Blueberry Muffins: They are good but I want great

I tried my hand at blueberry muffins this week after spying blueberries at a good price at the supermarket. I thought they would be nice for Roe to take with him in the morning for breakfast to go with his daily coffee he picks up on his way to work. I consulted two of my cookbooks for a basic recipe, Joy of Cooking and How to Cook Everything. For some reason the recipe from the Joy of Cooking struck a chord with me, plus they had a whole section regarding cooking tips and ingredients for muffins. While the muffins were good they were not up to the level I wanted. I thought they were a little lacking in the sweetness department and the texture could have been a little more like cake for my liking. (I know to some muffin enthusiasts that there should be a clear distinction between the texture of muffins and cake because they are not one in the same. But hey I like what I like.) Unfortunately I was being a lazy girl and did not do my usual due diligence and look up a recipe on the Martha Stewart website. When I went there today I found what I think sounds like a better recipe, more to what I am looking for in terms of sweetness and texture.

I think this recipe from Joy of Cooking is good but I am definitely going to try Martha's. (Oh why did I forsake you Martha?!) I have found that 8 times out 10 Martha usually has the best baking recipes.

Here are some of the pointers I picked up from the Joy of Cooking though on muffins:

• Once you master a basic muffin recipe you can make tons of variations by using different add ins (berries, nuts, etc). I will share with you the basic recipe below and the modification to make blueberry.
• Mixing should be at a minimum so as not to develop gluten in the flour which will toughen the muffin. ;( However, the MS recipe listed below is mixed more like a traditional cake so go figure.
• Muffins that are served hot from the oven can have less oil or butter. If you are making them ahead for consumption later more butter is advised.

Blueberry Muffins (Courtesy of Joy of Cooking)

Makes 12 regular muffins or 6 large.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Whisk together thoroughly in a bowl

• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• (1/4 teaspoon of grated or ground nutmeg - optional and I omitted)

Whisk together in another bowl

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup of milk or cream
• 2/3 cup of sugar or packed light brown sugar (for the blueberry variation they advised to use 1/3 of a cup)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of butter melted or vegetable oil (I used a 1/2 cup of butter since I was making them ahead for consumption later)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Add to flour mixture and mix together with a few light strokes. If making blueberry muffins fold in 1 1/2 cup (I used 1/2 pint) of fresh or unthawed blueberries. Do not over mix and the batter should not be smooth. Divide batter among muffin cups. Sprinkle top with sugar. Bake until toothpick inserted in muffins comes out clean - about 17-20 minutes.

Now here is the recipe from Martha I want to try next time. If you try it let me know what results you get.

Blueberry Muffins (courtesy of Martha Stewart website)

Ingredients

Makes 6 large or 12 small muffins

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for tins
• 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 1 3/4 cups blueberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.butter large (3 3/4 inches) or small (2 3/4 inches) muffin tins, and set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, egg yolks, and vanilla; mix until well combined. Reduce speed to low; alternate adding reserved flour mixture and milk to mixer, beginning and ending with flour.

Remove bowl from mixer; gently fold in berries by hand. 

Divide batter among muffin tins; sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake until light golden, about 45 minutes for large muffins, about 30 minutes for small muffins. 

Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan; transfer to wire rack, and let cool completely.

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I think I have found a kindred spirit

I love her blog. My husband is going to be hating me because she has so many yummy recipes I want to try.

Go over and check it out.

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Making Preserves is Sooooo Easy

Making fruit preserves is soooooooo easy and very rewarding. Nothing beats the taste of fresh preserves made from your own two little hands. My auntie from Virginia was big into canning and I always thought it was hard or difficult till I learned how this past summer. Now I can all the time, when ever the mood strikes me (or when I can good prices on fruit at the market). This past weekend I noticed that strawberries had finally came down in price which was so ironic since we just finished off our last jar of strawberry preserves from my last big batch of canning. That was the sign for me to break out my Ball jars and get to work.

A couple of tips about canning from my experience.

• You don't need fancy equipment. I use my 8 quart stockpot, BBQ tongs, and a large spoon. No rack and no funnel.
• Jars are easy to acquire, they are sold in most supermarkets. Plus they are recyclable.
• I boil and sterilize everything, jars, lids, spoon, tongs - just to be on the safe side. I sterilize as the preserves are cooking.
• I do not add pectin to my preserves. I find that enough sugar and cook time will lead to the desired thick consistency I want.
• I don't always hear a pop indicating that the jar has sealed properly but if you press the center of the lid  and does not move than it has sealed safely.

