Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

Okay, let's keep it real. 

I'm a person that strives to be the best.  I sometimes even claim to actually be the best.  But in all reality, in most situations - I'm just mediocre. 

But I'm still a competitive beast by nature.  And when things go wrong - I'm not a happy camper.

Take these muffins, for instance.  Yes, they look like normal blueberry muffins on the outside, but you know what?  I really made a big boo-boo on this one.  I forgot the sugar.

I mean... who the heck forgets the sugar?!  Maybe a novice baker.  Maybe a 10 year old.  But me?  This isn't my first baking rodeo.  I've made muffins a million times, and could probably make them with my eyes closed... or not.

It's times like these that I just have to laugh at myself.  One... for being an idiot and forgetting the sugar.  But two, because there are other things in life a little more important than some sugar in some muffins.  And because I was stubborn as all get out - I continued to eat these sugar-less muffins because I didn't want to waste them and admit defeat.  So really... maybe I did come out on top. 

So here's the recipe (as it was supposed to be, sugar-included).

Do you ever have one of those "DOH!" moments in the kitchen?  Feel free to make me feel better by saying I'm not the only one =) 

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar (don't forget it now!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
juice from 1 lemon
1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 500 F.

Fill muffin tin with liners. 

Whisk flour, SUGAR, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl.  Fold in blueberries.

In another medium bowl, beat buttermilk, eggs, oil, vanilla, and lemon juice until combined.

Mix liquid ingredients with dry ingredients until incorporated.

Fill muffin liners about 2/3 full.  Place in oven and immediately drop temperature to 400 F.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.

I even tried to salvage the muffins by making a quick glaze with some water and powdered sugar.  While it helped give a bit of a sweet note, it just wasn't the sweet note that permeated the entire muffin like that 1/2 cup of missing sugar would have given!  Oh well... There will be other muffin baking experiences to be had (hopefully including sugar next time)! 

I'm off to bed - See you guys tomorrow!

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

The weekend just wasn't long enough, was it?  I can't believe it's already Monday!

We spent our weekend with friends - enjoying sushi... and not-so-much enjoying Cowboys & Aliens.  Seriously - worst way to spend $19. 

But this isn't a movie blog, it's a food blog.  And I thought I'd share with you the winner of the last bi-weekly poll - Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread.

It's nothing new.  Tons of bloggers have done it.  But this last week was my first experience with it - and judging from the positive reaction of my co-workers and Andy - it won't be my last!  So here's to starting the week on a sweet note!


Ingredients:
Adapted from Zoomy Yummy's recipe 

Dough:

3 & 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 & 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:

1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs.

In another small bowl, melt 4 tablespoons of butter with milk.  Add water and vanilla and stir until combined. 

Pour milk mixture into bowl with flour.  Add eggs and stir until incorporated.  Add remaining flour, in 1/2 cup increments, until a ball of dough forms.  The dough should be somewhat sticky, but capable of holding shape.

Knead dough on a floured work surface for about 10 minutes.

Grease a large bowl and place dough inside.  Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.

Deflate dough and knead on a floured work surface for a couple of minutes.

Roll dough out to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness (you should get a large rectangle - about 12x20).

To make filling, melt remaining 4 tablespoons of butter.  In a separate small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 

Brush the butter onto the rectangle of dough and sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture over top. 

Using a pizza cutter, slice the dough into 1 to 1 & 1/2 inch strips.  Then cut across to make squares.  Stack dough in groups of 6's (I had 8 stacks). 

Grease and flour a loaf pan and place as may stacks as possible (I fit about 6 stacks).  I had 2 leftover stacks that I just put it individual ramekins.  Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Bake bread for 30 minutes, or until golden brown (If you do individual ramekins, decrease time about 5-8 minutes).  Let bread rest for 20 minutes before digging in.

This was definitely some really good bread!  Not to mention it looks stunning!  I think there was the perfect ratio of cinnamon to sugar, and I just couldn't stop eating it.  The individual portions were gone within an hour - and it took a lot of will power not to devour the loaf pan that I was taking to work!

Hope you all have a great Monday!

Beets & Bowties

It's Friday!  And boy am I glad!  The week seemed to fly by, but it definitely had it's ups and downs.  But now that it's Friday, I'm looking forward to getting my 8-hour shift at work over with and on to my weekend off! 

I plan on hitting up the Farmer's Market, getting some sushi with friends, and possibly kicking Andy's butt in a round or two of tennis.  Full of myself much?  Yeah, maybe just a little. 

Anyway, on to today's post.

Andy doesn't like beets.  We kept getting beets in our CSA for a few weeks, and while I didn't mind, Andy was getting a little perturbed.  But what's a good fiancee to do in moments like these?  Well, I force-feed.  I couldn't let the beets go to waste just because he claims not to like them!  I honestly think deep down, he actually adores them - but just doesn't want to admit it.  Why?  Because I'm pretty sure he ate this pasta without any complaints - and it's chock full of beets.

Ingredients:
Adapted from Jeanette's Healthy Living's recipe

5-7 small to medium-sized beets, cleaned (I used a combo of golden and red)
1 cup water
1/4 cup roastes peanuts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
8 oz. farfalle pasta
1 cup shredded mozzarella
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Place beets in a medium sized baking dish and add cup of water.  Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for about 45 minutes, or until beets have softened and can cut easily.

Let cool until safe enough to handle.  Peel away skin with a paring knife or your hands (don't be afraid to get messy).

Cut beats into 1/2 inch cubes.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook pasta until al dente.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water and drain.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil until shimmering.  Saute onions on medium heat for about 15-18 minutes.  Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute or so.

