Blueberries. They are here! And they are good. Both are facts (the good part being a personal fact:). But blueberries also have been said to improve memory and strengthen the immune system. Facts as well? I’d like to think so!
Berries are in abundance here in the Pacific Northwest. They are everywhere, on the sides of highways, in backyards, in parks, on farms, even ditches and alleys. They grow all over! But noticing the abundance of berries here has actually made me realize the abundance of so many other things in life. Sometimes it is hard to keep perspective on what one “has” and what one doesn’t “have”. I find myself caught up sometimes comparing myself, or feeling less than because I don’t “have” something, when in fact, I have so so much. Times are tough right now when I look at the numbers (jobs, for example, are one thing that are not in abundance), however, ideas are. Not only are ideas in abundance, but people, who are there to help me put them into action, which is amazing. The outpouring of friendship, love, and help have been overwhelming, all of which are in total abundance! Whenever I feel myself going down a worry-path (worrying can be so addictive for me! and so I have little tricks to break that cycle before it spirals too far down) I try to lift my head up and look around to see what it is I do have, and focus/utilize those. And, it really works.
It has been an interesting path of trying to stay true to myself and find what really works for me. Some of the conventional ways we are used to living, and I grew up with, work and some do not any longer. However, it has been the journey of finding out what does work for me that has been so incredible. This is not to say that there are times when I get scared or go through tough situations and I feel like there no end in sight. But the end–or the start of a new beginning, however you’d like to look at it– inevitably always comes and a lesson is learned. And if I don’t learn what I needed to learn that time around, it always finds a way to appear again in some other fashion!
So I’ve been on a ’simple’ kick lately with the recipes I’ve been trying, which by the way, I still think is the best way to go! However, sometimes I tend to make things a little harder than necessary on myself just to see if I can do it/make it (figuratively speaking of course 
. So, I turned to Cooks Illustrated for a great blueberry muffin recipe. Call it cheating (because Cooks Illustrated recipes always tend to be excellent) or call it smart (I wasn’t going to go through all this trouble and not have it taste fantastic!), these muffins are excellent. You start by simmering a cup of blueberries with a teaspoon of sugar to make a jam. After you’ve made the batter (which is amazing in it’s own right, these are made with buttermilk which give them a cloud-like texture but with density…) you spoon about a teaspoon of the jam on top and swirl with a toothpick or chop stick into the muffin so it gets some distribution. You could even go decadent and make a crumble top for these, which I will do for the next round–this time around, I wanted to see the beauty of the blueberry color swirled on top, so simple and delicious. Good thing Andrew and I picked a ton of blueberries the other day, these have just become a household favorite for us both–I predict many more batches coming our way 
.
Bon Appetit!
Blueberry Muffins, adopted from Cooks Illustrated via The Bitten Word
Lemon-Sugar Topping
1/3 cup (21/3 ounces) sugar
1½ teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lemon
Muffins
2 cups (about 10 ounces) fresh blueberries, picked over
1 1/8 cups (8 ounces) plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups (12½ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (see note)
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Note: If buttermilk is unavailable, take a little under a cup of milk and add a tablespoon of vinegar to it. Stir and let stand for a few minutes and then use as buttermilk!
1. FOR THE TOPPING: Stir together sugar and lemon zest in small bowl until combined; set aside.
2. FOR THE MUFFINS: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 11/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not over mix.)
4. Following photos above, use ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion. Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly over muffins.
5. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.
Streusel Topping
Follow recipe for Blueberry Muffins, omitting Lemon-Sugar Topping. Prepare streusel by combining 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, pinch table salt, and ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons (3½ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour in small bowl. Drizzle with 5 tablespoons warm, melted unsalted butter and toss with fork until evenly moistened and mixture forms large chunks with some pea-sized pieces throughout. Proceed with recipe as directed, sprinkling streusel topping over muffins before baking.
