Blueberry Streusel Muffins

It's been way too long since I've posted a new recipe. I recently bought a townhouse and have been stocking my new kitchen so I can start baking again. Since the day I moved in I've been wanting to make blueberry muffins to freeze for easy breakfasts. The first weekend I was living here, my sister Maria brought me a few muffins to eat the next day since I hadn't bought any food yet. The recipe she used is what I made today - a very simple yet delicious blueberry muffin. This recipe came from my Aunt Maria years ago, and my family has been enjoying it ever since. It is even better with the streusel topping, but I made them without the topping this time. I got 16 muffins out of one recipe. If you love blueberries as much as I do, give this recipe a try!

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Muffin Batter:

1/3 cup sugar

¼ cup butter or margarine, softened

1 egg, beaten

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1½ cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Streusel topping (optional):

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup all purpose flour

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ cup butter or margarine

MUFFIN BATTER: In a mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter.  Add egg; mix well.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the creamed mixture, alternately with milk. Stir in Vanilla.  Fold in blueberries.

Fill 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full.

DIRECTIONS FOR STREUSEL: In a small bowl, combine sugar, flour and cinnamon.  Cut in butter until crumbly.  Sprinkle over muffin batter before baking.

Yield: 1 dozen.

Bake at 375º for 25-30 minutes or until browned.

Butter & sugar

Dry ingredients

Frozen blueberries

Finished batter

Ready to go in the oven

Fresh out of the oven!

Photos by JoJo

Brown Rice, Tomatoes and Basil

My sister Paula made a delicious rice salad a few weeks ago. It has very few ingredients and is full of taste. This is the perfect recipe to make in the summer, especially if you have fresh basil and tomatoes.

I bought Brown Basmati Rice at Trader Joe's for this recipe. I also used rice vinegar.

When making this recipe, remember to leave extra time to let the rice come to room temperature. The night I had it at my sister's, it was cold, which I thought was good too. Because it should be served at room temperature, this is a great recipe for a cookout or potluck!

Brown Rice, Tomatoes and Basil

Recipe courtesy Ina Garten

1 cup Texmati brown rice
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
¼ cup Champagne or rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 Tablespoon good olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound ripe tomatoes, large-diced
1 cup packed basil leaves (1 large bunch), chopped

Bring 2¼ cups water to a boil and add the rice and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Return to a boil, cover, and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until the rice is tender and all the water is absorbed. Transfer the rice to a bowl.

Whisk together the vinegar, sugar, olive oil, remaining teaspoon of salt, and a pinch of pepper. Pour over the rice. Add the tomatoes and basil. Mix well and check the seasonings. Serve at room temperature.

Yield: 6 servings.

Brown Basmati Rice

Cooked rice

Rice mixed w/vinegar, sugar, olive oil, salt & pepper

Add in the tomatoes & basil

Photos by JoJo

Blueberry Muffins

Today I made Blueberry Muffins with some more of the fresh blueberries that I picked yesterday. I tried a new recipe that was very quick and easy. I always use paper cupcake liners in my muffin pans so they are easy to get out. I also use a cookie scoop to fill the pans. I got 18 muffins out of this recipe and froze half of them. I recommend adding a few blueberries to the top of each muffin to make them look best after they are baked, otherwise the blueberries that are mixed into the batter just sink into the muffin. This recipe would also be good with raspberries, blackberries or a mixture of berries!

Blueberry Muffins

Recipe courtesy Williams-Sonoma

These sweet, buttery muffins are delicately spiced, with a cakelike texture. Fresh blueberries are best, but if you have only frozen berries, stir them into the batter without thawing, or their dark juice will turn the muffins purple.

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

2½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup milk

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

2 eggs

1 cup blueberries

Preheat an oven to 400º. Butter 16 standard muffin cups.

In a bowl, stir and toss together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the milk, butter and eggs until smooth. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Add the blueberries and stir just until evenly incorporated.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each one about three-fourths full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan.

Makes about 16 standard muffins.

Dry ingredients

Wet ingredients

Mix all ingredients together

Freshly picked blueberries

Gently fold in the blueberries

Ready for the oven

Fresh out of the oven!

Photos by JoJo

Blueberry Cobbler

Today my sister and I went blueberry picking at Butler's Orchard. I came back with about 8 cups of blueberries and wasn't sure what to make with them. I looked around online for some dessert recipes and decided to make a Blueberry Cobbler. This recipe was very simple and took no time to make. I couldn't find a 9x9 baking pan, so I used a 7x11 pan instead. The cobbler was delicious served warm with vanilla ice cream. I will definitely be making this recipe again!

