Baking By Beseechment

When blueberries go on sale, people get excited.  And, when said people get excited, they buy blueberries.  I, myself, shared in the joy, however, I was not overly ecstatic about blueberries.  I buy them sparingly at a time lest I be forced to eat oodles of berries for days to make sure that they don't go funny in the fridge.  Perhaps most disappointing of all is having the bad luck to pick a bad (or old) batch of berries quite by mistake.

After this happens, what is one to do with the blueberries?  There isn't anything wrong with them, but they aren't exactly tasty either... The solution?  Well, you could make syrup for ice cream; I, sadly, have no French Vanilla ice cream.  I could make pancakes but, man, I am *way* too lazy to put that much effort into breakfast.  Pie?  Not enough blueberries.  Cookies?  Weird (though intriguing...).  Nope, at long last, the decision was made.  Muffins.

So, gifted with someone else's unluckily picked 6 oz of blueberries, it was off to the kitchen!

I scowered the internet for a recipe that I thought I could put myself behind, something solid that would carry less-than-stellar berries.  After about 20 minutes, I still was left a litte bereft.  So, the story is that I sort of squished a few together into one amalgam (not of the mercury kind) and headed off to the kitchen.

Gifting my blueberry gifter in return with these muffins, I was a little nervous because they weren't super sweet.  However, I was told that they were pretty yummy none-the-less.  A tad lackluster in my honest opinion, but maybe worth a try anyway?

Sorry in advance.  I hope to have a more successful undertaking report in due time!




"I Beseech You" Blueberry Muffins

If I were a muffin and I had just come out of the oven in a new silicon baking cup, I think I'd want to look as nom-worthy as one of these.  Just saying!

What You'll Need:

• 5 tablespoons margarine (It comes soft but, if you use butter, make sure that it is softened.)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 containers (100g ea.) of Vanilla Activia yogurt (The original recipe says 3/4 of a cup of yogurt or sour cream.  How is that for freedom of choice?)
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp ground Coriander seed (The container I had said 'slight lemon flavor' and I figured it would be a way to get that suggestion of flavor without offending those opposed to citrus.)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (Sift away, my friend!)
• 1 cup whole wheat all-purpose flour (I sifted it to take out the larger clumps.)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt  (I used kosher salt, of which I have become quite a fan lately for sure.)
• 6 oz. package of blueberries (Gifted and to be returned in an entirely new form!)

How It's Done:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Line a baking sheet with the cups or butter/flour the pan or spray with non-stick stuff.  (OR - yes, there's more - you can use the silicon baking cups that you got in your Christmas stocking.  Thanks mo-- I mean, Santa!)
3. Whisk together your dry crew (Coriander, the flours two, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt) and set aside until you need it.
4. Armed with electric mixer, beat the margarine and sugar until its died and become lighter in color and consistency.
5. Toss in the egg carefully and mix.
6. Mix in the yogurt and extract as well.  (I used a rubber spatula to usher the yogurt from the bowl I had dumped it in to the mixing bowl.)
7. Mix in half of the dry ingredients over batter and mix until combined.
8. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until you don't see streaking from the flour anymore.  (My dough was pretty gosh-darn thick but apparently this is okay.  Honestly, they still turned out okay!)
9. Fold in the blueberries.  (I was pretty good with the not-squishing the berries this time around, but I've done it in the past and cried a little bit.)
10. Use a pretty hefty spoon to dish out even amounts of the batter into your prepared muffin baking apparatus set-up of choice. 
11. Toss them in the oven and bake for 25 minutes, waiting until the tops look golden and nice.  (Okies, so I tossed them in and watched them sparingly for a while.  When they were golden, I chopstick-tested one - no toothpicks - to see if they were done.  I pulled them out, waited for them to cool and then pulled them out of the pan to cool on a rack.)
12. Eat at your leisure or store in a container to share later!

Makes 12 mild-tasting muffins to enjoy with 12 awesome cups of coffee.


Like I said before, I ran through a boatload of  recipes and sort of wasn't sure quite what to do.  I liked the whole wheat idea, but wasn't willing to fully commit.  I like using yogurt instead of oils.  I... I wasn't really going to go down the lemon road because, oddly enough, there exist people who just don't like citris (not judging of course).  So, this recipe probably most closely resembles one that I found on Kate's blog called Cookie+Kate (check it out!).  Mind you, the reference does not stop there!  She found it on Smitten Kitchen (linkage!) where it came from Cook's Illustrated.  Yeah.  How's that for a chain-letter of linking to reference?  Thumbs up!

