One of Beau's favorite dinners is spaghetti. To be honest I never take the time to make meatballs, I just brown up some hot Italian sausage and add it to a jar of red sauce. It is quick, Beau likes it, and I happen to really like the sausage over meatballs anyway. But all that heavy sauce and noodles always leaves me sluggish and bloated and I feel heavy even the next morning. So as much as Beau loves it, I tend to be more hesitant to make it.
And then I discovered a whole new way to make spaghetti! Okay, well it isn't actually new at all but it is something I never tried because the ingredients always scared me off a little bit. I have heard it called several different things so I just call it spaghetti a la delicious. You create a little sauce with fresh or canned tomatoes and a things like anchovies and capers and I find that if I use whole wheat noodles then I don't feel so bad about scarfing down a second helping. And as it turns out, the anchovies scared me but the whole meal comes together really well and tastes fantastic! Plus it is so fast to make. If you just take the time to measure everything out and chop it up then you can just toss it all together in only a few minutes.
Spaghetti A La Delicious
handful of whole wheat spaghetti
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp hot chili flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
about 6 anchovy filets, mashed with a fork (optional for a vegetarian version)
1 can of diced tomatoes (fire roasted or with herbs)
a small handful of kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 Tbsp capers, chopped
1 tsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp fresh oregano and thyme, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
cook the spaghetti in salted water
heat the olive oil in a pan then add the hot chili flakes and garlic. saute for a couple minutes until garlic is brown. Add the anchovies and saute for a few seconds, then add tomatoes and simmer (while stirring) for about 5 minutes. Stir in olives, capers, brown sugar, herbs, salt and pepper. Add the spaghetti to the sauce and toss together until it is coated.
Remember that capers and anchovies are salty on their own, so taste before adding any more salt!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Man Stew!
I thought for sure I would have posted this stew at least once, but after searching through blogs of rainy days' past, I didn't find it! So I feel it is absolutely necessary to share this easy and hearty stew. I make it a lot because Beau likes it and it is super easy. I make it in the crockpot, but you can make it in a regular soup pot too. (slightly different directions for a soup pot will be at the bottom of the recipe)
We call it...
Man Stew! And you will need...
3 small carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
2 small potatoes, peeled and diced
3 strips of bacon (this is for the grease. if you would rather, a little olive oil will work just fine too)
2 lbs of stew beef
3 Tbsp flour
1 can diced tomatoes
2 bottles Guiness beer
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
In a large skillet, cook the bacon to render the fat. Remove bacon and set aside. Saute carrot, onion, potatoes, and celery in the bacon grease until soft (potatoes won't be soft, but that is ok). Add the stew meat and brown. Once brown, sprinkle with flour and coat everything. Saute for 1 minute to cook out the flour flavor. Transfer to a crockpot and add tomatoes and beer. My crockpot takes hours on high to cook, but if you have a good crockpot you can cook it on low. Let it cook until meat is done and tender and the stew is thickened. Stir in fresh oregano and salt and pepper to taste.
If you do not want to use a crockpot, do all of the steps in the soup pot and simmer for 2 hours on the stove.
This is a chunky and hearty stew and is really yummy with just a hunk of bread as a side. Don't worry, the beer taste cooks out and makes a yummy broth. :) I did learn however, that the extra stout Guiness does not taste as good, you have to buy just the regular beer in the black bottles.
Enjoy!
We call it...
Man Stew! And you will need...
3 small carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
2 small potatoes, peeled and diced
3 strips of bacon (this is for the grease. if you would rather, a little olive oil will work just fine too)
2 lbs of stew beef
3 Tbsp flour
1 can diced tomatoes
2 bottles Guiness beer
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
In a large skillet, cook the bacon to render the fat. Remove bacon and set aside. Saute carrot, onion, potatoes, and celery in the bacon grease until soft (potatoes won't be soft, but that is ok). Add the stew meat and brown. Once brown, sprinkle with flour and coat everything. Saute for 1 minute to cook out the flour flavor. Transfer to a crockpot and add tomatoes and beer. My crockpot takes hours on high to cook, but if you have a good crockpot you can cook it on low. Let it cook until meat is done and tender and the stew is thickened. Stir in fresh oregano and salt and pepper to taste.
