Strawberry Muffins!

I wanted to bake something fresh and healthy for a friend who recently had a beautiful baby girl. I saw a gorgeous carton of organic strawberries and thought of muffins instantly.

I love Ina Garten's fruit recipes, so I used one of hers (link here!)

As with all muffin recipes, you really shouldn't use a mixer. Mixers are best for cupcakes or dense cakes, but muffins should be light and their dough barely mixed together.

I prepared the wet ingredients in two cups, the first with melted butter, and the second with beaten eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract.

I made a well in the dry ingredients (sifted together first) and then stirred it all together, adding the strawberries and white sugar last.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins!

Hearty and healthy pumpkin chocolate chip muffins! Recipe courtesy of Joy of Baking.

Holiday love!

Wow I can't believe I haven't posted in about a month! November has been crazy what with my birthday, Turkey Day, the semester wrapping up, work being insanely busy, and life in general being busy and lovely. I did manage to bake something today which was nothing short of miraculous as I have been eating out and getting takeout often these past few weeks! I definitely had to reacquaint myself with the kitchen this morning!

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chip Muffins with Maple Almond Butter Glaze and Cinnamon Sugar on top! The almond butter and cinnamon-sugar grinder were two lovely gifts I received in the fall as part of the fabulous Foodie Penpals program, thanks again girls!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins!

As its obvious all over my blog, I am a BIG fan of the lovely blog known as Annie's Eats. Annie has recipes for every genre of food, and seasonal cooking always features heavily. As the year marches towards the end (how on earth is it October already?!), I am getting more and more into the spirit of fall cooking. Fall is my favorite season, and probably the only time during the year that I will lament living in sunny South Florida. Leaves changing! Pumpkin patches! Apple picking! These activities are not a part of my life down here, but a girl can dream.

Let's starting dreaming with the most glorious pumpkin spice muffin recipe EVER. Pumpkin muffins flavored with traditional fall spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves, topped with a crackly cinnamon-sugar topping, and cream cheese-sugar filling inside! Are you drooling yet? I was so intrigued by this recipe - the filling is not piped in at the end, but instead frozen, and then sliced and placed halfway through the batter! This muffin-making was a two-day process. I whipped cream cheese and confectioner's sugar yesterday, and rolled it into a log, wrapping it carefully in plastic wrap and aluminum foil, to hold its shape. Today I made the muffin batter, and filled the bottom of the baking cups with a bit of the batter, then sliced the log into rounds, and placed a round (or ball - it is sticky to work with!), and then filled the cup the rest of the way with batter.

Next step was making the topping. Flour, white sugar, cinnamon, and unsalted butter gets mixed together until crumbly, and sprinkled over the top of the muffins.

I HIGHLY recommend that you put these on your "To-Bake" list! They are perfectly flavored with spices and pumpkin, and the slight crunch of the cinnamon sugar on top, along with the oozy, sweet, creamy center, makes it truly the best muffin. They are a bit more work then your average muffin (more similar to cupcakes with the frosting inside maybe?), but they are so worth it! :) Happy Baking! Here's the recipe link!

Summer Salad Lovin'!

My desire to cook a bunch of fabulous, well-seasoned ingredients and then artfully display them in a serving dish has not abated! I came up with tonight's dinner also on the fly in the supermarket - all I knew for sure that I wanted, was to be able to pile all the ingredients onto my boyfriend's lovely colorful platter and serve. I decided to keep some ingredients from my previous family-style salads, such as white cannellini beans and bite-size balls of fresh mozzarella (bocconcini!). I decided to make rice pilaf as the base, so I boiled long-grain rice in a mix of water, olive oil, and white wine (Santa Margherita - the only white anyone should cook with!). I added garlic seasoning, chicken bouilon, and dried parsley for flavor. I diced thin chicken cutlets into one inch pieces and seasoned them with sea salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and a splash of extra-virgin olive oil to tie it all together. Then I filled a baking sheet with diced zucchini, yellow squash, and cherry tomatoes, doused in a healthy amount of olive oil, salt, and pepper. I roasted the tray of veggies for just under an hour, until the tomato skins had just popped and the zucchini and yellow rounds looked thoroughly roasted. Once everything cooled, I assembled the salad, layer by layer. First a drizzle of olive oil, and then I spread the garlicky rice pilaf onto the platter. Next I spread out the cannellini beans, topped with the bocconcini (mozzarella). I then filled the chicken in the center and topped with a spoonful of roasted veggies. The remainder of the roasted veggies I tucked onto the sides of the salad. I love the colors and contrasting textures!

Beautiful pops of color combined with the delicious flavor of slow-roasted vegetables. No "30 minute meals" here! Flavor takes time to seep into ingredients, to be absorbed by plain canvases such as rice or chicken.

Yesterday I went to brunch with some fabulous ladies and in honor of that occasion, I baked banana espresso chocolate chip muffins, recipe courtesy of Annie's Eats. I added a swirl of peanut butter and a handful of walnuts (are they not the perfect pairing to bananas whilst baking?) and they were a hit! A doubled the espresso powder and added a bit more mascarpone to compensate, and they were a great accompaniment to our mimosas (involving Prosecco of the Cupcake Wines variety, of course!)

Overall, lovely times spent in the kitchen this weekend! Next up is a very intriguing Joy The Baker cookie recipe I've had my eye on.... Stay Tuned!

Savory Cupcakes, Part Une!

Last night I made my first attempt at a savory cupcake. I had seen a great corn muffin recipe (I would add more salt) on Smitten Kitchen the other day, but I wanted to jazz it up a little. Being a cupcake-lover, it's hard for me to make muffins because they look so naked on top! I bought some Boursin (creamy herb/garlic cheese spread), so I thought that would make the perfect 'frosting' for my cornbread 'cupcakes'. I garnished them with some corn 'sprinkles' and voilà!

Afterwards the man and I went out for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, J. Alexander's, and had some lovely wine, interestingly named "The Prisoner"! It has spices and a hint of blackberries - I love the complex flavor and smell! It was the perfect wine for cozying up in a dark restaurant with a rainstorm outside :)

Kale, Soup, and Muffins!

This weekend my goal was to cook healthy, using plenty of fruits and veggies. I spent all of yesterday in the kitchen, dancing around to Cheryl Cole and Rihanna, since it was cloudy and raining outside. I was also studiously avoiding thinking about my upcoming Microeconomics final. Oops!

Kale Chips!
Salty, crispy, good-for-you, what's not to love?

Butternut Squash Crab Bisque!
This is a great soup for rainy weather, it's creamy and hearty and goes great with a kale chip and crouton garnish. I used shallots instead of onions for a sweeter taste.

Finally, for Sunday brunch, and using the blackberry jam I made last month, blackberry jam mini muffins (with walnuts)! I adapted a recipe from Cook Bake Nibble

Chicken Tortilla Soup and Garlic Corn Muffins!

Annie's Chicken Tortilla Soup!

Made on 02/03/12.

Served with Giada's Garlic Corn Muffins!

Made on 02/03/12.