June Blues

Picked up 2 pints of Arkansas blueberries yesterday at the Sunday open-air market downtown (when I asked the guy if they were local berries, he said, straight-faced, "No, they're blueberries."), which meant, of course...blueberry muffins for breakfast! I have a small but maneagable obsession with blueberry muffins, and often feel I could write an entire cookbook of blueberry muffins alone. That seems just a TAD specific, however, so I'll content myself with a rotation of 3 or 4 recipes. Although right now, with this kitchen at my disposal, I could bake muffins for an army.

For a while, I was enamored of blueberry corn muffins, but they seemed a little dense for this summer morning, so instead, we're back to the regular old muffins, made with half-and-half whole wheat pastry flour and regular all-purpose. And buttermilk, every baker's best friend. As PQ readers know, I like a healthy muffin in the morning, so those typical fancy-bakery muffin recipes with a stick of butter and a cup of sugar per dozen are not what you'll find at PQ Castle. Instead, these are pleasanty grainy, fruit-studded warmers, just what you want to start a summer day. And they make the kitchen smell buttery-perfect.



June Blues

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp vanilla or 1/2 tsp orange or lemon zest (can add more, depending on your taste)

1 cup blueberries, rinsed, picked over (take out the squishy ones), and patted dry
3 or 4 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil

topping (optional): 2 TB sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease 12 muffin cups. Whisk dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla or zest together. Dump wet into dry, and stir gently until just mixed. Stir in blueberries and butter. Divide into muffin cups. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake 20-25 minutes.