If you do not want to use a crockpot, do all of the steps in the soup pot and simmer for 2 hours on the stove.
This is a chunky and hearty stew and is really yummy with just a hunk of bread as a side. Don't worry, the beer taste cooks out and makes a yummy broth. :) I did learn however, that the extra stout Guiness does not taste as good, you have to buy just the regular beer in the black bottles.
Enjoy!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Feels Like the Very First Time
A few years ago, before Beau, Berkeley and all of the wonderful food experiences I had in the Bay Area, I had my first romantic evening with food as my +1. I remember it well as one of those life altering moments where I realized I truly had a passion for food. I was 18 and a vegan. I would buy my make-up from an Aveda salon in Redlands and I just happened to notice at one of my routine visits that they were putting on a vegan benefit dinner at a place called The Farm. The money would go to the California beaches which I justified as the reason I would just have to pay the $65 for a ticket. How could I not help the beaches? I'm not a monster!
The dinner night finally arrived a few weeks later and I got dressed up like I was going on a date. Little black dress, heels, my hair was up in the messy boho fashion I was wearing in my vegan days and I hit the town. I had butterflies as I anticipated the delicious food waiting for me.
Once I arrived, I realized I was the only one there by myself! But I didn't let that stop me. I held my head up high and owned it; I pretended to be one of those fashionable old ladies who always goes out alone and looks fabulous doing so. It didn't occur to me until later that I was also the youngest in attendance... But anyway, I walked through the giant oak doors and was seated at the end of one of the long tables amidst a group of hairdressers who all came together. Their hair talk faded into the background while I looked around and took in the room... deep colors, low lighting, wine glasses and bottles lining the wall behind the bar. Oh yes, this would be a romantic night!
And oh what a night it was. I was served a 6 course vegan meal including polenta, soups, delicious roasted vegetables and an amazing dessert. I closed my eyes and tasted, really tasted, every bite. The food was comforting as well as fantastic and beautiful to look at. It broke my heart that i didn't know anyone who would be as excited about this food as I was! And then I knew... Maybe I am a little different from the rest of the population when it comes to food.
Lucky for me I would move to a place where a "foodie" is as common as the hobos that lined the street corners and I would get to have many more romantic food evenings. But none quite as exciting and sexy as that night I went out alone to explore the world of high end vegan cuisine. I guess nothing compares to the "first time".
I would love to share an incredible vegan recipe with you to go along with this post, but I have not been a vegan for a long time and I may have lost my touch! :) But if you are ever in the mood, make a reservation at this beautiful restaurant in downtown Redlands. That was a vegan event but the restaurant serves meat, and deliciously I might add! They also have an amazing wine selection and all of their food comes from local farms. Does it get much better than that?
The dinner night finally arrived a few weeks later and I got dressed up like I was going on a date. Little black dress, heels, my hair was up in the messy boho fashion I was wearing in my vegan days and I hit the town. I had butterflies as I anticipated the delicious food waiting for me.
Once I arrived, I realized I was the only one there by myself! But I didn't let that stop me. I held my head up high and owned it; I pretended to be one of those fashionable old ladies who always goes out alone and looks fabulous doing so. It didn't occur to me until later that I was also the youngest in attendance... But anyway, I walked through the giant oak doors and was seated at the end of one of the long tables amidst a group of hairdressers who all came together. Their hair talk faded into the background while I looked around and took in the room... deep colors, low lighting, wine glasses and bottles lining the wall behind the bar. Oh yes, this would be a romantic night!
