"Healthy" Blueberry Muffin

I think I found heaven.

I am not going to lie, there is a stick of butter in this recipe AND sugar. I suppose what makes these little guys "healthy" is the fact that whole wheat flour and wheat germ were thrown into the recipe. The added grains give this muffin a less airy, more dense texture and they have just the right amount of sweetness. Overall, a great muffin recipe if you dig blueberries.

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
  
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup frozen blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork (you should have 3/4 cup); stir in milk and vanilla.
3. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and banana mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Fold in frozen blueberries.
4. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; transfer muffins to a rack to cool 10 minutes more.

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PESTOOOOO!

I love the divisadero Farmers Market! This morning I walked over to the market to pick up some olives and a fresh baguette and some sunflowers for the house. I think the best part of going to the market instead of the boring ol grocery store is the fact that they give SAMPLES :) The olive man was super nice and let me sample all the olives and gave me different spreads to try that complemented each olive. WHAT GROCERY STORE DOES THAT?!

With the heirloom tomatoes and basil I got at alemany and the olives I got on divis, I made a simple bruschetta. Two chopped Heirloom tomatoes, a handful of pitted chopped olives, a handful of chopped basil, and a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil makes enough Bruschetta for 3 to enjoy. I also cut up the baguette and toasted the slices in the oven for a few minutes at 325 F.

I admit that the ravioli is not homemade, but the pesto most definitely is! If you have a food processor this pesto can be made in 5 minutes tops. We have a small food processor (just like the one in the picture below) and it makes making pesto really easy.

We usually combine 1/4 cup of pine nuts, 1/4 cup grated parmesan, 1/4 cup olive oil, a tablespoon of butter, a couple whole garlic cloves, and enough basil to fill the food processor above (or the basil leaves from a bundle) to make enough pesto for the two of us. The only chopping involved is pressing the chop button a few times. And not only does this pesto taste great on pasta, it also works well on a sandwich with mozza and tomatoes :]

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Down the Rabbits Hole

Recently I had the pleasure of throwing a BRIDAL SHOWER for my favorite cousin :) Here are a few photos from the event.

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dinner=salsa+cookies

After wondering through the Alemany Farmers Market for a good long time, I decided to make some fresh salsa. Normally I like to add avocado to the salsa, but the market didn't have any avocados in season. You may be wondering what the recipe is for this spicy piece of heaven, but to be completely honest I just add however much of each ingredient that I feel like adding, depending on how much I plan on making. BUT today I chopped up three vine riped tomatoes, two very small yellow onions, a handful of chopped cilantro leaves, a handful of serrano chiles (chopped really finely or chopped in a food processor), the juice from one lemon, and a couple shakes of salt. I also recommend adding a little bit of the chiles and then tasting before mixing a grip of chiles all at once.

:]

FINALLY, a chocolate chip cookie that stays soft in the middle AND has crispy edges!

• 1/2 pound unsalted butter at room temp
• 1 cup ligth brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 extra large eggs at room temp
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 pounds semi sweet chocolate chips or chunks

1. Preheat the oven to 350F
2. Cream the butter and two sugars until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitter with the paddle attachment. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the mixture with the mixer on low speed, mix only until combined. Fold in the chocolate.
3. Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using a tablespoon. Dampen your hands and slightly flatten each ball of dough. Bake for exactly 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool slightly on the pan and then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
   
4. Repeat step 3 until you have used all the dough!
   

Strawberry Scones & Mac&Cheese

Today was the weekly Farmers Market on Divisadero and Grove St., which is conveniently located a few blocks from where we live. Although it was near closing time for the market, I was tempted to take a peak at what kind of vegetables and fruits the vendors were now offering. Luckily the usual guy we like to get our straweberries from was still there AND had marked down the price on the last few trays of strawberries. After purchasing 3 baskets of strawberries I began thinking of the different ways I could enjoy these delicious red berries. I quickly remembered that I had a great strawberry scone recipe that I've been wanting to try for some time now, so after a quick stop to pick up some more ingredients, I raced home to prepare for an afternoon of baking :]

** have a bag of flour handy while making these little beauties, the dough is really sticky


After sharing a couple warm scones with my roomate, I jumped back in the kitchen to start dinner. We had been looking forward to having mac and cheese for almost 5 whole days. Needless to say, it was definitely worth the wait. And just as a WARNING, homemade mac and cheese is ADDICTING. I am really not joking, it is so good and far better than any kind of instant mac and cheese you have ever had. My mouth is watering at this very moment just thinking about mac and cheese!

Most mac and cheese recipes call for basically the same ingredients, but I highly recommend adding a cup or two of gruyere cheese along with sharp cheddar cheese. Italian bread crumbs are also a nice addition, instead of using plain ol' regular bread crumbs. Hope you have enjoyed!

Bon apetit!


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There is no place like home

This post is dedicated to our current home, San Francisco. These are just a few I have taken over the past year. Enjoy!

Fell Street Home

Mission Dolores Park

The painted ladies

Biking up steep hills is made possible by routes such as the Wiggle

We really appreciate how each home is completely different from one another

and we loathe smartcars

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COUSCOUS

This is a dish that we randomly put together one day after we noticed that our vegetables were going to go bad if we did not eat them asap, and it turned out really tasty :)
The small pasta looking balls are couscous and then we added some broccoli, zucchini, red bell pepper, red onion, and olive oil. We spiced it up with a little curry, salt, pepper, and voila masterpiece of goodness. Just to add another flavor I garnished our meal with a little arugula. This would probably be a great picnic food, it tastes good warm and cold!

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