B-b-b-b-b-b... Blueberry Muffins

So this may be hard to believe, even for us here in Chicago as we are now sweating in our post-Memorial day 90 weather, but just a few short days ago it was only 40. Yes, that's right, we had a 50 degree swing this week. I guess it shouldn't be a shock for those of Chicago natives, but it never seems to sit just right with me. 

On Friday when I was walking around shivering in my house (now reread the title of this blog), I decided I needed to find something to bake to warm up the kitchen. And the idea came out of nowhere... what about blueberry muffins??? Everyone loves them and if done right, can be somewhat nutritious. Yes, they are a little high in sugar, but they do also include whole grain flour and those little bitty antioxidant powerhouses... aka blueberries. 

I posted the recipe here since no matter the weather, these delicious treats are always a hit!

Blueberry Muffins (adapted from allrecipes.com)

Use organic ingredients if possible:

• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Easter Bread Fun

Happy Easter friends! Today I thought I'd share a special family recipe for our Greek celebration bread. We make this bread every year for both New Year's Day and Easter. 



On New Year's, a tin foil wrapped dime is placed in the bread before baking. Luck for the year is promised to the happy recipient of the slice with the dime. For Easter, red eggs are placed in the bread symbolizing the blood shed by Christ on the cross. 


We made this bread on Friday and I will say it does take a significant amount of time to do, it's fairly easy work and fun for the kids to help with. Plus, it's DELICIOUS! you can make this anytime and freeze extra loaves for later. We eat this bread with holiday dinners, but it also makes a tasty breakfast treat when toasted and topped with butter and honey.


Greek Sweet Bread

Makes 3-4 Loaves

Organic Ingredients

5 lbs Flour

3 Packs of Yeast

½ T Salt

1 ½ Cups Sugar

3 Cups warm milk…  about 125°

1 Cup warm Water… about 110°

1 ¼ (5 sticks) Butter- melted

4 Eggs

1 T Almond Extract

In a large bowl melt the yeast and water.  Add the warm milk and salt.  Stir in 6 cups of the flour (batter will be lumpy).  Cover and set aside in a warm spot for about 1- 2 hours until doubled in size.

Before

After

Stir with a wooden spoon and add sugar, the eggs, & the butter (mix almond flavoring in butter first).  Add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.  Place the dough on a floured surface and knead thoroughly (your arms will be tired!).  Return to bowl and brush surface with butter.  Cover and let rise again.

Lightly knead again and let rest for 10 minutes.  Divide dough into 3 or 4 parts (depending on the size of your loaves).  Divide each of those in three and roll each section into long strips.  Braid and make into a circle to fit into the greased pan (approx 8- 10 inches round).  Let rise again in pan until double in size. 

Braided Dough

In Pan

Before

After Rising Again

Red Eggs

Ready to Bake!

Brush the tops with a mixture of egg yolk and water ( 1 yolk to 1 T water).  You call also sprinkle with sesame seeds, almonds or add a few walnuts to the top. Bake at 350° for about 40-60 minutes or until done.

Baked to Perfection

Enjoy!

Daddy Daughter Pretzel Day

Kudos to Alton Brown. And even more kudos to my husband.

Alton for creating such a delicious pretzel recipe, Oscar for having the energy and patience to make it with our almost three year old. And not just once, 4 times already. It has become sort of a "daddy-daughter-pretzel-day" tradition when I have a wedding shoot and am gone all day. I love that Annie has a ton of fun helping and rolling out her own little pretzel. Its also great to come home to one of these soft-baked treats!

Here is the recipe for those of you interested in trying it... we sub half of the flour for whole wheat flour. I also like to top them with cheese and melt under the broiler. It's a little piece of twisted heaven!

How We Celebrated Chocolate Cake Day!

We made chocolate cupcakes, of course!

Started with some good chocolate and tasty ingredients...

Lots of mixing...

Smelled the vanilla (yum).

Tasted the batter.

Made a little mess filling the cups.

"Betty" came out for the frosting.

Frosting in process...

Tasting the frosting.

Max even tried a little.

Spreading the frosting...

Annie's final product: 

30 for our friend's bake sale:

It was a ton of fun, but I really don't want to clean this up...!

Kelley