Blueberry Muffins

My Grandma Nora gave me a Gund Lamb when I was little. I named her Muffin. I've been on my usual quest for recipes and found a new-to-me Blueberry Muffin recipe that's a keeper. (I'll let you in on a blog-secret, for almost every recipe shared, there are "flops" I don't post. I mean this is all about the journey, right? Like the Diet Coke cupcakes w/out a cake mix - sigh, it seemed like such a good idea at the time.)

Being a Utah girl, I'd never heard of Jordan Marsh - or of their Blueberry muffins. They're talked about with much the same reverence as the ZCMI candy counter from when I was a kid. "Be good and we'll stop and get something." So the Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins were the treat of choice for parents, grandparents and well-behaved kids back in New England. I decided to try them.

They're just what you want a Blueberry muffin to be. Tender, not dry at all (so you have to wait for them to cool to get them out of the tins; however I've got the silicon muffin tins so it made it easier to get them out in one piece). Here's the recipe: A Blast From the Past: Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins. I added 1 t vanilla and used Raw sugar to sprinkle on top which gave the muffins a yummy crunchy, coffee-house-treat texture. One other tip is to use frozen blueberries, just rinse off the ice crystals. I used the Kitchen Aid to mix them in, since the "Diva" said to crush some of the berries, and that worked fine. Let me know if you make them and what you think.

Suz

Hey Cupcake!

Nothing like a little goodness from grandma! Bakers de Normandie is not really on the way to our house, but we're glad it's on the detour route. :) I just wanted to share the picture of a really cute cupcake. (Thanks Grandma Diana!)

Now I've just got to work on getting my photos in focus again... too late to retake the pic, this cupcake is long gone.

Rain and Radishes

It's not Patagonia, it's Cottonwood Heights. The rain and thunderstorms have just been incredible this spring. This is a picture of the Rocky Mountains (aka Wasatch) from near my mom and dad's house last week.

Fast forward a few days. It's 10p, must be time to pick radishes. With all of the rain, the radishes in the square foot garden have been going crazy. Tonight Eric picked a few to thin them out.

Suz

The Drive in & Platinum Blondies

What a title! Yikes! Right? We went to the drive-in last night, what an adventure! There was a storm pending and lightning not far off, but it blew over. We caught Night at the Museum 2 and the new X-men flick. Do you ever have moments when it feels like one thing after another? It was a practice in rolling with the punches. So grateful for our jackets, blankets and a good car radio! Brrrr! I made blondies (pictured below, they're like brownies, minus the chocolate) which (yay!) turned out de-lish! (Thank you Al Roker for the recipe!) It was a bit of homey goodness at the drive in. We made half with white choc / half without (turned out that yup, the chips had cocoa in them... drat!)

Do you have any memorable drive-in stories? We'd love for you to comment and share! This was our 2nd visit to the drive in. We're not in a big hurry to go back.

Platinum Blondies
Oven at 325 - bake for 25-30 min

3/4 C + 2 T packed light brown sugar

1 egg
2 t vanilla
8 T (1 stick) butter, melted
1 1/2 C flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/8 t salt
1 C chopped pecans, toasted (walnuts worked great)
3/4 C white chocolate chips

Prep 8 inch square pan. Mix sugar and egg (3 min), add vanilla and butter and mix well. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt then add to the butter mixture. Mix until just incorporated. Don't overmix. Using a spoon, stir in the nuts and white chocolate. Turn out dough into prepped pan and flatten. Bake until top is dry and golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs (not wet, but not perfectly dry). Cool on a wire rack.

Recipe from Al Roker's Hassle-Free Holiday Cookbook (note: this is the abridged version with my edits)