The weekend has arrived and we got to see a few new campers pull in. One set we'll call "Citiots", a term we learned from Uncle John. They're the clueless, slobby weekend warriors of camping. After taking probably an hour to set up their rig, they let their dogs run around loose and do their "business" without caring where they pooped and not picking it up. Both are grave violations of considerate camping AND the campground rules. Ugh!
The others seem to be Maine's version of rednecks. They have mighty fine farmers' tans when their shirts are removed (which a few really should think twice about doing). They came in with one of those toy-hauler trailers, 4 pickup trucks and a whole mess of 20-somethings and their ATVs. Oh, and about 3 cords of firewood. That's quite the bonfire they have burning in their fire ring! We haven't heard Kum-by-ya being sung yet, but I smelled Smores last night so they can't be all that bad. They were gone ATV-ing for almost 10 hours and a couple were moving kind of slow when they got back. Some of them, but not all, went up to the bathhouse when they returned, others remained eau naturale, which ought to be mighty "aromatic" there in the toy-hauler bunkhouse that they're all sleeping in. Anyway, I'll bet some are missing their mojo today (and it will catch up with them when they're ancient like Mom and Dad.)
We were glad they couldn't smell the Scrapple we had for breakfast - we only get it a couple of times a year so we don't like to share. If you don't know, Scrapple is a brick of something that resembles a cross between breakfast sausage (some say it's everything but the oink) and corn pudding. You slice it and pan fry it and then have it with a little maple syrup. For you Texan bloggeratzi, you can buy it in the frozen section at Central Market.
Speaking of yummy things, it rained all day on Thursday and Mom was suffering terrible cabin fever so she finally made me something with BLUEberries. It's the Barefoot Contessa's BLUEberry crumb cake and it's really tasty. Kind of like a Drake's coffee cake meets a BLUEberry muffin:
Blueberry Crumb Cake ... 2006, Barefoot Contessa at Home, All Rights Reserved
For the streusel:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
For the cake:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup fresh blueberries
Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.
For the streusel:
Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.
For the cake:
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers, crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.