Stephanie Hester - The Huckleberry Cookbook

Alex and Stephanie Hester have lived in huckleberry country for most of their lives. Near their family cabin in Montana, they have their own secret picking spot, where they have spent many hours handpicking berries and using them to prepare the recipes included in this book.

Both Alex and Stephanie earned their undergraduate degrees in environmental studies from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. Stephanie earned an MBA from the University of Montana.

Alex is a supervisor at a residential treatment center for children by day; in his spare time, he caters special events and private parties and enjoys experimenting in the kitchen. Stephanie has dedicated her career to natural resource conservation and currently works for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. She enjoys eating Alexs dishes, spending time in the outdoors, music, and traveling.

Stephanie and Alex reside in Helena, Montana, with their sons, Jack and Sam.

We love this coffee cake and have made it with a variety of berries, including a mixture of blueberries, blackberries, and huckleberries. It is best served fresh.

Serves 812

BATTER

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs

2 cups sour cream

2 cups huckleberries

Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan or round cake pan with cooking spray or butter and flour. Combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda together in a mixing bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, and stir until the mixture is smooth and thoroughly mixed. Add the dry ingredients to butter mixture without over mixing. Fold in sour cream.

Spread half of the batter in the prepared pan. Layer the huckleberries on top. Spread remaining batter on top of the berries. Set aside while you prepare the crumble topping.

CRUMBLE TOPPING

cup firmly packed brown sugar

cup all-purpose flour

teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons ( stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

Blend brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and butter with a fork or fingertips until it is well mixed and resembles coarse meal. Crumble the mixture evenly over the top layer of batter.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool and remove from pan.

The basis for this family-favorite recipe came from a relative in Austin, Texas. Our huckleberry version adds a new dimension. For a healthy twist, you can combine white, whole wheat, rye, oat, or buckwheat flours.

Makes about 18 pancakes

2 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

teaspoon ground ginger

teaspoon salt

cup vegetable oil

1 cups buttermilk

cup light molasses

1 cup huckleberries

Separate the egg yolks from the whites. With an electric mixer whip whites until stiff. In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger, and salt. In a small bowl, mix the 2 egg yolks with the oil, buttermilk, and molasses until well blended. Combine the wet and dry ingredients until well blended. Fold in the whipped egg whites and then the huckleberries.

Butter or spray a griddle or large frying pan. Using approximately cup batter for each pancake gives a yield of 18 pancakes. Of course, the cook can make silver dollar size or larger size and the yield would vary accordingly. Cook over medium heat until both sides are golden brown and center is cooked. Top with maple syrup or your favorite huckleberry accompaniment. See Staples chapter.

These are wonderfully light and fluffy pancakes. Top with Huckleberry Coulis (see page 132), Huckleberry Compote (see page 133), or your favorite topping.

Makes about 20 pancakes

2 cups all-purpose flour

cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups buttermilk

2 cups sour cream

2 large eggs

4 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups huckleberries

Tip: No buttermilk in the fridge? You can make your own. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Let sit for 10 minutes. Substitute this soured milk for buttermilk.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate small mixing bowl, whisk together buttermilk, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla, and add to the dry ingredients. Stir until ingredients are just mixed, making sure not to overmix. Fold in huckleberries. Butter or spray a griddle or large frying pan. Use a cup to measure out each pancake. Cook over medium heat, several minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through.

What's in a name: Taxonomy and Species identification

Is it a huckleberry, hurtleberry, blueberry, bilberry, dewberry, or whortleberry? The huckleberry has been called by many names and is frequently misidentified and most often mistaken for the blueberry. However, there are several features that distinguish the huckleberry from all others.

To the connoisseur, taste is the predominant distinction. Although passionate blueberry lovers will likely disagree, blah! is what many people say when they compare the taste of a blueberry to a huckleberry. The flavor of the huckleberry has endless body, whereas blueberries are comparatively plain.

Thirty-five to forty species of huckleberries exist in North America. Related to the blueberry and the cranberry, the huckleberry belongs to the genus Vaccinium and can be found in remote areas of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia. Most huckleberry connoisseurs agree that the tastiest species are globe (or blue) huckleberries (Vaccinium globulare) and mountain (or big) huckleberries (Vaccinium membranaceum).

Depending on the species, huckleberry bushes grow anywhere from one and a half feet to five feet tall and have brown or light green branches. The green leaves of a huckleberry bush are oval shaped and about two and a half inches long. Huckleberry blossoms are bell shaped and usually a whitish-pink color. The berries vary in color, from purples and deep purplish blacks to blues and reds. Typically about the size of a pea, they have smooth skin and a depression at the tip where the flower was. Blueberries tend to be larger and have a more pronounced, scalloped depression. Huckleberries tend to grow widely separated on the plant, whereas blueberries grow in clumps. With a wonderfully pungent smell, the odor of huckleberries is so strong it can permeate plastic bags. (As such, double bagging is recommended when freezing.) Some pickers claim to find productive huckleberry patches by simply following the aromatic scent of the huckleberry.