybe 30 lbs by the end of August will be a good goal to keep in my head.

Breakfast: milk and slice of bread
Snack: the rest of a bag of frozen mango
Dinner: bit of chicken and oj
Snack: smoothie--banana, oj, strawberries, yogurt
Another snack: blueberry pie/cobbler, milk

Since I ate late because I slept late, the above looks strange. It was too hot to cook anything for breakfast, and I just did not want cereal. That portion of frozen mango was too expensive to eat in one sitting, but it was so cooling.

Stovetop pies are one of my favorites. I started making them when I had two Granny Smith apples and wanted pie on cold fall day. Of course, there was not enough apple for pie. That did not deter me. I just made a stovetop pie in my little 6" iron skillet with water, sugar, spices for apple pie. The results were so warm, tummy-pleasing, and easy that I made it several times a month. Tonight, I was given a little over a cup of blueberries, so I am off the make a pie on top of the stove. I shouldn't buy a pint of ice cream, but I might! A really large Granny Smith apple could be just enough for this treat.

Okay, the above method for apples works just fine.

Stovetop Blueberry Pie/Cobbler

Cup of blueberries
1/2 cup water or more if needed
1 tbsp sugar until I decide if I need more
tiny pinch of salt
Cook on the stovetop in my 6" iron skillet
When it is suitable as far as sugar is concerned,I will...

Add:
2 tbsp plain flour
1 Tbsp butter or margarine, maybe less

Basically, what I am doing is making white sauce in the blueberry mixture. I get the taste of the flour (think crust), butteriness, and the sweetened blueberries.

This works for me. I am not consuming much sugar, little flour, little butter. Any pie on the stovetop satisfies my urge for something sweet besides fruit.

A better way is to make a white sauce from a Tbsp of butter, 2 tbsp flour, and a bit of milk. Then, add water, sugar, and blueberries. Cook and stir until sugar dissolves and mixture is thick. I don't mind them but you might.

For the Granny Smith apples, I use one large or two small, according to what I have at the house.

Since I am the only one here and I have just a few blueberries, I will make a stovetop cobbler in my 6" skillet. I did this one year in the fall when I had two Granny Smith apples, wanted a pie, didn't want to eat the crust, and the stovetop seemed like the right place to cook my pie. Besides, the stovetop will use less electricity than the oven. The ac will not have to run as long or at all. Today, keeping the house cool is of utmost priority. I have already baked a hen, so it is still warmer than usual.

Apples will need more water and should be cooked longer than blueberries. Stovetop pie is my own creation and can be your creation if you change it to suit yourself. I put cinnamon in the apple. Maybe a little salt or vanilla can be added to any of these. Just figure out what you would put in a pie or cobbler for an oven and put a tiny portion in the stovetop creation. Most people cook apples on the stove for dessert. I just decided I wanted the crust taste and added the flour and butter.

If you try the stovetop pie, let me know if you like it or how you made it your own.