SMURFBERRY MUFFINS

Today is my grandaughter's last day to visit,she loves bluberries- soooo I thought I would make her what my oldest daughter LaNae would call "Smurfberry Muffins"-Blueberry Muffins.  She called it that because the way we do it, the dough looks kinda grayish-purple, I guess just because it was a colored batter it generated her thought to the smurfs who at the time was quite popular, it just makes it fun.  Everyone loves these muffins, probably because there is more than a blueberry in every bite and the crunchy topping gives it that little extra ,soaring it over the top.
The thing about these muffins is you can prepare the topping mixture, wrap it and refrigerate it and mix the dry ingredients together the night before and it will be a breeze the next morning. How did this get started? Well, I always have loved muffins and a girlfriend Jenice  gave me a muffin book one year for christmas.  I liked the recipes and at the same time could come up with ways to make them better.  I found out that I prefer frozen  bumbucha (BIG) blueberries.  They are so much better in the batter, frozen keeps the berries from breaking up, juicy when baked and I found that  a lot of people used the really small blueberries I just did not care for them so wella this has been our trademark.  I also felt the muffins needed some crunch so what better than a crumb topping with a little cinnamon! We just love it- hope you do too!  So here it goes!



SMURFBERRY MUFFINS AKA BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
Preheat oven to 375F

Mix together: 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup cold salted butter, cubed.

Mix together until it is a crumb like texture. Refrigerate until ready to put topping on muffins.

In a bowl beat until creamy: 1/2 cup salted butter; add 1 cup granulated sugar mix until fluffy.

Crack two large eggs in a small bowl and one at a time add to butter mixture beating well after each addition.Next mix in 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. salt.

Cream the butter.

Add the sugar and beat until pale and fluffy.

Beat eggs in one at a time, mixing well.

The batter after the second egg addition.

Adding in the vanilla, BP and salt.

Next the smashed smurfberries(blueberries).

The beautiful color of the batter.

2 cups AP Flour and 1/2 cup whole milk.

Now mix in flour with rubber spatula, do not over mix.  Over mixing will give you muffins with mountain peaks, and you don't want that!

Do the same with the milk.

Batter after all milk and flour has been added.

Mix in the FROZEN blueberries. The coldness of the berries keeps the berries from smooshing up so much. It also keeps the batter together nicely when scooping into the liners.

Spoon heaping tablespoons of batter into greased liners. Should fill about 15 cups.

Sprinkle crumb topping on top using all the topping. I like to make a double batch of the topping and use it all up. When using muffin tins spray the top pf the pan also.

It depends on who I am making the muffins for, I either use foil liners or a little nicer cup liner and you can even add a tulip liner to put in the cup liner, which makes it very professional looking.

Bake in a  375F preheated oven. Usually 25-30 minutes, it will depend on your oven. Also I set my timer to 15 minutes then turn the pans around or if I have two pans in the oven I also switch racks. Set timer for remaining time and check to see if middle is cooked and topping should be a nice golden brown.

SALT

On Friday, the 19th of February I went to Portland, Oregon to pick up my granddaughter  so she could spend some time with us.

I decided to go earlier and check out a few shops. What I was most interested in was a place called "At the Meadow" I was interested because of the article I read in Food and Wine Magazine. They supposedly have a huge collection of finishing salts. It wasn't the easiest location to find, but with GPS I found my way there. Of course, I was by myself and determined that I would find it and  I did find it and  had the time of my life!

They have quite the collection of finishing salts and also Himalayan Salt Blocks to cook on or present your food on.

