Blueberry Sage Muffins

Blueberry Sage Muffins from Diana Dyer's blog

Inspired by Blueberry Sage Muffin recipe from The Herbal Palate Cookbook by Maggie Oster & Sal Gilbertie

Makes 12 muffins.

Ingredients

• 2 c blueberries,
• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh sage leaves (right from my garden - I would use even more next time)
• 1/2 c sugar,
• 2-3 tsp. minced lemon zest (zest one whole lemon and use all of it)
• 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour (I used white whole wheat flour),
• 2 tsp baking powder,
• 1/2 tsp baking soda,
• 1/4 tsp salt,
• 1 large egg,
• 1/2 c plain organic yogurt
• 1/2 c milk (dairy or unsweetened soy milk)
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil,
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice (fresh is best - use the lemon that you zested).
• Sprinkle with a cinnamon-sugar mixture if desired. (I used a sprinkle of plain ground flaxseeds)

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine the berries, sage, sugar, and lemon zest. Let sit for 30 minutes.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Line 12 standard size muffin cups with paper liners.
• Stir flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.
• Wisk together the egg, yogurt, milk, oil, and lemon juice, then add to the blueberry mixture.
• Pour the blueberry mixture into the flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix.
• Fill each muffin cup to within 1/2 inch of the top.
• Combine sugar and cinnamon for the topping and sprinkle some on each muffin.
• Bake for 25 minutes, or until muffin tops spring back when lightly touched.
• Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

H Mart, Bok Choi, and Korean Style Salmon

Today I went to Burlington to get Ninja (my Ford Focus Hatchback) an oil change at sears, with plans for a trip to H Mart. H Mart is a Korean grocery store that is GINORMOUS, with a food court (I had some fresh rolls from the Vietnamese booth "Pho Sure") and lots of people set up sampling foods. We got Bok Choi and Cucumbers in the farm share, so I figured I'd do something with the Bok Choi, with some salmon for supper tonight, and then make some Sushi Salad for dinner later this week (maybe Monday before trivia). I LOVE asian grocery stores. They have great prices on produce (lemons are even cheaper at H Mart than at Market Basket, which seems impossible) fun products (ask my roommate G about Red Bean Ice Cream Pops sometime) and ingredients that are hard to find.

Anyhow, for dinner tonight I made Bok Choi with peanuts and cilantro (which I love) and Korean Salmon.

Bok Choi with Peanuts and Cilantro (recipe from What Did You Eat)

2 bunches bok choi washed, and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 tbsp neutral oil (peanut or canola)

1/4 cup peanuts

pinch red pepper flakes

1 onion chopped

1 tbsp grated ginger

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp corn starch dissolved in 3 tbsp liquid (I used water, but OJ or lemon/lime juice would be interesting I think)

1 cup cilantro (aka Chinese parsley) chopped

heat the oil in a pan/wok and then fry the peanuts and pepper flakes and a pinch of salt for a minute

cook the onions and ginger for another minute or two

add the bok choi and cook until just starting to wilt 5 min or so

add the liquids and cilantro and simmer til the sauce thickens a bit

I used this as a side, but you could toss in some chicken or tofu and make a meal out of it. Especially over some soba noodles

As for the salmon, I made a sauce that I found on Morsels and Musings that uses a Korean ingredient called gochujang (my bottle was spelled Chogochyjang, which wikipedia tells me is actually a different product, made with gochujang with extra ingredients).

From More Cupcakes!

it looks a bit like ketchup, but it's made from red peppers and is fermented and has a nice kick. The sauce I made based loosely on the recipe from Morsels and Musings:

2 tbsp each

Miso Paste

Chogochyjang

Orange Juice

sesame oil

2tsp soy sauce

I combined them all, and then basted the salmon with it and broiled it

Wheat Berry Tabouleh

Wheat Berry Tabouleh
Originally uploaded by kel h

I got wheat berries in my CSA share a while ago, and some parsley a week ago. (mis)adventures in food wrote about her hodgepodge salad, which gave me the idea to do this:

1 bunch parsley, stems discarded
1 bunch mint, stems discarded
1 tomato diced
1 cup cooked wheat berries
Juice 1 lemon
3-4 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper and cyanne pepper to taste

Gather the herbs together and thinly slice them (the fancy term is chiffonade, at least with basil)
in a bowl combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and cyanne (I used a pinch. traditionally you use alleppo, but i don't have any). whisk to make a dressing

toss the chopped herbs, tomato, wheat berries and dressing in a bowl and serve

If you want to make it more traditional, you can sub the wheat berries with bulger.

Om nom nom

This is my last post in the Living Local Blogathon for the MA Farmers Market Association. If you haven't yet, please consider donating to support the farmers market association and everything they do.

Lemon Rosemary Scones

Lemon Rosemary Scones
Originally uploaded by kel h

I got a bunch of rosemary with my trader joes pick up this week, and I decided to make Lemon Rosemary Scones. I really like lemon and rosemary together, and this sounded like a good way to combine them

based on a recipe by Martha Stewart

Makes 8

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/3 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup plus 3 tbsps buttermilk
Juice of one lemon
3 large eggs (2 for scones, 1 for egg wash)
3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (abt 1 lemon)
1 tbsp minced fresh rosemary (about 1 sprig)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, butter, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix at low speed until the mixture resembles wet sand.

In a separate bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup buttermilk, 2 eggs, 2 tbsp lemon zest, rosemary, and vanilla. Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture, and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface, and form into a flat disc, about 8 inches across and 1 1/2 inches thick. Cut into 8 wedges and transfer to prepared baking sheet.

In a small bowl, whisk together remaining egg and 3 tablespoons buttermilk to make an egg wash. Brush scones with egg wash. Combine 3 tbsp sugar with 1 tbsp lemon zest and sprinkle scones with lemon sugar.

Bake until the tops are golden brown and firm, 40 to 50 minutes.

The colder the butter, and the less you mix the scones, the better they turn out

My awesome early birthday present from the skylazers

My awesome early birthday present from the skylazers
Originally uploaded by kel h

for years I've beens saying i wanted to buy a strawberry pot and grow herbs in it. Krysta, Julie and I were at home depot buying things for Julie's garden, when I saw this. Krysta wound up getting it for me for my birthday (which is in a week). It has mint, sage, rosemary, parsley, thyme, oregano, and basil. It also has a recipe for caprese salad, which kind of cracked me up.