This past weekend Mr. Ferdzy's clan gathered for our annual "Christmas in July" - a birthday party for everyone! Mr. Ferdzy is practically the only member of his extended family who wasn't born in July or August. Too bad, he has to get his presents in the summer like everyone else. What I'm getting at though, is that this is going to be another fairly dessert-heavy week on this blog. This is one I've posted before, but it's good enough to post again. It looks pretty different this time, doesn't it? But it's really the same thing, with a couple of key ingredients swapped out.

6 to 8 servings, 1 hour 20 minutes - 20 minutes prep time 

• 4 cups day-old bread, cut in cubes
• the finely grated zest of 2 lemons
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups blueberries
• the juice of 2 lemons (about 1/2 cup)
• 4 extra-large eggs

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Put the bread cubes in a large mixing bowl. Put the sugar, lemon zest, milk, butter and salt in a pot and heat, stirring regularly, until the butter and sugar melt and the mixture is steaming. Pour it over the bread, and mix well. Set aside to cool. Wash and pick over the blueberries, and drain them well. Mix into the bread and milk. Beat the eggs, one at a time, into the pudding mixture. Spread the mixture evenly in a lightly buttered, shallow 2 quart or litre casserole dish. Bake the pudding for 1 hour at 325°F. Serve warm or cold.

Last year at this time I made Maple-Vanilla Canned Peaches. Time to make more!

- Jennifer Sanders, Seasonal Ontario Food blogger

For more inspiring, local recipes visit Jennifer Sanders' Blog, Seasonal Ontario Food.