Blueberry Bran Muffins

This is the best muffin recipe I know. Enjoy the beautiful bursts of flavor as the blueberries explode in your mouth. Delicious!
These muffins are a delightful treat on a summer morning. They are scrumptious hot out of the oven. If you and your family can’t eat them all- they freeze well. Just place them into a plastic zip bag and toss them in the deep freeze for later.
3c. Bran (All Bran Cereal works well here)
1c. Boiling water
1/2c. melted butter or oil
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
2c. buttermilk
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t cinnamon
2 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 c. fresh Maine blueberries- washed, with any stems removed
Topping:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. melted butter
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a dozen large muffin cups with papers.
Place Bran in a bowl. Pour boiling water over the top and cover. Let stand for 10 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the melted butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well for three minutes.
Add the softened bran mixture. Stir until well incorporated.
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Mix just until blended. Do not overmix or the muffins will be tough.
Gently fold in the blueberries.
Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon gently fill the muffin cups to 3/4 full. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly golden.
Place the 1 t. cinnamon and 1/2 c. sugar into a shallow bowl and mix together. In another bowl place the 1/2 c. melted butter. When the muffins are still warm dip the tops lightly in the melted butter then into the cinnamon sugar. This will form a most delicious crust.

You can also make this recipe using mini muffin tins or a 9 x 11 pan- adjust the baking time to be sure the centers are done and the edges not too brown.

I.O.U. Quinoa Salad and Blueberry Smoothies

I Owe You a few recipes. We were away last weekend at Tea Party Swings- a swing dance weekend in Danvers, Massachusetts. What fun!! We danced for hours and learned for days! I forgot my computer cord at home so only had enough power to check email for the three days we were gone. I'll give you some extra recipes today to make up for the last few I missed. Here are two to start...
Quinoa Salad
Let’s get ready for spring. Here is a salad that tastes fresh and light- like a slightly different version of taboule.
2 cups quinoa
4 cups water
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped scallion
1/4 cup chopped red onion
2/3 cup finely chopped fresh dill or basil or cilantro or parsley
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 c honey
2 T Dijon mustard
5 twists freshly ground pepper
a pinch of salt
2 T Extra virgin olive oil
Rinse the quinoa well before cooking to remove its slightly bitter
coating. Place quinoa and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.
Combine the chopped veggies including the fresh chopped herb of your choice in a large bowl. Mix well. Add cooked quinoa and toss gently. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vinegar, honey, mustard, salt, pepper and oil. Taste and adjust seasonings. Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine and evenly distribute the flavors. Cover and chill for 2 hours before serving.

Blueberry Smoothie
Frozen or fresh Maine Blueberries can be used in this recipe. Be sure, as always to check the berries for bits of stem or leaves before you place them in the blender.
Serves 4
1 c. blueberry juice or orange juice
1 c. skim milk
1 c. plain or vanilla yogurt
2 c. clean fresh or frozen Maine Blueberries
2 ripe bananas- peeled or 2 c. of fresh fruit in season- pitted cherries, raspberries, or strawberries
2 T. fresh lime juice
3 T. Maine Maple Syrup
2 c. ice
Sprigs of mint for garnish
Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend on high until all of the ice is completely crushed and the mixture is smooth and delicious. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Warm Wilted Greens with Pears, Pecans and Goat Cheese

Tonight is a night for homework and dress rehearsal for the play. Here is a recipe from my files to keep you going until I have time to write more. This is an elegant and Very Simple salad for entertaining or dinner anytime. It's an excerpt from Fresh Maine Salads...

Warm wilted greens with pears, pecans and goat cheese
Many fancy restaurants have a version of this recipe. This one is simple and delicious. Add vegetables, as you like to give it your own special flare. Appleton Creamery has wonderful chevre- they have several flavors- all of which are scrumptious.
For the salad:
2 ripe Anjou pears
1 T lemon juice
1 c pecans
6 c baby greens
6 to 8 oz chevre
3 baby Vidalia onions
For the dressing:
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T balsamic vinegar
4 T olive oil
1⁄2 t salt
1⁄2 t fresh ground pepper
1 t sugar or splenda
For the salad:
Wash and dry the greens. Place in a large bowl. Wash, trim and slice the baby Vidalias. Add to greens. Add pecans.
Rinse and core the pears. Coarsely chop. Toss with 1 T lemon juice. Add pears to the greens.
Crumble the chevre into 1⁄2 inch chunks toss with the vegetables.
In a small sauce pan heat the dressing ingredients. When warm pour over the salad and toss. The greens will wilt and the chevre will begin to soften. Serve immediately.

Quickie Weeknight Nachos

Tonight was a night for food fast. This is a great example of how to make things work without going the "fastfood" route. Here is my slow food version of a quickie meal. You can choose to serve up the meat and toppings in a soft tortilla instead of over chips for tacos or roll up the meat, with a layer of refried beans, top with the cheese and bake a while for another burrito style version. Pickled jalapenos are a great addition. Here, as always, adapt the recipe to your taste- add a little more of this, a little less of that. Whatever tastes good to you and your family. Keep in mind that you want your dinner to be healthy...then go for the gusto!

