Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Two Blue Muffins

I interrupt our packing to bring you muffins. Two blue muffins: blue cornmeal and blueberries. I've got things to box, but I keep getting distracted. I am afraid I am going to miss berry season. Berries in Maryland have already begun, our strawberries have come and gone, juneberries welcomed their namesake month and mulberries are heavy on the trees, but I am worried about leaving before the blueberries, gooseberries, raspberries and blackberries among a few other rarities. The hitch is the seasons, Texas is so much warmer they are already past these early summer gems. Fruit in its season is nothing shy of glorious. The reason why I hate to miss any of it.

I've been clearing out my cupboards and found this blue cornmeal I have been hoarding- I am inclined to do that with specialty ingredients. I guess I enjoy just looking at them, thinking of the things I can make with them since I can't get them easily or often. Cooking with them is also nice and novel. You don't need blue cornmeal, the taste is nearly identical to white and yellow cornmeal, the aesthetics are the biggest difference.  So, I had decided when I bought the cornmeal that I would keep it until blueberry season and make these muffins. Unfortunately, I didn't wake up soon enough. By the time I got to the farmer's market they were sold out of blueberries that had made their first appearance last week. So, I consulted the freezer (which if you know about saw my last post about the leftover thanksgiving turkey in June) is where I keep things for extended periods of time. Lo, and behold, blueberries. I made the muffins and got over the fact that those were last year's blueberries, since the muffins left me no reason to be sad. They were light and full of flavor. The perfect muffin for blueberry season, even if your blueberries come from the freezer. 


  • Two Blue Muffins
  • 1 cup blue cornmeal or swap for whatever color you have on hand
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt, thinned with a little milk
  • large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 6 T. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 1/2  cups fresh blueberries
  • 1. Preheat oven to 400º and generously grease 12 muffin cups (1/2-cup capacity). Sift cornmeal, flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour liquid ingredients into well, and stir to combine. Fold in berries.
  • 2. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full with batter. Bake until golden on top, about 25 minutes. Transfer tin to a rack and let cool 10 minutes before removing muffins.

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