I know that there are alot of people who have trouble with salt. You have to also remember that it's not just the salt that is the problem. It usually goes hand in hand with being over weight, not eating enough potassium producing fruits and vegetables. Also, when you eat a lot of processed foods you have no control over the salt you introduce into your system. So making food from scratch helps a lot in this category. Oh! Yeah I am all for that!
Well to be truthful, I did end up with two collections of finishing salt. I used some on the Paella Sunday night and it was a nice addition. The one I really liked is a Japanese salt with a plum flavor, it reminded me of Ume, which I love. I'm trying to come up with a way to use it.
I bought a Himalayan salt block and will try it out in a couple of weeks and let you know how it works and cooks the food.
This is what I learned from "At The Meadows".
Know the Basics
Finishing Salt - Distinctive salts that add something special when sprinkled on food. Some finishing salts can also be used as cooking salts.

A good finishing salt has unique mineral, moisture, and crystal qualities that play off your food to create more flavor, better texture, and new beauty.

Cooking Salt - Salt for roasting, brining, boiling water, & seasoning. Some cooking salts can also be used as finishing salts or curing salts.

A good cooking salt is rich in trace minerals, inexpensive, and contributes to environmental and cultural preservation.

Grinder Salt - Salt for use in salt mills as a finishing salt.

A good grinder salt has virtually zero moisture, is unrefined, and is high in minerals.

Pickling; Brining Salt - Salt added to water to preserve foods in brine, or added to water to hydrate and tenderize (mostly meats) in brine.

A good pickling or brining salt is naturally rich in minerals, unrefined, and made in an environmentally supportive way.

Curing Salt -Salts for curing meats, such as in the preparation of dry cured sausages or hams. These salts can include one or more of the following: potassium nitrite, potassium nitrite, sodium chloride.

A good curing salt depends on the cure, and it is important to follow curing recipes closely. Never eat a curing salt by itself.

So don't be afraid of salt, just use your judgement and be sure most of the food you eat is made from scratch!

Paella Sundays!

So for Christmas 2009 I received a Paella pan, scoop, rice and saffron threads and a Paella cook book from my husband and daughter LaNae. I asked for it for my birthday in September, but they forgot so I got it at Christmas!
We decided every Sunday we would make a different Paella! When we have been home on Sunday we have done just that!  I have come to know that the rice makes a difference.  This past Sunday we used arborio rice instead of the paella rice we ran out of, arborio is too starchy. So I ordered a new bag of the Bomba rice for this Sunday. Here is the recipe we did on Sunday the 21st of February 2010.
We used a recipe from "Paella" by Penelope Casas.
Crabmeat Paella with Peas. (I added lobster and monkfish)

So, here it goes! You really should try this, it is soooo good!

We made the fish broth for the paella by using all the shells from the crab and lobster.

Home made shellfish broth!

All the ingredients you will need for the Paella.

8 cloves Garlic,minced, 4 TBS. parsley,minced, 1 TBS. fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp. dried, 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper, 1 large bay leaf crushed, kosher or sea salt, 1/4 tsp. crumbled thread saffron,6 cups clam juice or  fish broth, 8 TBS. olive oil, 1 medium onion, finely chopped,  6 TBS. well washed minced leeks (white part only), 1 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped, 2 medium tomatoes, skinned, seeded and finely chopped, 1/2 cup finely chopped, cooked carrots, 1/4 cup brandy (I used white wine), 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika, 3 cups Spanish rice (bomba), 2 TBS. freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 cup peas, 1-1/2 lbs. Lump Crabmeat(when substituting other fish do not exceed the amount called for, So all the seafood should not exceed 1-1/2 lbs.)

Ingredients all prepared.  We usually try to prepare all of the ingredients on Saturday.

It makes the cooking procedure on Sunday a snap!

In a mortar or mini processor, you mash to a paste 1/2 of the garlic, parsley, crushed red pepper, bay leaf(crumble well first), and 1/4 tsp. salt. I like the mortar & pestal method, you can really mash and get out any aggression from the week! This paste really packs the flavor.

Next take your hot fish broth and add the saffron. Keep over the lowest flame. 

Preheat the oven to 400F for gas oven, 450 F for electric.

Heat the oil in the paella pan, over two bunners if necessary on high flame.