Better than the Bakery's Blueberry Muffins

If you like muffins, you absolutely must make these. Incredible is my word of choice.

They are meant to be made in an oversized muffin tin so as to give you really big muffins, like the kind you get at a bakery (or Costco). :) I made mine in my normal muffin tin, filled to the brim, and they are huge and delicious. I doubled/modified slightly the original recipe, and I will just put the measurements I used here for your enjoyment.

Muffins:

3 c. flour

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 t. salt

4 t. baking powder

1/3 c. canola oil

1/3 c. applesauce (or just double the oil if you don't have applesauce)

2 eggs

2/3 c. milk or buttermilk

2 c. blueberries

---

Topping:

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/3 c. flour

1/4 c. butter, cubed

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Grease muffin cups liberally.

Combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add liquid ingredients and mix until just combined. *Be very careful not to over mix.* Fold in berries. Your batter will be verrrry thick. This is normal and probably what makes these muffins so dang good.

Fill your muffin cups to the top. Sprinkle on the crumb topping.

Bake 18-23 minutes-- depending on your oven. Trust your judgment if you know your oven seems to bake faster, etc.

Enjoy.

Onion Soup of Dubious Nationality

It's not technically French because if it were, it would be much more fussy.

1 Large yellow onion
2 TBS of butter
1 TBS olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/4 C sherry
3 quarts of beef broth
kosher salt to taste

Crusty bread
Snooty cheese of your choosing (Munster is actually amazing on this)

Slice the onion into strips. Sautee over medium heat with butter and olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add garlic and thyme and sautee for a minute before adding the broth and sherry. Simmer for 15 minutes until onions are tender. Season with salt and more garlic if necessary.

Unless you have 12 oz. oven proof straight-sided bowls hanging around don't attempt to serve this the French way (with cheese dripping down the side of your bowl, fresh out of the broiler). Cool. It's much easier to serve like so: Cover your bread slices with shredded cheese, throw 'em on a cookie sheet, and broil for 5 minutes until crusty and browned. Plop atop your soup and enjoy.

Smoky Tomato Soup with Maple Candied Bacon

Sometimes, normal tomato basil soup can get a little boring.

And kids, this tomato soup recipe is anything but boring.

The recipe is from Naomi Pomeroy, award-winning chef and proprietor of Beast in Portland, Oregon. She prepared the hands-down best piece of lamb I've ever eaten, with a polenta pudding on the side, in a savory plum and balsamic vinegar sauce. I feel like Homer Simpson when I describe this dish. Cue uncouth drooling here.

The soup has bright citrus notes from freshly-squeezed orange juice, smokiness from the smoked paprika, and a spicy kick from the pimente d'Espelette (available at some speciality grocers . . . if not available, I would substitute cayenne, but less if you are squeamish about spice). I have made the soup both with and without the maple candied bacon if I'm trying to avoid killing myself with saturated fat. We had a bit of trouble with the bacon last time as our oven just doesn't seem to get hot enough for it to cook in any reasonable timeframe.

Just make it and enjoy.

Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

This is kinda amazing. Tangy and sweet and addictive. If you have ever sat and wondered "Could I eat an entire 24 oz. container of plain yogurt in 2 days?" the answer is an emphatic "YES!"

1 24 oz. container of plain Greek Yogurt (non-fat works fine, but whole is creamier)
3/4 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste (or 1 scraped vanilla bean)

Mix all ingredients until sugar is dissolved. Make sure batter is chilled before freezing in an ice cream maker.

Serve with blackberries and mango chunks.

So good. I can't even tell you how good.

I love a good soup. Like, a lot. And this one, my friends, is gooooooooooooood.

I got this recipe when reading an article about this Utah woman who did a crock pot recipe every day for a year-- you know, one of the many cooking bloggers-- and ended up making a cookbook and all that jazz.

So yeah, this is a crock pot recipe. And I happen to love crock pot meals. They are so easy to make and your house smells all good and stuff. If you don't have a crock pot or you don't like that style, I'm certain this would work just as well on the stove top if you just simmer it at the end until the vegetables are tender to your liking.

Here we go:

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

Combine in crock pot:

2 cans (14 oz ea) diced tomatoes

1 c. diced celery

1 c. diced carrots

1 c. diced onions

4 c. chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1 t. dried oregano

1 T. dried basil

Set on low heat, timer for 5-7 hours, depending on how tender you want your veggies to be.

One hour before finish, prepare a roux in a saucepan with 1/2 c. butter and 1/2 c. flour. Stir with a whisk for a few minutes over low-med heat.

Take 1 c. of soup out of the crock pot and slowly stir it into the (still heating) roux until smooth. Add another 1-2 c. of soup and stir to combine. You should get a fairly thick pasty mixture.

Add this roux mixture into the crock pot, stirring to combine.

Then, add 1 c. grated Parmesan cheese, 2 c. half and half, 1 t. salt, and 1/4 t. pepper. Stir to combine.

Let it cook for the remaining hour.

Enjoy with crusty French bread. DELICIOUS, I tell you! (I'm going to go get another bowl of it right now...)

Whole Wheat Apple Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon (freshly ground if you can manage)
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. cold skim milk
2 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 small apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped

Directions:
1) Combine dry ingredients. Whisk dry ingredients together. Make a well in the center.
2) Add in wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
3) Fold in chopped apples.
4) Pour 1/3 c. onto griddle well-sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
5) We ate them with apple butter or 100% maple syrup.

Happy eating!

Yumm Bowls

For those familiar with the Oregonian restaurant Café Yumm, you know the mythic wonder that is Yumm Sauce. Not having been able to obtain such delight since visiting Oregon in August, I vowed to make a knock-off.

I found this recipe, and it's a decent approximation. It has a distinct lemony and garlic tang. The recipe makes quite a bit, and it keeps well in the fridge for at least a month.

Yumm Sauce:

Original Yumm Sauce:
1/2 cup oil (I used a olive oil, but I imagine other light oils like safflower or canola would work, too)
1/2 cup almonds
1/3 cup nutritional yeast (NOT active yeast! This is available in the bulk foods section usually)
1/3 cup canned garbonzo beans - drained (I used closer to 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup canned soybeans (available at Good Earth here in Utah and likely at Whole Foods and probably Harmons)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt

A few grinds of white pepper
1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp. dried basil

Dump the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.

Serve over rice. My favorite is short-grain brown rice with this. An ancillary benefit of using brown rice is that brown rice leftovers keep better refrigerated. See best way to cook brown rice here.

Spoon a couple of tablespoons over rice and serve with:

Diced fresh tomatoes

Sliced avocado

Canned black beans

Sliced black olives

Sour cream or creme fraiche

Shredded cheddar cheese

This last time, I sliced up baby zucchini from our food co-up, tossed them in olive oil and salt and pepper and lime juice in a skillet, and sautéed them for about eight minutes and served them warm with the other ingredients. Very tasty with this, too.