Ovens: Not Just For Baking Sweets

Oh my goodness!  I do declare that it has been nearly a month since we have spoken.  What, dare you ask, have I been so terribly busy with that I haven't been able to get in touch with you guys?  Well, lots of stuff.  Mostly school.  Such a simple answer and, yet, still such a long time.  I think I owe you guys a post and what better way to come back from the abyss than bearing gifts?

So, all things considered, this should probably be about baking.  I mean, it stands to reason that I love baking and, in trying to win your affections, I would bake.  Come to think of it, maybe I should have baked?  Well, long story short, folks, the oven is good for things other than baking sweets.  To prove this (to myself probably the most), we're going to talk about snacks. 

I fired up, or rather set the dial, to a lovely, toasty warm 350F (that's about 178-ish degrees Celsius OR 451.15 K for you science enthusiasts) and cooked me some kale chips.  Let me just say that this is the first time that kale and I have dated.  I originally purchased the kale to make soup (which turned out quite well), however, only so much kale actually fits in the CP.  Or, so I subsequently discovered.  I was, therefore, left with a lot of kale and, not wanting it to get gross and limp in the fridge, I decided to try this kale chip business on for size.  In truth, I had been thinking about doing this for quite some time.  After trying it out, I do say, it fits me quite well I do say! 

First batch I used Herb & Lemon seasoning from Club House.  They were tasty!  Second batch I used kosher salt and they were tasty too.  I, however, like my salt reserved for other things.  Like raw fish over rice.  Anyway, kale gets points with me for being leafy and green.  Aside from that, the interweb also says that they have a wealth of vitamins that I can chow down on.  The real story here is they are crunchy, tasty and better for me than chips.  At least, because they're green, I don't feel as guilty eating them.

I next cranked the oven to 400F (204.44 degrees Celsius or 477.15K) and made up some chickpeas.  I had picked up a huge can for a dollar and wanted to try something other than hummus.  Not that there is anything wrong with hummus.  With celery.  Need I say more?

Armed with a bounty of kale chips and chickpeas, I settled myself in on the couch and watched Beauty and the Beast.  And it was good.

If you want to make your own kale chips and roasted chickpeas, check out these instructional videos (kale! and chickpeas! oh my!) from Dani Spies.  She's a clear-speaking, friendly lady with some "d'lishes" ideas to get your movie night started!

What more could you want for some movie-watching?  Kale chips (left) and roasted chickpeas (right) make for some beautiful and beastly munching!

Mixed Makings Make Muffins

You know what the best thing about turkey dinner is?  Left-overs.  I'm sure you've probably read countless blogs about how to use various pieces of the dinner as left-overs (Turkey crispy bits as a salad topper?  Thank goodness we have Jamie Oliver hanging around, eh?)  No doubt you've gotten some great ideas, but I don't have a "left-overs" story for meat for you, or for any of the vegetable dishes.  Admittedly, I'm not even remotely half the chef that my mum or aunt are.  However, they've had more practice than me.

Anyway, one of our family holiday traditions is to visit with my family for Christmas day.  For us, this means traveling a great distance to my aunt's house to enjoy the holidays to the full extent in the only way we know how; through the sharing of awesome eats, tasty alcoholic beverages and assorted desserts.  The last few years, I have baked a cake to take along but, this year, I totally slacked off!  My mother, however, prepared an epic fruit plate of epic-ness.  It had cantaloupe, grapes (red and green), strawberries, blackberries and blueberries. 

Even afterward, we still had left-overs of the various fruits.  I think we still even have a cantaloupe kicking it in the bag in our fridge.  The berries, however, were staring me straight in the face, day after day. 

"Eat me!" They cried desperately from their little plastic prisons. 

"But I want an apple!" I replied in return, reaching for the fruit drawer instead. 

"Bah, you are no use to us!"

Oh, but I am, you see, because I know of this thing called the internet and how to use it to find recipes.  So I used this massive well of information to find me a muffin recipe.  I don't usually make muffins, but I couldn't think of a better way to use assorted berries.  So, I found a recipe for fruit and jam muffins on Joy's blog after a little bit of searching.  (Her header, upon posting this, was *so* cute!  And her kitten... You can't see right now, but I'm having small cuteness-overload attacks! ^___^).

Anyway, I had to meet a friend of mine in the afternoon as well as having the need to bake something.  He's been down lately so I wanted to give him something to enjoy while taking care of the hard stuff.  Call this my attempt at comfort food (although, because it has fruit, does it count?).

These muffins came out soft and the fruit stayed very nicely in the batter.  Plus, I got the opportunity to use my new hand-mixer (Christmas present!) just because I could.  Oh, the wonders of more modern baking technology!

