Blueberries are in season!

Here’s the interesting thing.   I wasn’t a fan of blueberries for a long time.  Like most of my life.  Not sure why but I just had this impression that they didn’t really have any flavor, so on my “take it or leave it” food list, they were on the “leave it” side.  I’m guessing somewhere as a kid I had some and they just didn’t taste very good.  (Unlike, say, raspberries that I couldn’t get enough of.)   Or maybe it was that creepy blueberry kid in Willy Wonka.  Whatever the reason, I just wasn’t a fan. Blueberries, like sunscreen and shoes with good arch support,  apparently required a little age and maturity before they could be fully appreciated. 

All that has changed now.  I have discovered the wonderfulness of blueberries.  So, when it’s blueberry season in the valley, our kitchen is overflowing with them.  Our kitchen towels have blueberry stains on them.  The little green cartons get piled up on the counter.   Blueberries get bagged and frozen so we can enjoy them all year round.  And blueberries get added to all sorts of food.  They’re great in smoothies. I love them in spinach salad.   And, of course, not to be forgotten or overlooked, the epitome of what blueberries stand for: The blueberry muffin.  

Almost 30 years ago I received a small cookbook, cookbook-ette really, that only contained muffin recipes.  It was a little cookbook for little foods.  I got it from my sister for Christmas, and she had bought it at one of those wonderful small bookstores in Seattle.  I know both of these things because the bookmark from the bookstore and the gift tag from the package are both tucked into the front cover of my small book.  Looking back, I think this is when my affection for muffins started.  I like them so much more than coffee cake for some reason.  Probably because, like cupcakes, they are these individual little treats.  Unless you butter them, they require no utensils.  They are like little self-contained, paper-wrapped morsels of goodness.  If you’re hosting overnight guests, they are a great way of saying “good morning” because, let’s face it, who doesn’t like to get out of bed to the smell of fresh-baked muffins?  Plus, you don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to prepare them because they really are relatively quick and easy to prepare.

In the Breakfast/Brunch section I’ve posted two recipes for blueberry muffins.  One uses the classic process of creating a well in the middle of the dry ingredients where you add the wet ingredients.  It also has a hint of lemon to it, just to take the fancy factor up one notch.  The second recipe uses a mixer to blend the butter and wet ingredients and then you add the dry ingredients to it.  I think because this one uses the mixer, it seems like an easier recipe to me and I would make this one if I was in a hurry.  Although, honestly, the prep time is about the same (about 45 minutes start to finish).  But, the results are slightly different.  In a side-by-side taste test, Jon thought he preferred the muffins made the “classic” way over the second recipe.  However, both seemed to disappear at about the same rate.

Thanks to Mostly Muffins, my little cookbook-ette, for inspiring me.