And oh what a night it was. I was served a 6 course vegan meal including polenta, soups, delicious roasted vegetables and an amazing dessert. I closed my eyes and tasted, really tasted, every bite. The food was comforting as well as fantastic and beautiful to look at. It broke my heart that i didn't know anyone who would be as excited about this food as I was! And then I knew... Maybe I am a little different from the rest of the population when it comes to food.
Lucky for me I would move to a place where a "foodie" is as common as the hobos that lined the street corners and I would get to have many more romantic food evenings. But none quite as exciting and sexy as that night I went out alone to explore the world of high end vegan cuisine. I guess nothing compares to the "first time".
I would love to share an incredible vegan recipe with you to go along with this post, but I have not been a vegan for a long time and I may have lost my touch! :) But if you are ever in the mood, make a reservation at this beautiful restaurant in downtown Redlands. That was a vegan event but the restaurant serves meat, and deliciously I might add! They also have an amazing wine selection and all of their food comes from local farms. Does it get much better than that?
Friday, October 22, 2010
No such thing as too much pumpkin!
"umm... not that I don't love your pumpkin waffles, but do you think maybe sometimes we can have regular waffles?" -Beau
Okay, I guess I go a little overboard on the pumpkin this time of year. But I can't help it! Pumpkin spiced anything is delicious and for some reason it is only delicious around this time of year. This is hands down my favorite time of the year. I love how (in Southern Cali anyway) it is always blistering hot and then all of a sudden it happens almost overnight; the wind blows in a chill, the trees are suddenly an array of beautiful golds, reds and yellows and the sky turns a silvery gray. It is beautiful! The air smells like damp earth, and there is no better smell than the smell of a wet desert. I get a thrill from pulling out the old cozy sweaters and fuzzy socks. A rush of childhood memories of Falls and Winters past hit me full force as I slip into an over-sized hoodie and cuddle up with a book while listening to some of my mom's favorite old CDs. And then the best part: I'm already bundled up all the time anyway, so I have no qualms about baking (and eating) all my favorite goodies!
I am not huge about decorating my treats into little spookie critters or covering everything in candy corn. What I like the most is what the season has to offer this time of year, and it finds its way into everything I make: apples and pumpkins! Sure apples are in the store all year around, but this is apple season and there is nothing better than an apple just picked off the tree in its season. There is something intoxicating about the smell of a perfectly ripe apple. It smells so sticky sweet and almost flowery. Yum!
And then there are pumpkins... where do I even begin with pumpkins? As a kid I thought pumpkins were just for decoration and then I got a little older and discovered the joy of pumpkin pies, pumpkin spiced cookies and cakes, lattes and anything else you can throw some pumpkin in. I have so many pumpkin recipes I had a hard time narrowing down which one to share, but in the end it was obvious what my favorite has been lately: pumpkin waffles! I make a bunch of batter and store it in a mason jar in the fridge so I can get to it whenever I have the urge, which is more often than I should. I could literally eat these waffles morning noon and night which is probably why Beau is so sick of them.
Yesterday when I woke up it was gray and drizzly outside and absolutely freezing in my house. I stuffed my feet into really tacky fuzzy socks decorated with green and white stripes and put on two sweaters and did the only thing I could think of to do when you wake up and everything is drizzly. I turned on my computer and played some rainy day music and then pulled out the waffle iron. The smell of these pumpkin waffles set the mood for the rest of my day and I could not have been more happy to sit at my table and eat while watching the rain glisten off the field behind my house and the crows bounce around eating walnuts that had fallen from my tree.
Pumpkin Spice Waffles with Walnuts
1 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree (fresh or from a can)
1 2/3 cup milk
4 bsp melted butter, cooled
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl beat the eggs, sugar. Then add the pumpkin, milk and butter. Fold the wet into the dry. Pour some batter into your waffle maker and sprinkle with walnuts. Cook according to your iron's directions. Serve right away with some fresh whipped cream or maple syrup. Mmmm...
.....