Stir in balsamic vinegar and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Add pasta to the pan and mix well.  Add mozzarella and stir until melted.  Stir in additional pasta water if desired.

Season with salt and pepper.  Garnish with roasted peanuts.

This was definitely one of my better beet dishes.  And don't worry - I'm not through with beets yet.  I've got something special coming up next week... you won't be sorry =)  And you may think I'm evil, but that's nothing new!  I'll keep you in suspense until then.

Have a safe weekend everybody!

CSA Week #14

Our CSA box was jam-packed full of goodies this week!  It was almost too heavy to lift to my car - good thing I've been working out lately, right?

Let's check out what we got...

• Purple and white peppers
• Sweet Corn
• Eggplant
• Watermelon
• Cucumbers
• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Pears
• Okra
• Blackberries

I'm loving the fruits!

And we've got one other blogger that's sharing their CSA haul, and that's Sam from Cooking My Way Through My CSA:

1 bunch of beets, 1 cabbage, 1 lb. of cucumbers, 1 bunch of dill, 1 bunch of chard, 1/2 lb. of salad mix, 1 lb. of squash/zucchini, 1 bunch of leeks, 2 lb of peaches, 1 lb sugar plums

Looks like Sam was loaded down too!

Thanks Sam for participating this week, and hope to see more of you sharing next week!

I've got to get ready for our softball tournament tonight, gonna be a double header (hopefully), for a chance at the city tournament! 

***If you guys received a CSA this week, what did you end up getting?  I'd love to have a weekly round-up of your CSA goodies (if you participate in one), or even if you made a weekly visit to your Farmer's market (or even just picked from your own garden!) - I'd love to see the local produce everyone gets!  So feel free to e-mail a snapshot of your goods (as well as your name and blog title (and don't worry if you don't have a blog, your name will be just fine!) as well as a link to your blog) at mtlabor85 (at) yahoo (dot) com and I'll post them in next Thursday's CSA post!

Radishes with Herbed Butter

Happy Wednesday guys!  It's mid-week and I'm definitely anxiously awaiting for the weekend to arrive!  I need it!

Now, it's kinda late, so I'm gonna post something rather quick.

Radishes are one of those things I can take or leave.  They're okay, but I think besides their somewhat peppery taste - just don't do anything for me.  But add some butter (that's been laced with garden fresh herbs), and we have a different story.  A quick and easy snack - or even a snappy appetizer in a pinch for a dinner party.


Ingredients:

1 bunch of radishes, cut in half
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
small handful of fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, oregano - whatever you prefer)
salt and pepper, to taste

In a small bowl, combine the butter and herbs of your choice - I think I went with some cilantro here.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

You can be fancy and put the butter in a pastry bag to top the radish halves, but I went old fashioned and just slathered a bit on with a knife. 

And voila, instant snack.

And really, the herbed butter can go on practically anything you put butter on - not just radishes!

Have a great rest of your Wednesday, even though there's only about an hour left of it!

Don't forget, if you have a CSA or Farmer's Market haul you'd like to share - e-mail me at mtlabor85@yahoo.com and I'll include you in the roundup tomorrow afternoon!

Vegetable Barley Soup

I know it's still a little hot outside for soup recipes, but this was too good to pass up.  I'm one of those irrational people that can have soup any time of year - especially when it's chock full of vegetables like this!



The flavor is definitely different, with all of the different herbs involved - but it's definitely a "good" kind of different!

Ingredients:
Adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe

 

4 cups water
2 cups vegetable broth

2 cups chicken stock
1 cup pearl barley, rinsed
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for drizzling
1 large onion, chopped 

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 cup sliced mushrooms

5 cups kale, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup chopped fresh fennel fronds
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
juice from 1 lemon

feta cheese crumbles, optional

Bring 4 cups water, 2 cups vegetable broth, barley, and 1 teaspoon sea salt to boil in large pot. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until barley is tender, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, chopped carrot, and mushrooms to pan.  Sprinkle with sea salt, and sauté until golden brown, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Add onion mixture and remaining 2 cups chicken stock to pot with barley.

Add kale to soup. Simmer until greens are tender, about 15 minutes. Add dill, fennel fronds, and mint; simmer 5 minutes. Add lemon juice. Season soup with sea salt, pepper, thinning with more broth, if desired. Divide soup among bowls. Sprinkle feta cheese over, drizzle with oil, and serve.

 

I even ate this cold for lunch today - and I NEVER eat soup cold.  Now you know it's gotta be good!

Do you guys eat soup in the summer time?  Or am I just a weirdo?

Blueberry & Avocado Spinach Salad

Happy Monday guys!  Anybody do anything exciting?

Again, we were pretty lazy.  Andy had to go into work yesterday night for some end of the month reports, so I sat around the house catching up on some Netflix action.

It's also August!  Boy has this year flown by!

I thought I'd start the week with something light.  I usually take my lunch to work 99.9% of the time, and this is just a glimpse of the sort of thing I take with me!

Ingredients:

1 Avocado, cubed
1/4 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
a few slices of ham, chopped
1/4 cup blueberries
1 cup spinach
juice from 1 lime

I'm one of those weird people that prefers their salad undressed most of the time.  And plus, the avocado is creamy enough that it adds a faux dressing feel.

Combine avocado, tomatoes, ham, blueberries, and spinach in a large bowl.  Toss until mixed well. 

Squeeze lime juice over salad and toss again. 

Dig in!

Quick and easy lunch any day of the week!

Do you bring your lunch to work?  What sort of things do you take with you?



Well, I'm off to get some cleaning done around the house - since I let myself be lazy all day yesterday!  Have a great start to the week guys!