Blueberry Muffins... another nostalgic baking moment.

I love blueberry anything and there is nothing better than a warm blueberry muffin. I have such fond memories of my mom and me baking blueberry muffins when I was a kid, I can see where the addiction came from. So I saw this recipe on tastespotting.com the other day for a blueberry muffin with a crumble top and I had to try it. It was super easy, looked professional, and tasted perfect. This one is a new addition to the family cookbook.

INGREDIENTS (muffin):

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
* I added a touch of lemon zest to give a tang to it

INGREDIENTS (Crumble):

1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, melted (in the microwave)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

RECIPE:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
Combine s flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a measuring cup and 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.

To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

ENJOY.. I know I did at least three, maybe... four

Muffaletta... Heaven in Sandwich form leaves me nostalgic for Home

Last night at the restaurant where Christian and I work some patrons were having their large holiday party. Our Friend and Chef Kirk, did a New Orleans inspired theme with roast beef poboys, boudin balls, crawfish potato salad, and of course "mini muffs", as I like to call them. He even ordered the bread straight from the New Orleans source, who happened to throw in some Hubig's pies as a bonus (got to love that). Thank goodness that these midwesterners didn't eat all of their muffaletta sandwiches because at the end of the night I got to take two big wedges home for me. Thank you Kirk for giving me a taste of home it was truly transcendent.

Wine Braised Short Ribs and Creamy Polenta

For Christmas this year Christian and I received a Martha Stewart Dutch Oven (red of course to match my coffee maker) and the Martha Stewart Cooking School Cookbook. Last night was another wintry mix of wind, snow, and all around yuckiness, so we took the opportunity to make a rich, intensive, soul warming dish. I have been wanting to make Wine braised short ribs for a while, so when I saw the recipe in Martha's book, I took the opportunity. It came out so wonderful, though does take a few hours. We paired it with a creamy polenta that we added parmesan and farmer's cheese to and finished with a nice glass of Cabernet. Truly divine.



Voila! So Delicious


P.S. that is truffle salt glistening on the top. Just an added delicious factor to make it so worth the time put in.

One of The Most Inspiring Women I have Ever Met Needs our HELP!

When I was living in New Orleans, I had the privilege of working at a Non-Profit Daycare and Preschool named Abeona House. Abeona House was and is a fantastic establishment that was started by some local mothers after Hurricane Katrina who thought the area needed a childcare center that fit more of their and their friends needs. They run the school by "the educational philosophy inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to learning. Like Abeona House, the Reggio approach was borne out of community response to disaster. After World War II, the Italian government granted cities funds to rebuild a sense of community. Most cities built community centers, but the families in the town of Reggio Emilia, Italy used the bricks from bombed out buildings and volunteers from all corners of the community to build a school.

In this model, several key points converge, mainly; Respect for all individuals, each child, parent and staff member,
Open communication between parents, teachers, and children in the discovery/learning process. Sparking of curiosity and development of critical thinking in children. An extended-family atmosphere so that parents feel welcome and children feel comfortable. Recording and reviewing the learning process through documentation and Freedom of expression through a multitude of media and representations, also known as “The Hundred Languages of Children”

You can read more about Reggio Emilia and all about Abeona House and it's wonderful staff at their website , www.abeonahouse.org
However, I am blogging about this because, the woman who oversees Abeona House is Emmy O'Dwyer. Emmy is an effervescent, passionate, and smart teacher and mother. Had the timing been right I would have loved to work for her forever. She is truly an inspiration. Unfortunately, we know that times are not easy right now for anyone, but they are especially tough for Emmy, her husband, and their three young children, all under five and one has special needs. Above all of this Emmy has survived Huricane Katrina and it's aftermath, started a fantastic non-profit childcare center (and is the director of it), works an opposite schedule from her husband, and is caring for her brand new baby. I can attest that this woman is amazing and needs a vacation. In an effort to gain a moment of peace for herself and an experience of a lifetime for her family she has entered a contest called the get away from home giveaway.


Contestants must enter in stories about themselves and their lives in which people then read them and vote for who they would like to win a vacation getaway the most. Emmy would love to take her family to Roatan, Honduras. Her husband and she have family there and they were also married there. By clicking on this link you can read more about Emmy and her story. By clicking the read more and vote button at the top of the page you can then vote for Emmy and her family to hopefully win this vacation. I hope you all will do this in helping her to achieve he goal, did I mention that Emmy has personally been teaching all of the kids at her school some spanish and also sings to them in spanish. She is amazing and truly deserves this.

Willa Cather... my favorite author of the moment (again)

Willa Cather has always been one of my favorite authors ever since I read her work in a modern literature class in college. She has a way of writing that is effortlessly poetic, as if every thing she describes seems instantly dignified and intriguing. But recently after I purchased a collection of works entitled "38 Short Stories by American Women Writers", which included 5 short works by Cather, I found out that we actually have something in common. Like myself, Cather moved from the South to the rural midwest. Cather was born in Back Creek, Virginia in 1873 and moved with her family to Catherton, Nebraska in 1883. The following year the family relocated to nearby Red Cloud, the same town that has been made famous by her writing. Cather won a pulitzer prize for her writing and is known for her great ability to describe the midwest as an outsider looking in. I especially appreciate her detail to landscape. Just a little something that I have found interesting to read in this stage of my life. If you have not read any of her works, I highly recommend her.

Pomegranate Sangria

Well it is about that time of year! Thanksgiving is on its way and then in a blink it will be christmas. One thing that I love about the holidays that I can start enjoying now is my Pomegranite Sangria. I love this drink so much, obviously I would there is wine it, but also I think it's healthy because there is the great antioxidant booster pomegranite juice in it. I triple or quadruple the recipe and just keep it my fridge through Thanksgiving. I let everything rest at least one night before drinking so that all of the fruit gets completely saturated. The little pomegranites look like floating jewels in this drink. This is not only a beautiful cocktail but it is refreshing and utterly fabulous. I only wish Thanksgiving was year round. I hope you will share with me my tradition and try this libation.


Ingredients for Sangria

1 bottle fruity red wine
2 cups pomegranate juice
1/2 cup brandy
1/2 cup Triple Sec
1/4 cup simple syrup (equal amounts sugar and water, heated until sugar dissolves, cooled)
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
1 large orange, halved and thinly sliced
1 green apple, cored, halved and thinly sliced
1 cup red grapes, sliced in 1/2
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a pitcher, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 48 hours before serving. Serve over ice.

Roux's first Snow

It has been a little while since i have blogged, but I am still around and staying busy. We just had our first snow fall last week in Iowa and "Big" baby Roux had her first wintry experience. Roux officially loves snow and waits longingly until she can get outside and run around in it. For everyone back in New Orleans; the Beast (now 85 pounds, however someone told me that she looks skinny) is coming home with us for Christmas so be prepared for some slobbery fun.