I love a good blueberry muffin, and this recipe is a great one. I just recently found it, so I haven’t had the opportunity to make it during blueberry season which is July - October here in NY. I really look forward to taking the boys blueberry picking this summer so I can try the recipe with fresh berries. In lieu of fresh berries, frozen blueberries are an excellent substitution. I keep two bags in the freezer so I can make the muffins at the drop of a hat. This recipe works well with a mix of frozen blueberries and raspberries as well.

A couple of words about blueberries and their health benefits. They’re loaded with antioxidants as well as vitamins C and E. They’re actually one of the fruits with the highest levels of antioxidants. WebMD characterizes blueberries as one of the superfoods that everyone needs to eat. Pick some up and make a batch of delicious muffins!

Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins
From Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
8 ounces (about 1 cup) sour cream
1/4 cup milk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 half-pints fresh blueberries, picked through for stems

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 16 paper liners in muffin pans.In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream, and milk. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed. Fold in the blueberries with a spatula and be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans (I use my trusty ice cream scoop to do this), filling each cup just over the top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean.

My sister sent me an email a couple of weeks ago titled, “These really are THE BEST!!!” I was intrigued. She went on to tell me about a batch of pancakes she had just made. She’s never going to make pancakes any other way again, and neither am I. No more boxed mixes for me. These really are as easy to make as those boxes you buy - and these are much better. If you like a fluffy pancake, these are for you. The recipe came from a blog that I really enjoy reading called 101 Cookbooks.

I’m always drawn to new breakfast recipes because my boys love breakfast, and I enjoy cooking it. I especially love quick, easy recipes that I can make for the boys before they go off to school in the morning. This recipe definitely qualifies. The trick is to have all of the ingredients in the house. The one that most people typically don’t have on hand is buttermilk. I now buy it whenever I see it because my boys ask for pancakes every morning now, and I make this recipe at least three times a week.

I find that there’s an art to making pancakes. Here are a couple of pointers:

• Don’t put the batter in the pan or on the griddle until it’s hot enough. You’ll know that it’s hot enough if drops of water “dance” when they’re sprinkled on the hot pan.
• Don’t over-mix the batter. It should be lumpy. Definitely don’t mix it like you’d mix cake batter.
• Pancakes are best served warm. Keep cooked pancakes in a 200 degree oven until you have made the whole batch.
• Turn the pancakes when you see bubbles on top of the pancakes. If your pan is at the proper temperature, this should coincide with the pancakes being golden brown on one side.
• I cook the pancakes on a griddle so I can make 6 or 8 at a time.
• I pour the batter onto the griddle using a 1/4 cup stainless steel measuring cup. This ensures that the pancakes will be roughly the same size.
• Sometimes I have to turn the heat down when cooking the pancakes because the griddle gets too hot. If the griddle is too hot, the pancakes will get too dark before they’re ready to be turned.

The original recipe on 101 Cookbooks includes what looks like a delicious blueberry syrup for the pancakes. Check it out.

Whole Grain Buttermilk Pancakes
Adapted from Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted

butter, to serve and for pan

To make the pancakes combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter. Stir all the ingredients until they are just combined. Don’t worry if the batter is a bit lumpy, you don’t want to over mix.

Heat your skillet, pan, or griddle to medium-hot and brush it with a bit of butter. Test for the right temperature. If a drop of water dropped onto the pan starts to dance, you are in the ballpark. Pour about 1/4 of a cup of batter into the skillet. Wait until the pancake bottom is deep golden in color, then flip with a spatula and cook the other side until golden and cooked through. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve with a golden pat of butter.

Makes about 12 large pancakes, or dozens of silver-dollars - enough to feed a small crowd.