This another recipe to celebrate the season that I got from a tart recipe from Julie Child's The Art of french Cooking. The tart is delicious too, but if you ever have a few extra apples and you don't want to eat them inside a pastry shell, this is just as good on its own!
Applesauce
3 lbs apples, peeled and cored and diced
1/3 cup apricot preserves, forced through a sieve (this is to get all of the large bits of apricot out. If you don't mind large bits then you can leave it as is)
1/4 cup apple brandy or rum
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
zest of 1/2 lemon Place the apples in a saucepan, cover and cook on a low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once tender, beat in the rest of the ingredients. Raise the heat to a boil, stirring until applesauce is thick
(p.s. these are not my pictures! I stole them from Google because my camera was lost :) but it is found now, so pictures of my food will be coming soon! ... Nice picture of waffles though right?)
Thursday, October 21, 2010
what is green, warm, and delicious all over?
Warm spinach salad... I have come to the conclusion that this is the most delicious way to eat spinach! I will be honest, I am not the best when it comes to eating my veggies; I am more in the fan club of sweets, fruit and lots of bread and grains. But like a good girl I make sure to include some green stuff as often as I can. This recipe is incredibly simple and super delicious.
Warm Spinach with Roasted Garlic
1 bag baby spinach
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 head garlic
1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
preheat oven to 400 degrees. cut off the tip of your head of garlic with a sharp knife and wrap it in foil. roast in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour. it is done when it is fragrant and the clove is golden brown once peeled. once it is done, let it cool and then peel off the skin
in a saute pan, heat the olive oil. add the spinach and immediately drizzle lemon juice over the top. saute the spinach until halfway wilted, about 2 minutes. turn off the heat and toss with the garlic cloves and salt. serve immediately
Delicious!
Warm Spinach with Roasted Garlic
1 bag baby spinach
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 head garlic
1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
preheat oven to 400 degrees. cut off the tip of your head of garlic with a sharp knife and wrap it in foil. roast in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour. it is done when it is fragrant and the clove is golden brown once peeled. once it is done, let it cool and then peel off the skin
in a saute pan, heat the olive oil. add the spinach and immediately drizzle lemon juice over the top. saute the spinach until halfway wilted, about 2 minutes. turn off the heat and toss with the garlic cloves and salt. serve immediately
Delicious!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Less Fat... More Scraping?
Okay, so I am going to admit something a little embarrassing today. I have a serious woman crush on Jennifer Aniston (I mean, it. I'm kind of obsessed). I know she is not the hottest person in Hollywood, but for some reason I just love her. She seems incredibly approachable to me and she seems to have a little bit of a hippie side, which appeals to my hippie side. Plus, I am a yoga freak and they say that is the secret to her fantastic arms and legs. So there it is! I am crushing on a 40 year old actress who does yoga.
But that is not exactly why I am writing this blog; it is only partly relevant to Jennifer. It just so happened that some time ago Oprah did an article on Jennifer Aniston having a dinner party in her home and she ran it in her O Magazine. The article described Jen's home and the little dinner party she was having and it also interviewed her personal chef's and listed the menu they prepared for the party. In the menu, under the appetizers, her chefs prepared (among other things) mushroom quesadillas. Not that I had never heard of a mushroom quesadilla before, but they did something different I had never heard of. In order to cut out any unnecessary fat, the chefs cooked the little Mexican treats on top of course sea salt! Apparently the salt acts as a barrier to keep it off the pan and from burning instead of the usual pat of butter or margarine that creates a nonstick surface. I read this little tip while I was reading the article (and relishing the pictures of Jennifer's beautiful kitchen and patio) and I was instantly intrigued.
So today while I was at the store I bought some whole wheat tortillas and a few quesadilla goodies and decided to try it for dinner. I prepped my mushrooms (always wipe with a damp cloth, never ever run under water! They absorb the water and shrink a lot when you cook them) and got everything ready and sprinkled the salt in the pan anticipating a magical little barrier and a perfect quesadilla. Well unfortunately that is not what I got... the salt sort of adhered to the tortilla and made a little bit of a salty mess. I kept scraping it off so it wouldn't be too icky tasting to eat. They were right though, they don't burn! But who would want to eat so much salt?