Quickie Weeknight Nachos
You can have your dinner on the table in 20 minutes.
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 sweet onion- sliced or minced
1 T olive oil
1 clove garlic- minced
3/4 c salsa- we used black bean and corn
1 t or more chili powder
juice of half a lime
Tortilla chips
shredded cheese
avocado- peeled, pitted and coarsely chopped or sliced- spritzed with the juice of half a lime
lettuce- chopped or torn into bite sized pieces
1 fresh tomato- chopped
more salsa
crushed red pepper flakes

Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the onions and turkey. Cook until the turkey is completely done, breaking up the meat with your spatula into smaller than bite sized pieces. Add the garlic, salsa, chili powder and lime juice. If you like your nachos spicy- add more chili powder or red pepper flakes. We placed our chips on a sheet pan and heated them in a 300 degree oven while the meat was cooking. Pile the chips onto an individual or serving plate. Top with the meat and shredded cheese. At this point you can heat them again in the oven to melt the cheese or you can just let the heat from the meat and chips melt the cheese. Just before serving top with slices or chunks of fresh avocado, lettuce, more salsa and whatever else you like on your Nachos. We sometimes sprinkle the top with cooked black beans, adzuki beans or add a dollop of sour cream. Mmmm! Soo gooood!

Applesauce Spice Cake with a Cream Cheese Basket Weave Frosting

Elizabeth did it! We tried the fantastic Pastor Chuck Orchard applesauce and she couldn't get enough. It's a dark, sweet, spicy applesauce cooked up here in Maine. We used it to make our family's famous Applesauce Spice Cake. It is always a favorite. We baked it last night and divided the batter to make four 9-inch round layers. It was so irresistable that we frosted and ate a layer last night. The remaining three layers were saved for today. Elizabeth used our deluxe cream cheese frosting recipe and created a beautiful design. She had seen an episode of some food network show that depicted a basket weave frosting design. The only direction she had was how to fill the pastry bag. Her first attempt was a fantastic success. I think it was a combination of her creativity and some sort of predisposed I-Love-to-make-the-fussiest-cake-designs-I-can-think-of gene. She started with an idea and made it into a wonderful cake. I'm so proud of her! Here is the recipe for our moist, delicious family recipe!
One Bowl Applesauce Spice Cake
3 3/4 cup King Argthur all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
3 t cinnamon
2 t cardamom
1 t freshly grated nutmeg
6 eggs
3 cups Pastor Chuck Orchard Applesauce (or your favorite applesauce)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg together into a large bowl.
Whisk together the eggs, applesauce and oil. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir gently until completely combined.
Grease four 9" round cake pans. Divide the batter evenly between the pans. Set two pans each on separate cookie sheets- Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until a cake tester/toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cakes from the oven and cool completely. Frost and chill or serve right away- you might have to defend the cake if hungry mouths are waiting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
2 lb bag confectioners sugar
8oz cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/4 t salt
2 T pure vanilla extract
2-4 T cream
Cream the cream cheese and butter together with an electric mixer. Add salt. Slowly add the confectioners sugar a couple of Tablespoons at a time until it is all incorporated- scraping down the bowl often. Add 2 to 4 Tablespoons cream to give the frosting the consistency you like.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Boil your Dinner and Serve it with Remoulade Sauce

Elizabeth loves to bake. She is an excellent little chef. I made the traditional boiled dinner tonight to celebrate St. Patty's Day. No green beer-- but yummy corned beef, cabbage for the grownups and boiled potatoes for all of us. I've taken to peeling a few long carrots before dinner and have them out for the inevitable, "Mom, what can I have to eat...?" They have loved crunching the carrots while I'm putting the finishing touches on dinner. The house smells so good right now! We'll have a remoulade sauce with the corned beef. It's great with ham too.
Once my little peanut has cleaned her room we are baking a cake- she says she wants carrot or applesauce cake. We'll let you know which one we make and give you the recipe tomorrow. Happy St Patrick's Day!
Remoulade Sauce with Variations
This can be as simple as mixing the first two ingredients. Add additional ingredients as you like and taste as you go. Stop when you love it! I am usually making this on the fly with the ingredients I've got on hand.
1 c mayonnaise- I use hellmanns
1/4 c Dijon or honey mustard
5 twists fresh ground black pepper
1 T horseradish
2-4 T chili sauce
2 T (sweet, dill or mustard pickle) relish
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t garlic, finely minced
1 T vinegar- red wine/balsamic/rosemary as you like
2 T parsley, chopped
1 t Tabasco sauce - more or less if you like it spicy
1 t maple sugar
Mix all together and use as a sauce for meat or fish. A little goes a long way.

Apples, Broccoli and Dried Fruit Making Beautiful Music Together

Both children were in a concert tonight. They have their father's love of the trumpet and their step dad's love of eclectic music. Sherwood whipped up dinner tonight and did a great job. I was craving this salad so thought I'd share it with you.

Apple, Broccoli, and Dried Fruit Salad with Maple-Garlic Dressing
Serves 6-8
Salad:
2 large heads broccoli
1 c dried fruit (I particularly love dried cherries and apricots)
2 large Granny Smith apples
2 T fresh lemon juice
1⁄2 c sunflower seeds, pecans, or walnuts (optional)
Dressing:
1 c mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, minced
1⁄4 c pure Maine maple syrup
1⁄2 t salt
a few grinds of pepper
1⁄8 t cayenne

Wash and cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces. Cut the dried fruit so all the pieces are about the size of large raisins. Wash and core the apples and cut them into 3⁄4-inch chunks. Toss them in the lemon juice.
In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.
In a large bowl, place the broccoli, dried fruit, apples, and seeds or nuts (if desired), and toss together. Pour the dressing over the salad and fold it together well, ensuring that everything is evenly coated and distributed. Chill for at least 30 minutes