Life-Long Learner

Yes, that is me. I am a Life-Long Learner. That is part of the reason why I can tackle so many types of projects as a freelancer. If you have spend any time in my Instagram Feed, or poked around enough of my website, then you know that I am a Graphic Designer, Photographer, Hand-Letterer, a Font Maker, a Featured Artist, a Marketing Content Contributor, a Guest Speaker, a Workshop Instructor, a Visual Arts Teacher, and a few other things too.
I crave learning, so I attend workshops & conferences, read how-to’s, watch videos, buy books, and talk to other creatives to soak it all in. The last workshops I completed in 2017 was the pilot for an intensive multi-week workshop on Food Photography with Sarah Fennel of Broma Bakery. Yes, I had shot food before (and people had even paid me to do so), but this really improved my thought process and workflow.

My household is a true fan and constant consumer of berries, so naturally, some of my images were of berries. Truth be told, when @DriscollBerries used my first blueberry image, it made me want to shoot more blueberry images, and that is how I ended up making these Blueberry Crumble Bars. I made some slight modifications to the recipe that Sarah Fennel developed to get the texture I wanted in my version of these bars. I swapped out the 8×8 pan for a rectangular tart pan in part because I got one for Christmas (I was sick of fighting pans for the release of my creation and wanted the type of pan with bottom that pops up so that I would not have to wrestle with the sides for its release or sacrificing the integrity of that first piece that is so hard to get out), but also because I like the decorative fluting around the edges of a tart pan (and that there is no middle piece without an edge).

Blueberry Crumble Bars

Recipe from Broma Bakery slightly modified by Nancy Ingersoll

INGREDIENTS
for the dough
½ cup salted butter, room temperature
⅓ cup white sugar
⅓ cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup white flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons powdered ginger
1 cup plus ½ cup old-fashioned oats

for the blueberry layer
3 cups blueberries
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars for 1-2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract for another minute.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and ginger. Stir flour mixture, along with 1 cup of the oats, into the wet ingredients.
4. In a third bowl, mix together blueberries, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch.
5. Place half of the dough into the pan, spreading to the edges. I used a 5” x 14” non-stick tart pan (the kind where the bottom pops up), but you can also use an 8″ x 8″ glass pan lined with parchment paper.
6. Pour in blueberry mixture.
7. Add the last ½ cup of oats to the remaining oatmeal batter, and break it into pieces over blueberries.
8. Bake for 25-30 mins, or until a knife inserted in the center of the bars comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly before serving.