Fortunately I am a good scraper and I was able to save our dinner. And with the difficult cooking process aside, they were delicious! I was very impressed with the combination and I must admit I actually liked the way it tasted with no fat on the tortilla. Sometimes a little butter can make it taste more fried and kind of heavy. These were light and healthy but still really filling! So if you want to try these cooked with a little Pam, a little spot of butter, or if you don't mind scraping off salt, it doesn't matter, but I do suggest you try them!
Mushroom And Spinach Quesadillas
4 whole wheat tortillas
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded jack cheese
1/2 cup baby spinach
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
2 tbsp course sea salt (if you plan on cooking it this way)
In a small saute pan, heat your olive oil. Add the garlic and mushrooms and oregano and saute until lightly golden and delicious. set aside. In your other pan add the salt (or butter or whatever) and heat the pan. Lay down a tortilla and on one side layer mushrooms, spinach and cheese. Fold over and cook until golden and crispy and them flip it and cook until golden and crispy. Do this for every tortilla. Makes 4.
But that is not exactly why I am writing this blog; it is only partly relevant to Jennifer. It just so happened that some time ago Oprah did an article on Jennifer Aniston having a dinner party in her home and she ran it in her O Magazine. The article described Jen's home and the little dinner party she was having and it also interviewed her personal chef's and listed the menu they prepared for the party. In the menu, under the appetizers, her chefs prepared (among other things) mushroom quesadillas. Not that I had never heard of a mushroom quesadilla before, but they did something different I had never heard of. In order to cut out any unnecessary fat, the chefs cooked the little Mexican treats on top of course sea salt! Apparently the salt acts as a barrier to keep it off the pan and from burning instead of the usual pat of butter or margarine that creates a nonstick surface. I read this little tip while I was reading the article (and relishing the pictures of Jennifer's beautiful kitchen and patio) and I was instantly intrigued.
So today while I was at the store I bought some whole wheat tortillas and a few quesadilla goodies and decided to try it for dinner. I prepped my mushrooms (always wipe with a damp cloth, never ever run under water! They absorb the water and shrink a lot when you cook them) and got everything ready and sprinkled the salt in the pan anticipating a magical little barrier and a perfect quesadilla. Well unfortunately that is not what I got... the salt sort of adhered to the tortilla and made a little bit of a salty mess. I kept scraping it off so it wouldn't be too icky tasting to eat. They were right though, they don't burn! But who would want to eat so much salt?
Fortunately I am a good scraper and I was able to save our dinner. And with the difficult cooking process aside, they were delicious! I was very impressed with the combination and I must admit I actually liked the way it tasted with no fat on the tortilla. Sometimes a little butter can make it taste more fried and kind of heavy. These were light and healthy but still really filling! So if you want to try these cooked with a little Pam, a little spot of butter, or if you don't mind scraping off salt, it doesn't matter, but I do suggest you try them!
Mushroom And Spinach Quesadillas
4 whole wheat tortillas
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded jack cheese
1/2 cup baby spinach
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
2 tbsp course sea salt (if you plan on cooking it this way)
In a small saute pan, heat your olive oil. Add the garlic and mushrooms and oregano and saute until lightly golden and delicious. set aside. In your other pan add the salt (or butter or whatever) and heat the pan. Lay down a tortilla and on one side layer mushrooms, spinach and cheese. Fold over and cook until golden and crispy and them flip it and cook until golden and crispy. Do this for every tortilla. Makes 4.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
My Love Affair with Muffins
Do you know the muffin man, the muffin man, the muffin man? Oh, I know the muffin man!
