Blue Blueberry Muffins?

I love to bake. Everyone knows that about me. I used to bake all the time when I was living with my parents; it was so easy as my mom has every baking dish and utensil you could imagine. I could whip up cookies like it was nothing.

Since I've moved, however, it's been a bit tougher to fulfill my craving to bake. Let's just say my kitchen isn't exactly user-friendly. I mean, we have a few pots for the stove, and the appliances work (for the most part), but as far as mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons, spatulas, and pans go, not so much.

So today I was on a mission. A mission to bake. And that I did.

It all started at work, around lunch time, when I was hungry of course. I started perusing recipezaar.com, my usual recipe hotspot, and it was just recipe after recipe of delicious cakes and breads that I wanted to make. But keeping in mind my kitchen situation I decided to start with a simple recipe.

Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins. One mixing bowl, one baking pan, one spoon. Simple yet delicious.

A short trip to the grocery store to pick up the necessary ingredients and a muffin pan and I was ready to go. My night consisted of The Bachelor and muffin-making. GLORIOUS. Aside from the fact that they turned blue, the muffins were AWESOME. So good. For money-saving purposes I used frozen blueberries and let them thaw before adding to the muffins (hence the blue color); apparently you're supposed to leave them frozen. Note to self.

I've probably got you all craving blueberry muffins now so I will post this oh-so-wonderful recipe with my substitutions for your enjoyment:

Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten (I used egg beaters)
1 cup buttermilk (I used light buttermilk)
4 ounces butter or 1/2 cup canola oil (I used light butter)
1 1/2 cups blueberries
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Directions:
Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk eggs, buttermilk and butter that has been melted and browned slightly. Make a well in dry ingredients and pour in liquid ingredients, mixing quickly. Fold in blueberries. Spoon batter into greased muffin cups and bake till golden brown. Bake at 400 F for 20 -30 minutes.

Personal pillow warmer

Sometimes I come home to this on my bed:



She makes my bed all snuggly.

The STUPERBOWL!

A wonderful Sunday of FAMILY, FOOD and football. Kyle and Dad threw the football while Mom and I cooked in the kitchen; our favorite place to be and thing to do :)

Before kickoff, Dad took down the bets. Everyone strategically picked their winning boxes in his Nothing-But-Luck Super Bowl Game.

  

My excitement over queso and 7-layer dip (we make tex-mex whenever possible because you won't find it anywhere else in this state) caused me to miss a before picture of the food. However, I think the after picture gives you a good enough idea of how much we miss enjoying mexican food.

 

On a side note: People here don't understand why we call it queso. They always ask me "Oh, you mean cheese? Why do you say it in Spanish?" I don't get it, it's queso people.

After a 4-month deprivation from this wonderful substance (I don't know if Velveeta, wonderfully referred to in wikipedia as 'cheese product,' can actually be considered a food?), my belly is satisfied. And the 7-layer dip, that was just the icing on the cake. DE-LICIOUS. 

Oh, and about the Super Bowl, it was a good game, I suppose; the commercials were a bit of a disappointment this year. Sadly, I think you can tell my focus was not so much on the football game this year.

October 11, 2009

The Chicago Marathon.

My Aunt D and I Registered today. 

Lord, help me...