The picture above definitely doesn’t do justice to this soup. I stumbled upon this recipe when I attended a gathering of “mothers of twins plus one” a couple of years ago. The meeting was at an apartment on Riverside Drive in the 90s and it was gorgeous! At one point I walked into the kitchen, being drawn in by a wonderful aroma and saw a cookbook open and some pots simmering on the stove. I was surprised to see that I actually owned the cookbook, but had yet to crack the binding (I have a lot of those). I was told that I really should open the book and the first thing I should make is Chick Pea Soup. As soon as I got home that night, I found the recipe and decided to make it the next day.

Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan can often be found on lists like “The 10 Cookbooks That You Must Own”. Although I haven’t tried many recipes from it yet, I plan to. The next one I try is going to be a variation on the Chick Pea Soup that includes rice.

This soup has a fair amount of olive oil in it, and it makes the soup seem very buttery which I like. You can cut down on the oil a tiny bit if you’d like to. When you make this soup, your home will smell wonderful as the olive oil is infused with the garlic.

Chick Pea Soup
From Essentials of Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

4 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary leaves, crushed fine almost to a powder, or a small sprig of fresh rosemary
2/3 cup canned Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
3/4 cup dried chick peas, soaked and cooked, or 2 1/4 cups canned chick peas, drained
1 cup homemade meat broth or 1 bouillon cube dissolved in 1 cup water
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill

1. Put the garlic and olive oil in a pot that can subsequently accommodate all of the ingredients and turn on the heat to medium. Sauté the garlic cloves until they turn a light nut brown then remove them from the pan.

2. Add the crushed rosemary leaves or the fresh sprig, stir, then put in the cut-up tomatoes with their juice. Cook for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the oil floats free from the tomatoes.

3. Add the drained cooked or canned chick peas and cook for 5 minutes, stirring them thoroughly with the juices in the pan.

4. Add the broth or the dissolved bouillon cube, cover, and adjust heat so that the soup bubbles at a steady, but moderate boil for 15 minutes.

5. Taste and correct for salt. Add a few grindings of pepper. Let the soup bubble uncovered for another minute, then serve promptly.

Yield: 4 - 6 servings (Diane’s note: In my opinion, this serves 2 and maybe 4 if you make the servings small.)

I LOVE Costco, although I find that I’m not a great shopper because I can never make a list and stick to it. I’m always tempted by the tasting stations at the end of every other aisle. It’s really bad when I shop when I’m hungry. I’m almost guaranteed to come home with LOTS of things that weren’t on my list.

A couple of months ago, they were giving out samples of canned salmon mixed with mayonnaise, served on crackers. I was hungry, and it was delicious. I tossed four cans into my cart. They sat around for a while in my kitchen cabinet until I was flipping through the May 6th issue of Woman’s Day magazine. I get Woman’s Day because with four boys having annual magazine drives, I end up with a number of magazines that I wouldn’t normally buy. Magazine drives are like my trips to Costco, sometimes I can’t say no. Well, I was flipping through the magazine and I came across a page that talked about three different things to do with canned salmon. My interest was piqued. I hadn’t mixed the salmon with mayonnaise for lunch as I thought I would that day in Costco, so this page was perfect for me. I tried their recipe for Asian Burgers and now I’m going to make canned salmon a regular Costco purchase. It’s a great recipe for a weeknight as the preparation is quick and easy as long as you have the necessary ingredients in the house.

Asian Burgers
From Woman’s Day Magazine

14.5 oz. can of salmon
1/2 cup minced red bell pepper
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup sliced scallions
1 egg
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tbsp. grated ginger

Mix ingredients together and form into four patties. Pan fry in a little olive oil for ~6 minutes, turning once, until lightly browned. Serve on buns with sprouts, sliced tomato and wasabi mayonnaise.*

* I served mine on a plate and it was delicious all on its own with a green salad on the side.

My four sons attended a cooperative preschool, which means that the parents are required to assist in the classroom. Last year all four boys attended the preschool, so my husband and I were “helping parents” about once a week. This may sound onerous but on the contrary, it was a wonderful opportunity for us to see our children in school and to really get to know their teachers and friends. It was so nice to be with them as they were introduced to school, and it made them feel special to have us in the classroom.

