Good Eats Newsletter - May 19, 2010
This Week's Vegetable Share Contains: 2 lbs Mixed Small Potatoes; 2 lbs Copra onions; 2 lbs Gilfeather Turnips, 1.5 lbs Beets; 1 lg Head of Napa Cabbage; 1 Bunch of Sweet Salad Turnips; 1 Bunch of Bright Lights Chard; 1 Bunch of Parsley; plus.....
Localvore Offerings Include:
3 lbs Frozen Organic Wild Blueberries!
Pa Pa Doodles Farm Fresh Eggs
On the Rise Pizza Dough
Pete's Musings
Our spring is back on track. Rough week with dime sized hail followed by 3 nights in the upper teens and low 20's. But in general the weather has been awesome and it's nice to see the crops grow. No baby greens again this week but we promise you will get them next week. Our greens are still recovering from the hail.
Farm work is going great. Today the crew is planting 5000 strawberry plants to double our strawberry field. Monday our brussel sprouts went in, followed by 1/3 of an acre of leeks and a nice slug of cauliflower. Then our main crop of kale and yesterday Steve seeded the beginning of fall storage beets. Onions are growing fast and our 4 acres of potatoes are not up yet but growing lots of pretty shoots and roots underground.
I'm really excited about this year's weed control. We learned so much last year about cultivation and it seems that we have the potential this year to keep our fields very clean. This is a great development. Proper weed control allows us to properly rotate our crops and not make decisions about what to grow where based on the weed pressure in the field. Weed control is a cumulative project. The better you do one year, the easier is is to do a good job the next.\
We hope you join us for the summer share. It's going to be better than ever and we're excited about where the farm is headed. ~Pete
Google Earth photo of the farm fields taken in 2009. It looks so NEAT from the air.
Summer Share Sign-Up
There's only a few more weeks left to get your sign up sheet in before the new share period starts. Please send in soon to ensure uninterrupted weekly deliveries of veggies and or localvore products through the summer.
Summer Vegetable and Localvore Share Sign Up
Summer Meat Share Sign Up
Burlington Site News
Along with the existing sites at Adams Court and Grove St, we will add two new Burlington locations bringing the number of Burlington options to four! In addition, you if you sign up for their services, you can have your share delivered to your home or office by the new bicycle delivery company One Revolution. (See last week's newsletter for more info).
NEW! Ward Street - We just added this new site which we hope will be very convenient for folks in the North end or new North end. The new spot is on Ward St, which is just off North Ave. Hours for this site will be noon to 7 pm.
NEW! Burlington/Flynn Ave - Select Design at 208 Flynn Ave (off Pine St) will also be hosting beginning at the start of the summer share. Pick up hours for Select Design will be noon to 5 pm.
Williston Pick Up Site
New! Williston/Blair Park - DEW Construction is located at 277 Blair Park Road, Suite 130. The pick up will be located at the back entrance of this building and pick up hours will be 2 to 5:00pm. It is a short window, but we hope that the site offers convenience for some of you.
Montpelier/True Colors
True Colors will remain our pick up site in Montpelier. The share will move to a different door/building in weeks to come. We will notify you when that change happens and put a new Good Eats poster on the door at that time. The space is just to the left of the present entrance, in the neighboring building, and the space will be dedicated to Good Eats. We are pleased that we can continue our partnership with True Colors and the McQuiggans. It's a good, convenient spot and has the benefit of long pick up hours.
Pete's Pastured Chicken
If you order 5 or more of our pasture raised whole chickens, they are only $3.50/lb (regular price $3.75/lb). This is a great price for well raised pastured birds. These birds which were raised on our pastures in just about the best conditions possible. Their meat is far healthier having assimilated the nutrients of all the forage they consumed.
All free range is not created equal. Many farms that offer "free range" chicken raise their birds just to free range standards which require the birds have access to an outside area. Often times this means that the birds live loose in large barns with a couple openings to small dirt lots outside. This is an improvement over the standard meat bird production, but does not compare to keeping birds outside on pasture and greens throughout their lives. For more info about our ordering chickens, please visit the chicken page.
