Recipe: Allergy-Friendly Blueberry Crumble

    I'm a firm believer in eating seasonal foods, but I also think that every now and then you need a little dose of summer to get you through the long cold months.  Sometimes we do that with a little homemade cordial, and sometimes with a fruit smoothie.  But, every now and then it's ok to really indulge with a rich berry pie.

     Blueberries are one of the fruits that are available in our local grocery store year round.  They have so many health benefits that I don't mind picking them up from the freezer section when they're out of season here.  

    In the early days of converting all my recipes to allergy friendly rice flour was my go-to replacement.  Since then I've become aware of the concerns over arsenic in rice and that consuming large amounts of it can increase the risk of certain kinds of cancer.  I decided that like the millions, possibly billions of people who depend on rice as a dietary staple, we couldn't cut it out of diet completely, but we could reduce the amount we consume and replace it with other allergy friendly grains.  

    For a long time when I made a berry crumble it was as a pie, meaning it had a crust on the bottom.  Now that we are reducing our dependence on rice flour, I've omitted the crust and the result is still a very tasty dessert.

Here's what you'll need:

The  Recipe:
Filling:
2 1/2 C. frozen blueberries
1/2 C natural sugar such as muscavado or sucanat
2 Tbsp. corn starch

Crumble topping:
2/3 C sweet white sorghum flour
1/2 to 3/4C. quick cooking oats
1/4C. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 C. cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil

Instructions:
In a large saucepan combine blueberries, sugar, and cornstarch.  Stir until well blended.  Bring to a boil and cook until thickened (about 2 minutes).  Remove from heat and pour into an 8" baking dish.

In a small bowl combine sorghum flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon.  Stir until blended, then add coconut oil.  Stir until well combined.  Sprinkle over the fruit in the baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the filling is thick and bubbly and topping has browned.  Top with whipped cream if desired and serve.