Here, let me introduce myself-
My name is Jasmine, and I LOVE muffins! I have often said that my favorite food invention is the combination of bread and sugar (cupcakes, quick breads, cakes...) but more than any other sweet, fluffy bread, I love the taste and texture of good muffins. There is truly something about a muffin that I almost can't put my finger on... it is the way the top will give way under your fingers and tear off to reveal the perfectly soft center, and the way it smells as you bring it to your lips. Or maybe it is the way it feels against your lips, soft and plush and a little buttery. I love how it melts on your tongue, back into the dough that it was before you baked it. The word muffin actually comes from the French word "moufflet" which means soft. It cannot be described any better way!
I have to admit that the fluffy bready texture is my favorite thing about a muffin, but of course the reason muffins are so popular is all of the fantastic flavors and that wonderful sweet taste! Blueberry (my personal favorite), banana nut, cinnamon apple and anything else you can dream up. The possibilities are endless when it comes to these palm-sized treats. But muffins did not start out that way. Muffins started out at a yeast-leavened bread that was not particularly sweet. In fact, the word muffin originally referred to what we know now to be an english muffin. Those disk-like little breads with holes that are delicious with butter and a cup of tea; that is what they were baked for- tea! There really was a man called a muffin man back in the 19th century in England who would carry muffins on the street while ringing a bell and selling his treats at tea time. I love this image of a little man carrying muffins and ringing a bell. I can't help but picture cobbled streets and quaint little cafes with trendy, thin women sipping tea wearing gawdy pearl jewelry.
English muffins traveled to America along with other food recipes, but they were not oh so very popular until the 1970's and 80's. It took that long! Americans took the recipe for muffins and tweaked it in the way that we Americans do... add chemicals and lots of sugar! It was in the 1970's that less and less women were baking at home and more were taking up post in th
e work force. This started a trend in mixes and foods you can grab on the go. There was also a rise in gourmet coffee shops and healthier food. The recipes of muffins changed to a bread that was leavened with baking powder rather than yeast and they were baked in muffin pans (or cupcake pan, they are not sure which sweet treat came first). Ironically, the healthy food movement caused muffins to grow 3 times their size in these pans! And to keep the muffins fresh longer so that they could be sold in the new trendy coffee shops, there was a lot more sugar and fat added. People still imagined that muffins were better for them than the donuts or bagels that were the other breakfast or treat options, so they would opt for the muffin, even choosing a carrot or blueberry in hopes of getting some healthy nutrients. However, if you are a calorie counter then you know that a muffin should be an occasional sugary treat and not an everyday breakfast as the people of the 70's and 80's were led to believe. There isn't much about the muffin that is actually healthy, but who cares when they are so delicious?
After my hubby bought me a giant muffin pan (if the regular muffin is 3 times the normal size of a muffin then the giant ones must be 10 times the size! No wonder I can't lose these last 5 pounds!) I made it my business to find the very best muffin recipe out there. After sampling and and scouring the internet I had narrowed it down to 2 recipes. Both of them claimed to be the very best muffins you have ever eaten, and they each had a completely different batter. We did a taste test and I ended up coming up with my own recipe that combines the two! Careful, these muffins are not for the faint of heart or the diabetic among us. I have a very large sweet tooth and the batter is almost cake-like... yummm.
Jasmine's Blueberry Muffins
1/2 cup butter
2 cups flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup blueberries (I use frozen)
topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Sift dry ingredients into a small bowl. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs. Add the milk and flour. Fold in the blueberries. Fill the muffin cups all the way and top with the crumb topping. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes
to make crumb topping: combine all ingredients together with a fork. you don't need to mush up the butter, just leave it cubed and evenly distribute it on the muffins.
Enjoy by ripping off the crunchy, sweet top and tearing apart the fluffy bottom; eating it in soft little pieces with or without butter. Then eat the top in little orgasmic bites and curse the muffin gods for making this muffin go straight to your jeans and adding to the muffin top on your hips.
