I’m so super-excited — I finally bought a copy of Country Wisdom & Know-How! In case you don’t know, it’s a collection of small booklets that were published during the 1970s, “during the ‘back to the land era’ when hippies were homesteading and gas and energy prices were sky-high.” (Sound familiar?) Each booklet addressed some simple skill or piece of country know-how — this book covers everything from how to attract hummingbirds to making your own beer and wine, from drawing maple syrup to making milk soap, and everything in between. I seriously want to try to do everything in this book. Okay, maybe not killing and skinning a rabbit….And I don’t I don’t foresee myself breeding livestock anytime soon…but pretty much everything else I definitely want to do! There are also a ton of wonderful-sounding recipes in here, one of which inspired today’s blog entry.
When berries are in season I go through quarts of them every week. At this point in the summer I’m sure my husband’s starting to get sick of berry-somethings for breakfast every morning….Anyway, I had about three pints of blueberries in my refrigerator when I came across the recipe for Classic Blueberry Muffins in the book. I always like to modify things and make them my own so I first decided to add some nutmeg and shaved almonds to the recipe. Then I started thinking about how nothing enhances the flavor of blueberries more than cinnamon and orange. Berries and citrus are pretty much always outstanding together. Some pairings (Strawberry + Lime, Blackberry + Lemon, Grapefruit + Raspberry) go especially well together, but my favorite combination has to be blueberry and orange. The orange adds an edge and a brightness to the blueberry that is sublime. Yes, sublime…So by the time the muffins were done they had gone from Classic Blueberry to Orange-Almond…typical. I have included vegan alternatives in the recipe if you’d like to make an eggless, non-dairy version of these muffins. Either way, they’re delish!
Ingredients:
– 1 3/4 c. flour
– 1/2 c. sugar
– 1 Tbsp. baking powder
– 1/2 tsp. salt
– 1 tsp. cinnamon
– 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
– 4 Tbsp. butter or butter substitute like Earth Balance
– 1 egg, beaten, or 1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce
– 2/3 c. milk, or almond milk
– 1 tsp. vanilla extract
– 1 c. blueberries
– 1/4 c. shaved almonds
– 1 Tbsp. orange zest
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375F
2. In a large bowl, mix your dry ingredients together — flour through nutmeg
3. Cut in the butter (substitute)
4. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, egg, and vanilla (or almond milk, applesauce and vanilla)
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir until just moistened
6. Gently fold in the blueberries, almonds, and orange zest
7. Fill greased muffin tins (recipe makes 12 medium-sized muffins)
8. Bake for 20 minutes at 375F, or until a toothpick or a knife inserted into the center comes out clean
9. Cool and remove from muffin tin. Enjoy!
theindiehomemaker 