Happy Monday! I woke up and headed to Starbucks to work today and realized that the weather had changed AGAIN. It was windy and cool outside and somehow I was confused. I welcomed it. In the last few weeks it has been intolerable working inside our home because we only have one window A/C unit in our bedroom and it does not circulate through our place. Almost seems ghetto but we had tried to make the best of it.
The house has gotten stuffy and humid hot so we have headed to Panera or Starbucks to work in order to have some A/C. There is only so much one can do. I thought being away from Houston heat was going to be great but this crazy heat wave in Michigan has proven equally unbearable.
When I woke up this past Saturday I saw that it was overcast and it looked like rain. What a perfect day to pick blueberries right? My friends from church called me up and we had breakfast at a local joint and then headed out to a great blueberry farm 30 minutes away.
As soon as we arrived the sun came out. Did I mention my other friend is pregnant as well? Imagine 2 pregnant women picking for an hour and sweating like, well, like crazy! The farmer came around and was suprised we were even out there picking, but we were having so much fun!
My friend brought her 18-month old daughter to experience picking but she only lasted 10 minutes and then she wanted to run around the farm. She is precious, is she not???
After an hour, us girls sat under a tree and rested and tried to enjoy the breeze while my friend's husband continued picking blueberries. Sigh..it was a nice breeze.
At the end, I ended up picking only 2 1/2 pounds of blueberries for around 4 bucks. You can's beat this! They were so plump and super sweet. I was popping them from the bushes and eating them. The wonderful thing about this farm is that they do not spray their berries at all so they are a natural farm. Even better!
The hardest thing was wondering what to make with these fresh bluebberies. I made some muffins on Saturday evening for dessert using my grandmother's recipe because I knew how they would come out. I always like using her recipe because the muffins always come out with a candied crispy top even though the recipe does not call for too much sugar.
I also veganized my grandmother's recipe and it turned out just as delicious! GO blueberry picking before they are out of season and make these!
Old-Fashioned Blueberry Muffins
makes 1 1/2 dozen
2 cups whole wheat white flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup vegan sugar or turbinado sugar
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
2 flax seed "eggs" or 2 eggs
**[flax eggs: 2 Tbsp flax seed meal + 6 Tbsp warm water]
1/2 cup + 4 Tbsp So Delicious Coconut Milk
1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon fresh orange zest
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Spray muffin pans with non-stick spray.
In a small bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Set aside 1 Tablespoon of flour mixture to toss with blueberries.
Prepare the flax seed "eggs" and set aside for 3 minutes. Add the margarine and milk, along with the extract and zest. MIx well.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix well until blended. Remember to toss the 1 Tbsp flour mixture with the blueberries and fold into the batter.
Divide batter between pans and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the top or a little golden. Remove from oven and let cool.
Eat warm with a glass of So Delicious coconut milk! So good!
Labels: baked goods, baking, blueberries, blueberry picking, bread, breakfast, brunch, earth balance, fruit, muffins, orange zest, SO Delicious