If you want to read thoroughly on the process here are some links (I am not really great at writing tutorials).

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/category/canning/

http://www.freshpreserving.com/

You can also make the following recipe and just jar it and refrigerate. You will still need to sterilize the jars but it shortens the processing time. Preserves should keep in the refrigerator for at least  two to three weeks.  

Strawberry Preserves (Courtesy of Joy of Cooking)

• 2 pounds of fresh strawberries hulled and sliced (I prefer large chunks in mine so I usually do a mix of halves and quarters)
• 2 1/2 cups of sugar (the recipe called for 3 but I found the recipe perfect with less)
• Lemon juice (recipe calls for 1/4 cup but I did mine to taste)

Mix sugar and strawberries in a heavy pan under high heat. You want this puppy to boil. Once sugar has melted and notice foaming add in lemon juice. At this point I crush the mixture slightly with a potato masher to give it more texture. Continue to stir frequently. Skim off any foam that forms. (You will have to do this repeatedly). You will notice that it will cook down and began to form into a preserve like consistency. I like mine thick so I cook it down more. Once the preserves have cooked down transfer to sterilized jars and place filled jars back into pot making sure they are covered with water. You will need to boil the jars to seal and boiling time depends on the size of the jar. (see following link for guide & also great canning tips: http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/348/348-594/348-594.html) I usually do 30 minutes to be safe which is longer than what is needed.

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Loved It!!!

Yet another post in my ongoing obsession with Michelle.

I absolutely ADORED her outfit from last night's State of the Union. Can I be like her when I grow up? LOL

Getty Image by Madel Ngan

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Fridge Front

So a while back Erin at Domestic Adventure asked the blogsphere what our refrigerators looked like. I just now got around to posting pics of our little refrigerator which is a peek inside my warped sense of humor and also a record of my husband and my travels.

So the top is covered with funny retro magnets. Let's take a closer look at one.

Which is almost the exact opposite of what is posted so prominently in the middle which is the"Good Wife's Guide" (which has been posted on my fridge since I was a single girl). Though dated and very anti-feminist some are the tips are quite relevant and helpful.

On the side of the refrigerator is my husband's magnet collection from all our travels.

And here is a close up of my favorite travel magnet.

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Bathroom Redo - We have fixtures

For the past week or so I have been trolling the internet to find a bathroom vanity, sink and fixtures for our bathroom redo. I had already visited our local Lowe's and Home Depot and knew I didn't want a traditional looking vanity. (I say "I" because my husband has given me free reign over this project. I do run everything by him to make sure it's not something he adamantly objects to but for the most part he trusts my choices.) I also experienced severe sticker shock in seeing what a basic vanity with marble top sink could cost.

Luckily Sherry and John from Young House Love came to the rescue of me overpaying for a plain jane standard vanity. They recently redid their main bathroom and had a fab idea for creating a sleek vanity. So I took a page from their book and began to hunt for a nightstand that could be fitted into a bathroom vanity. My biggest hurdle was in finding a nightstand that would fit the look I was going for which was rustic modern and something that was tall enough. We wanted a vanity that is taller than our current one which is 30" high. With Roe being over 6' it just helps that he doesn't have to bend over as much when getting ready. I also appreciate it too with my 5'5" frame. I scoured sites across the internet from Pottery Barn, Amazon, Crate and Barrel and other obscure furniture sites. Eventually I found what I wanted at Overstock. The great thing was I was able to also find a sink and faucet there as well.  And the price was right. I got $10 off  and free shipping with an online coupon plus by joining the O club I got an additional 5% off. The club membership was $20 but it was less than the discount amount off my total. Plus we get 5% off all our orders and free shipping for a year.

So here is what will be going into our bathroom, now off to Lowe's/Home Depot to find a floor. Will also begin to hunt for a new mirror as well.  I am contemplating changing our paint color to Navajo white which matches the color of our powder room in the basement (which I love!). But I think my husband will kill me since we just repainted the bathroom last year. I may be doing that alone ;(

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Project 365 Blog of the Week

Tara from In This Instance is participating in Project 365. (Quite a few bloggers that I follow are doing it this year). I started to read Tara's blog when I first started wedding planning and her wedding was a great source of inspiration for my own. I simply adore her style.

When you get a chance peek over at her blog she is an interesting girl ;)

Here are some of my fave shots so far from her Project 365.

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