Joy's Just-About-Anything Muffins

Hey there, I'm a crumble-topped muffin filled with fresh fruits of various shapes and colors.  Won't you please have a bite of me?  I'm even good with some coffee in the morning while you're doing Sudoku!

What You'll Need:

For the Muff:

• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter* (This is about 1/3 cup plus a little bit.  If you want to be conversionally correct, 6 Tbsp is equal to 37/100 or 0.37 cups.  So, I eyeballed.)
• 1/3 skim milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg yolk (Admittedly, isolating a yolk is tricky business.  Don't be afraid to break the yolk though!  I've found that the more fear you take into the task, the more broken yolks you end up with.  Besides all that, if you break the darn thing, just grab another egg.  Who's going to know that you broke the first one unless you tell 'em?  Right?)
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract (Artificial this time, my pure VE was at home...)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I sifted it.  I know you don't have to, but I like the assurance of no packaged clumps.)
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt*
• 1 cup of fresh fruit  (My mum made a fruit platter for my aunt's Christmas Day dinner and we had some left-over berries that no one had touched.  It was strange, though, because they spontaneously disappeared from the fridge.  Well, with the exception of a handful of blueberries anyway!)
• 3 Tbsp jam (I raided the cellar and found glass jars full of my mom's strawberry preserves.  Jarred strawberry, ftw!)

For the crumbly topping:

• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter*
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 Tbsp sugar

*In making these, I skipped the salt.  Good reason lead to this because I could only get my eager hands on salted butter.  It happens sometimes.

How It's Done:

1. Get a rack in the upper third of the oven.
2. Preheat your oven to 375F.
3. Muffin-cup up your pan for the dozen.  (Alternatively, you can also use those silicon liners or butter/flour the pan.  I think this is a more "your choice" deal.  Well, I really should say, "Your domain, your decisions"!  ^_^)
4. Melt the butter in dish.  (I used the microwave at my mom's place, but I usually do this over simmering water because I like the control you get there.  Who's a control freak?  ME!  I have my flaws, 'nuff said.)
5. Whisk together all the dry junk (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt).
6. To the melted butter, add in the milk, whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.  (I would suggest that your milk is near room temperature, otherwise, I think that the butter will probably get all solid and kind of curded.  This happened to me and they still turned out okay, but I might try room temperature milk next time.)
7. Add the flour mixture (dry) to the wet ingredients until just combined.
8. Fold in your fruit and jam.
9. Make the topping by combining all the topping ingredients and crumble together with your hands.  (Pretty much my favorite step of the whole recipe.  It's like being in preschool all over again.)
10. Bake in the oven until golden and the muffin of your choice (or many of your choices) pass the toothpick test.  This is approximately 18-24 minutes.  (For childhood-faithful, i.e. mum's oven, these babies took 24 minutes, but it might vary.  Oo, especially if you have one of those swanky ovens where you digitally set the temperature.  I, on the other hand, only have a dial divisioned by 50 degrees).
11. When they're done, yank 'em out of the oven and then let them cool in the pan.  When you're feeling good about the temperature, pull them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 12 tasty muffins.

These muffins were possible  because of Joy The Baker's recipe for Raspberry and Jam Muffins.  Aside from the butter connundrum (my bad!), the recipe featured there turned out to be wicked!

Bonne Année!

Happy January 1st, the first day of the Gregorian calendar year!  

Here's to leaving everything that happened in 2010 behind and heading head first into a new adventure!  From me to you, let me just wish you a fantastic year ahead filled with great things, good times with good friends and health and prosperity for you and your families.

Don't forget, of course, to take the lessons that you learned with you!  For me, this will likely be not to bake (no matter how much I feel like it) too far into the evening (otherwise, I will be dragging at work the next day). Also, I learned that nothing slows down your baking like only having one cookie sheet (seriously, it sucks pretty hard). Of course, there are tons of others but, in the interest of keeping this short, I'm going to move on to one last thing.

Resolutions.

Do people still make very serious resolutions for their new year of life?  It seems like its something more appropriately done one's birthday.  That way the resolution truly is for a brand new year.  But, hey, that's just me being weird I guess!

I may not have revealed this before, but I am truly a cookbook fiend.  What section do I stumble over to in the bookstore?  Well, fiction first, then magazines but, inevitably, I end up amidst the cookbooks.  I own a few too.  I have not, however, cooked anything (to my recollection) from a cookbook.  I have always cooked/baked from the internet.  My resolution this year is to (hopefully) suck it up and cook from a cookbook no matter how many flippin' ingredients are involved in the recipe.  

The only magic involved will be to use ingredients that I can reuse in other places....

Peace, love and prosperity!!!