The responsibility of the “helping parent” is to assist in the classroom and to bring snack. Despite the fact that my boys are picky eaters, I still try to make healthy food so I started to bring muffins and fruit to class when it was my turn for snack. After a while, I became known for my muffins, primarily these bran muffins. I can’t believe it has taken me so long to post this recipe. Almost all of the children gobble up these muffins every time I bring them. I make mini-muffins for the children and I have so send 48 to school at a time because they can each eat three. My son’s teacher has to stop them, lest they not eat their lunch!

I found the recipe several years ago and the boys love it! I’ve doctored it a bit to get some some extra healthy ingredients into the boys, so I’ll provide several variations - the original recipe, the recipe I use when I don’t have buttermilk in the house, and the extra ingredients that I toss in at the end to make me feel like I’m getting SOMETHING good into the boys.

Buttermilk Bran Muffins
From The Healthy Oven Baking Book by Sarah Philips

1 cup unprocessed (miller’s) wheat bran
2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (spoon into a measuring cup and level top)
2/3 cup whole wheat flour (spoon into a measuring cup and level top)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk**
1/2 cup raw sugar crystals (such as Sugar in the Raw) or granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 large egg
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°. Lightly spray twelve 2 1/4 x 1 1/2-inch nonstick muffin cups, or 24 mini-muffin cups with oil.

In a medium bowl, whisk the bran, flours, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Set aside.

In another medium bowl, using a handheld electric mixer set at high speed, beat the buttermilk, sugar, applesauce, egg, oil and vanilla until frothy, about two minutes. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Using a spoon, stir just until combined. Do not overmix.

Divide the batter equally among the prepared muffin cups. Bake until the tops spring back when pressed gently in the center, about 20 minutes. Do not overbake. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from the cups. Serve warm or cool completely on the rack.

** When I don’t have buttermilk in the house, I substitute 3/4 cup of milk and 1/2 cup of vanilla yogurt for the buttermilk and the recipe works just fine.

When I make these muffins for preschool, I toss in 1 tbsp. of wheat germ and 1 tbsp. ground flax seed. I also sprinkle a bit of cinnamon and sugar on the tops of the muffins before I bake them.

There’s a restaurant/sandwich shop in NYC called Mangia that I used to frequent when I worked in midtown. It was a bit on the pricey side, but I loved the food. The sandwiches were not traditional, and the whole atmosphere was very European, from the food to the desserts to the staff. I used to go to Mangia once every three or four weeks for years and I always ordered the same thing - the Basil Parmesan Chicken Salad sandwich. It was served on a baguette topped with arugula and sun-dried tomatoes and I never got sick of it.

I recently had a bunch of chicken breasts and lots of fresh basil (from my Aerogarden) so I decided to recreate the Mangia sandwich that I used to love. I found this recipe and I have made it several times. It’s incredible - just like the Mangia sandwich.

This is a great recipe for left over cooked chicken.

Basil Parmesan Chicken Salad
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

2 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts (if you buy them frozen, this typically means 4 pieces)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 clove crushed garlic
3 stalks celery, chopped (optional)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

If the chicken is raw, season it with salt and pepper. Roast at 375 degrees for 35 minutes, or until juices run clear. Let cool, and chop into chunks.
In a food processor, puree the mayonnaise, basil, garlic, and celery (if using). Combine the chunked chicken, pureed mixture, and Parmesan cheese. Refrigerate and serve.

I love to make muffins for the boys’ breakfast. One day a year or so ago I was flipping through my most recent issue of Cooking Light and I found this recipe. It’s a nice variation on the traditional corn muffin recipe as it’s a little sweeter. One of my sons would eat these every morning if I let him. He never gets sick of them.

When I make muffins for the boys, I make them in mini muffin tins (24 cups to a tray). I bought my muffin tins at Williams Sonoma. These corn muffins freeze well and can be quickly microwaved to thaw.

Do you think these muffins count as getting a vegetable into the boys?