Blueberry Cobbler

Recipe courtesy Williams-Sonoma

Fresh seasonal berries, such as raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, can be frozen for up to 4 months for future use. Freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet and then transfer the frozen berries to plastic containers.

3 cups blueberries

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon plus 1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

4 Tablespoons (½ stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

6 to 8 Tablespoons heavy cream

Vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)

Prepare the berries
Position a rack in the middle of an oven and preheat to 400°. Butter a 9-inch square baking dish. In a bowl, combine the blueberries, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, the 1 tablespoon flour and the cinnamon. Stir gently to mix. Spread the berry mixture evenly in the prepared dish.

Mix the dough
In a bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup flour and 1 tablespoon sugar, the baking powder and the salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter until the mixture forms coarse crumbs about the size of peas. Add the 6 tablespoons cream and, using a rubber spatula, stir lightly until the ingredients are just moistened. The dough should be soft; if necessary, add an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons cream. Using 2 spoons, form mounds of dough about 2 inches in diameter and place on the top of the berries.

Bake the cobbler
Bake until the topping is golden brown and the juices are bubbling around the edges of the dish, about 20 minutes. Let cool in the dish on a wire rack. Spoon the warm cobbler onto plates or into bowls, top each with a scoop of ice cream, if desired, and serve.

Serves 6.

Fresh blueberries

Mixed with sugar, flour & cinnamon

Dough batter after mixing in butter

Dough batter after adding heavy cream

Cobbler ready to go in the oven

Fresh out of the oven

Photos by JoJo

Sweet Cherry Pie

Today is Father's Day and I wanted to make my dad one of his favorite desserts, cherry pie. This morning I called a few local farms to see if they had any sour cherries, but was unable to get through to anyone. Knowing that they are in high demand and the cherry picking season is very short, I thought I should find an alternative. I searched online and found some recipes for sweet cherries or bing cherries, and the Giant by my house had them on sale. I decided to try one of the recipes and hoped my dad would like it as much as the sour cherry pies that my grandmother used to make for him.

I bought about 4 pounds of cherries and realized after starting to take the pits out that I had enough for two pies, so I made a pie dough recipe that makes enough dough for 3 pies. I was going to make one of the pies with a top and bottom crust and use the rest of the dough for a bottom crust and make a crumb topping in a tart dish, but it turned out I had enough to make two full pies with top and bottom crusts.

The pie was easy to make, although a little time consuming. I used a cherry pitter which was very helpful. Everything else was pretty straightforward. We ate the pie soon after it came out of the oven (instead of letting it cool) with vanilla ice cream. It was a little runny but tasted great. And most importantly, my dad enjoyed it!
 

Sweet Cherry Pie

Recipe courtesy SimplyRecipes.com

We've used ½ cup of sugar for the filling, which results in a pie not overly sweet. You may want to use more or less sugar, depending on how sweet you would like your pie to be, and how sweet your cherries are.

Pie dough for top and bottom (9 or 10-inch pie)

5 cups sweet cherries, pitted

½ cup sugar

½ teaspoon almond extract

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

3 Tablespoons corn starch

1 Tablespoon of butter, cut into small pieces

1 egg

Coarse sugar for sprinkling

Place the pitted cherries, sugar, almond extract, lemon juice and corn starch in a large bowl. Toss until the cherries are well coated with the sugar and other ingredients.

On a lightly floured clean surface, roll out the bottom crust. Form it into a 9 or 10-inch pie pan. Using kitchen scissors, trim the edges so that they extend beyond the edge of the pie pan by 1 inch. Place in the refrigerator while you roll out the top crust.

Roll out the top crust to about the same size as the bottom crust. Place the filling in the pie plate. Dot with small dabs of butter. Cover with the top crust. Trim the edges. Crimp to seal the edges together. Score the top crust with cuts so that the steam can escape while the pie is cooking (unnecessary if you are making a lattice crust). Refrigerate for 30 minutes before cooking.

Optional egg wash: In a small bowl, whisk the egg with a tablespoon of water or milk. Use a pastry brush to brush over the top crust. Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar.

Preheat the oven to 425°. Place the pie in the middle rack, with a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any pie drippings. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the temp to 350° and cook for 35 to 45 minutes longer, or until the crust is nicely browned and the filling is thick and bubbly.

Allow to cool completely before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Bing Cherries

Pitted cherries

Pie crust ready for filling

Cherry filling

Pie ready for oven

Fresh out of the oven

Photos by JoJo