Shove over strawberry, it's blueberry's turn

One of my favorite foods since I was little are blueberries. I suppose some of it was ingrained in us,  my parents have had blueberry bushes outside of our house since I was born, there really was no other option. You either love blueberries or it's likely you are not our children...haha, maybe not quite that serious. All joking aside they really do stand out as a part of my childhood summers. I remember the transition from the dread of having to go outside to pick the little buggers to thrill at the idea once I realized how much I missed them come college and summers away. Now as an adult, and in my free time avid baker and chef, I could not love or appreciate them more, especially the easy access to them (30 minute drive for 2-4 gallon bags of blueberries to bring home with you for free, beyond worth it!). In excitement that the season has begun I made a couple of signature family recipes: Grandma's Blueberry Muffins (a recipe inherited when my mother married my stepfather) and Blueberry jam (a recipe I'm still toying with, dissatisfied with the copious amounts of sugar used in the old standard). So get outside and either find a farm, a farmer's market, or my parent's house for that matter, and pick some of these blue jems, you won't regret it. And as an added bonus, I hear that their antioxidants make they are "anti-cancer," whatever that may mean to you :)

Grandma's Famous Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup with 4 T divided brown sugar
2 1/2 t baking powder
3/4 t salt
3/4 cup milk
1 egg beaten
1/3 cup oil
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 t grated lemon zest
1/4 cup old fashioned oats
3 T softened butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400. Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Mix flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt together.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in milk, beaten egg, and oil. Mix just until combined.
4. In a separate bowl combine 2 T sugar, blueberries, and lemon zest.
5. Again make a well in the center of the batter and pour in the blueberry mixture, mix gently so as not to burst the blueberries.
6. Using 1/4 or 1/2 measuring cup scoop out batter into prepared muffin tin. (I generally don't use cup liners, but you are welcome to. We also use large muffin tins: 6 muffins from each batch of batter, you might need to adjust the cooking time as appropriate).
7. Combine final 2 T sugar, oats, and softened butter together to create a crumble, sprinkle this along the tops of the muffins before placing the tin in the oven. (This is a Danielle addition, not part of the original recipe, you may omit if you like).
8. Bake for 15-25 minutes, again adjust your baking times as appropriate. (My family usually uses large muffin tins and thus must bake the muffins for 25 minutes. Certainly watch your muffins closer if you plan on making more than 6 muffins from each batch of batter).
9. If you are like me, enjoy with a big mug of coffee for an exceptional breakfast! 

Mmm fresh picked, first batch of the season

My favorite muffin of all time!

By the end of this summer, that windowsill will be full!

ALMOST forgot about a classic I had the other morning, blueberry pancakes

Music on the green in downtown Durham

Ahhh relaxation!

Beautiful morning for Yoga in the Park, free yoga AND the Farmer's Market, you've gotta be kidding me!

A staple of the Durham Farmer's Market

Could not be any more gorgeous!

Can't end the posting without another picture of the pup!

A breakfast staple

I have been a long time yogurt girl and, as to be expected, found the idea of making homemade yogurt alluring. With the help of my handy Cuisine Yogurt Maker (found at William Sonoma), it's a sinch.

Here are the basic steps (refer to your own yogurt maker's instructions if it is a different brand of course):

1. Heat 3 1/2 cups of milk in a saucepan over medium. Watch it closely, you want it to heat and begin to climb up the sides of the pan, but not boil. Remove from stovetop and cool when it reaches this point.
2. Put 1 cup of berries, 1 T. of agar agar, and 1 T. honey in a small saucepan and heat until thickened over medium heat. Set aside.
3. With the milk cooled to room temp, take 1/2 cup milk out of saucepan and place in small bowl, mix the yogurt starter packet with the milk until blended. Pour the milk mixture back into the saucepan and stir.
4. Scoop 1 T. of berry filling into each small glass container that comes with the yogurt maker. Fill each container to the brim with the milk mixture, no need to stir if you like the "fruit on the bottom" yogurt. Place the glass containers into the yogurt maker, lids off. Depending on the type of milk you use, incubate the yogurt for the appropriate length of time (8 hours for whole milk; 10 for 2%, 12 for skim). Place the cover on the yogurt maker and program it to incubate, and find something to do for the next 8 to 12 hours.
5. Set the correct time on the tops of the yogurt containers, homemade yogurt is typically good for 10 days.
6. Once the incubator goes off, over the glass containers and place in the fridge.
7. Top your yogurt with fresh fruit or granola and enjoy! 

Breakfast

Tucker with his good friend Kai