Sweet Corn Muffins
From Cooking Light Magazine

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt (vanilla yogurt works well too)
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons fat-free milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (optional)

If you’re looking for an incredibly simple side dish that tastes delicious - this is it! This recipe takes no time at all to prepare and it’s a perfect side dish to serve with almost any type of meat or fish.

This recipe calls for whole carrots sliced lengthwise. I recommend using baby carrots - it’s a huge time saver.

One of the things I like about this recipe is that it’s just as good with or without the cayenne pepper. When I make the recipe for adults, I add a little more than 1/8 teaspoon. When I make it for the boys, I leave the cayenne pepper out altogether. Our boys are not vegetable eaters, but I was sure that they’d like these carrots. Nope. I made each of them try one and I succeeded in getting three of the four to try them and one to smell them. They all rejected them, but that’s not going to stop me from presenting these carrots periodically as part of dinner. One of these days they’re bound to come around.

Candied Carrots
From Real Simple: Meals Made Easy

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 pounds carrots, halved lengthwise
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the maple syrup, salt, cayenne, and 1/4 cup of water and bring to a boil. Add the carrots and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, turning occasionally, until the carrots are tender and the liquid has reduced to a glaze, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with the black pepper.

I love frosting from a can, or al least I used to. After college I would buy a can of vanilla frosting and just eat it with a spoon. I did this for years. Now that I’m a bit wiser about nutrition, especially trans fats, I won’t go near the stuff. And I seem to have the need to make more cupcakes these days than I’ve made in a long time, thus this recipe.

The triplets’ birthday was a couple of weeks ago and the tradition in their school is that parents bring in cupcakes. That meant that I had to make 78! They each have 22 children in their class and with two or three teachers a piece it meant a lot of cupcakes. And of course each boy wanted a separate kind of cupcake. Alexander wanted spiderwebs on his. David wanted his to look like ice cream cones and Charlie wanted his to look like kittens. Decorating cupcakes is not my forte as you can see from the pictures, but the frosting that I made was absolutely delicious. It is just as good as the frosting that I bought years ago, but it isn’t laden with trans fats!

The cupcakes don’t look great in the photos, but thank goodness they looked a little better in real life. Check out the ingenious contraption that my husband created to hold the ice cream cones. We originally tried to stand them up in a plastic container, but they kept toppling over, so he got out his handy drill and created a holder that made it incredibly easy to get the cupcakes to school.

Try this frosting the next time you’re tempted to buy a can of premade - it’s well worth it.

Quick Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
by Gale Gand

3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup salted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

Three of my boys have publishing parties this week at school and they all take place at 9 am. A publishing party is a kindergarten celebration that focuses on the children’s writing. Each of my sons wrote a non-fiction book about 6 pages long complete with a cover page, a dedication and a table of contents. Parents are asked to bring something to eat or drink to the party. I will be making my favorite coffee cake. I have made it before for class events and it’s always a big hit, especially if it is cut up. If it’s cut into small pieces it’ll go before the party is over. If it’s not cut up, folks seem to be afraid to broach it.

If I can offer one tip for making the crumb topping, it’s to make sure that the butter that you use comes right from the refrigerator. Yes, you want it rock hard. The first time I made this recipe, I softened the butter before I made the crumbs and it was a disaster.

Everyone thinks this cake is difficult to make. It’s actually quite easy. I hope you try it and I hope you like it. My boys do!

This is my friend Pam’s grandmother’s recipe.

Grandma Sachs’ Crumb Cake

Cake:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Crumbs:

2 cups flour
1 cup butter, hard (right from the refrigerator)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk. Pour into greased 13×9″ pan and bake for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the crumbs. To make crumbs, mix all ingredients together in a food processor until crumbs form. This process doesn’t take longer than a minute or two.

After baking for 25 minutes the cake should be somewhat solid. You want it solid so the crumbs don’t sink in. If it’s somewhat solid, place the crumbs on top and bake for 10 minutes more. Test for doneness with a toothpick. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners sugar just prior to serving.