Here, let me introduce myself-
My name is Jasmine, and I LOVE muffins! I have often said that my favorite food invention is the combination of bread and sugar (cupcakes, quick breads, cakes...) but more than any other sweet, fluffy bread, I love the taste and texture of good muffins. There is truly something about a muffin that I almost can't put my finger on... it is the way the top will give way under your fingers and tear off to reveal the perfectly soft center, and the way it smells as you bring it to your lips. Or maybe it is the way it feels against your lips, soft and plush and a little buttery. I love how it melts on your tongue, back into the dough that it was before you baked it. The word muffin actually comes from the French word "moufflet" which means soft. It cannot be described any better way!
I have to admit that the fluffy bready texture is my favorite thing about a muffin, but of course the reason muffins are so popular is all of the fantastic flavors and that wonderful sweet taste! Blueberry (my personal favorite), banana nut, cinnamon apple and anything else you can dream up. The possibilities are endless when it comes to these palm-sized treats. But muffins did not start out that way. Muffins started out at a yeast-leavened bread that was not particularly sweet. In fact, the word muffin originally referred to what we know now to be an english muffin. Those disk-like little breads with holes that are delicious with butter and a cup of tea; that is what they were baked for- tea! There really was a man called a muffin man back in the 19th century in England who would carry muffins on the street while ringing a bell and selling his treats at tea time. I love this image of a little man carrying muffins and ringing a bell. I can't help but picture cobbled streets and quaint little cafes with trendy, thin women sipping tea wearing gawdy pearl jewelry.
English muffins traveled to America along with other food recipes, but they were not oh so very popular until the 1970's and 80's. It took that long! Americans took the recipe for muffins and tweaked it in the way that we Americans do... add chemicals and lots of sugar! It was in the 1970's that less and less women were baking at home and more were taking up post in th
e work force. This started a trend in mixes and foods you can grab on the go. There was also a rise in gourmet coffee shops and healthier food. The recipes of muffins changed to a bread that was leavened with baking powder rather than yeast and they were baked in muffin pans (or cupcake pan, they are not sure which sweet treat came first). Ironically, the healthy food movement caused muffins to grow 3 times their size in these pans! And to keep the muffins fresh longer so that they could be sold in the new trendy coffee shops, there was a lot more sugar and fat added. People still imagined that muffins were better for them than the donuts or bagels that were the other breakfast or treat options, so they would opt for the muffin, even choosing a carrot or blueberry in hopes of getting some healthy nutrients. However, if you are a calorie counter then you know that a muffin should be an occasional sugary treat and not an everyday breakfast as the people of the 70's and 80's were led to believe. There isn't much about the muffin that is actually healthy, but who cares when they are so delicious?After my hubby bought me a giant muffin pan (if the regular muffin is 3 times the normal size of a muffin then the giant ones must be 10 times the size! No wonder I can't lose these last 5 pounds!) I made it my business to find the very best muffin recipe out there. After sampling and and scouring the internet I had narrowed it down to 2 recipes. Both of them claimed to be the very best muffins you have ever eaten, and they each had a completely different batter. We did a taste test and I ended up coming up with my own recipe that combines the two! Careful, these muffins are not for the faint of heart or the diabetic among us. I have a very large sweet tooth and the batter is almost cake-like... yummm.
Jasmine's Blueberry Muffins
1/2 cup butter
2 cups flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup blueberries (I use frozen)
topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Sift dry ingredients into a small bowl. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs. Add the milk and flour. Fold in the blueberries. Fill the muffin cups all the way and top with the crumb topping. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes
to make crumb topping: combine all ingredients together with a fork. you don't need to mush up the butter, just leave it cubed and evenly distribute it on the muffins.
Enjoy by ripping off the crunchy, sweet top and tearing apart the fluffy bottom; eating it in soft little pieces with or without butter. Then eat the top in little orgasmic bites and curse the muffin gods for making this muffin go straight to your jeans and adding to the muffin top on your hips.
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