Localvore Lore
This week we have a special treat for you - Maine wild blueberries! Maine you ask, Maine? OK, I know we have strayed a bit from our mission of really local here, but honestly, we have tried hard to find local wild organic blueberries in quantities enough for the share and it's been challenging. Ben Perrin, one of Maine's largest organic wild blueberry growers, has been providing his beautiful berries to our friend Todd Hardie, for use in Todd's Honey Garden's Blueberry Mead. Todd introduced me to Ben at the grand opening of his new distillery in February, and I drove home that night eating a large cup full of some of the sweetest frozen wild blueberries ever. I resolved that I might have to make an exception to bring you all these berries. Many thanks to Todd and Ben for their efforts in making this happen.
Deb's hen flock is in full on egg laying mode now so you can plan on regular egg deliveries. You may have noticed the eggs were on the smaller size last week. Young hens (aka pullets) lay smaller eggs (pullet eggs), but these will size up considerably in the coming weeks.
We have pizza dough once again from On The Rise Bakery. This dough is made with VT sunflower oil, Milanaise unbleached white flour, Ben Gleason's whole wheat flour, local honey and sea salt. This dough does not need to rise again. For best dough quality you should use it after it reaches room temperature. If you won't be cooking it Wednesday evening, put it in the freezer until you do wish to use it. Then take it out, thaw it, and again, use it as soon as possible after it has thawed. Ben posted the instructions on line along with some instructional videos that you can watch for technique and inspiration. If you make a great looking or great tasting pizza that you are pleased with, email a photo along to Ben or post it to the On the Rise Facebook page.
Recipes
Swiss Chard and Potato Frittata
Leftover frittata makes a great grab and go breakfast! From bigoven.com.
6 large Swiss chard leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium boiling potato, peeled and diced finely
6 large eggs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
Wash the Swiss chard and pat very dry. Cut off and discard the stems, then gather the leaves into a tight bundle and finely chop them.
Heat the oil in a 9- or 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté until the onion turns golden, about 10 minutes. Mix in the potato and cover the pan. Cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the potato is tender and the onions are brown, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the cover and pile on the Swiss chard. Cover again and cook, tossing occasionally, until the leaves are wilted, about 5 minutes. Scrape this mixture onto a plate and let cool. Wipe the pan clean.
Beat the eggs thoroughly in a large bowl. Beat in the cheese, salt and pepper. Stir in the cooled vegetable mixture.
Melt the butter in the skillet over low heat and swirl it around to coat the sides of the pan. Pour in the egg mixture. After about 5 minutes, when the edges begin to set, help the liquid egg pour over the sides of the frittata by occasionally loosening the edges with a rubber spatula and tilting the pan. It should take about 15 minutes for the frittata to become almost completely set.
Preheat the broiler. When the frittata is about 80 percent cooked, slide it under the broiler for a minute or so, until the top is set. (If the handle of your pan isn't ovenproof, wrap a few layers of foil around it before placing it under the broiler.) Let the frittata cool 10 minutes before cutting it into wedges.
Potato Pizza
From Epicurious January 2001
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, green germ removed, thinly sliced
3 medium potatoes (about 14 ounces), peeled, cooked, and thinly sliced into rounds
1/2 cup heavy cream or crème fraîche
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Let dough come to room temp. Dust a baking sheet with semolina flour. Roll out the dough to an 18 x 12 inch rectangle, and fit it onto the baking sheet. Let the dough rise for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Brush the dough with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, then sprinkle it with the garlic slices. Cover it with the potato slices, then drizzle those with the remaining olive oil and the cream. Sprinkle it with the fresh thyme leaves, crushing them as you sprinkle, and season it liberally with pepper, and lightly with salt.
Bake in the center of the oven until the dough is golden at the edges and the cream is bubbling gently, about 35 minutes. Remove, let sit for 5 minutes, then cut and serve.
Beet Risotto
Here's a recipe from Bill that he says is tried and true. Sounds delicious with the addition of the ginger!
2 lbs. beets
3 cups water
1 onion, small dice
1 Tbsp. ginger, peeled, smashed and minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup Arborio* or long-grain rice
.5 cup dry white wine
.5 cup either local blue or goat cheese
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Wrap beets tightly in foil and roast in middle of oven until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Unwrap beets and let stand until cool enough to handle. Discard stems and peel beets. In a blender purée half of beets with 1 cup water and transfer to saucepan, whisking in remaining 2 cups water to make beet broth.
Bring beet broth to a simmer and keep warm.
In a large heavy saucepan cook onion, ginger and garlic in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until onion is softened. Stir in rice and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed. Continue simmering and adding beet broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding next, until about half of broth has been added. Remove from heat once the rice is al dente and stir in the remaining chopped beets and the cheese of your choice. Parmesan can be used as well.
Tip for peeling ginger: A spoon is the easiest and most efficient way to peel ginger. Use the lip of the spoon in a downward motion. As well, slice the ginger into small pieces and smash with the heel of you knife.
Turnip Hash
6 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, small dice
1 lb. turnips, small dice
2 cups hot chicken stock
2 Tbsp, unsalted butter
.5 cup reggiano cheese
.5 cup parsley, rough chop
Salt and pepper, to taste
Warm the chicken stock in a sauce pan over medium-low heat.
Heat the olive oil into a large skillet and turn the heat to medium. Toss in the onion and cook until translucent. Add the turnips and cook for 2 minutes. Ladle in some of the hot chicken stock and cook until absorbed. Continue until all of the stock has been added, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the butter and grated cheese off the heat. Garnish with parsley.
Rosy Beet/ Napa Cabbage Slaw
From Global Cookbook. Serves 4-6.
6 c. Thinly sliced Napa cabbage leaves
1 1/2 c. Minced red onion
2 med Beets, grated
1 c. Minced fresh parsley
1/4 c. Red wine vinegar
1/2 c. Water
2 Tbsp. Brown sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/3 c. Minced fresh dill leaf
3 Tbsp. Minced fresh chives
1/2 c. Low fat lowfat sour cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Combine vegetables and parsley in a large bowl. In a saucepan, combine vinegar, water, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring till sugar is dissolved. Pour over vegetables and toss. Add in dill and chives and fold in well. Cover and let marinate overnight. Stir well once or twice. Just before serving, drain off excess liquid. Stir in lowfat sour cream and add in salt and pepper to taste.
Blueberry Muffins
You all probably have a go to recipe for muffins, but JUST in case you don't, this muffin recipe from the Joy of Cooking is the one I turn to for unfailingly good muffins. You can substitute up to 1 cup whole-wheat flour or whole-wheat pastry flour for an equal measure of all-purpose flour. You can use the liquid ingredient of your choice, from low-fat milk to cream. You can even use sour cream, yogurt or buttermilk if you add in 1/2 tsp baking soda. You can use from a half stick to a whole stick butter. (Definitely opt for the larger qty of butter if you will be eating these muffins hours or a day after being made). Yield 14-16 muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground or freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
2 large eggs
1 cup milk or cream
⅔ cup sugar or packed light brown sugar
¼ to ½ cup (½ to 1 stick) butter, melted, or ¼ to ½ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1.5 cups frozen blueberries
Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a standard 12-muffin pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together thoroughly the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg (if using). In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk or cream, sugar, butter or oil, and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together with a few light strokes, just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in the frozen or thawed blueberries. Do not overmix; the batter should not be smooth. Divide the batter among the muffin cups.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in 1 or 2 of the muffins comes out clean, about 12 to 25 minutes or more depending on how big the muffins are, how big the berries are, whether berries are frozen etc. Let cool for 5 minutes minimum before removing from the pan. If not serving hot, let cool on a rack. Serve as soon as possible, preferably within a few hours of baking.
Variations - You can substitute different berries for this recipe - raspberries, strawberries are great too. When adding berries, if they aren't real sweet, you can add 1/3 cup sugar. You can add up to 1 cup of nuts to any (walnuts are particularly good in raspberry muffins). If using mashed fruit, like bananas, add 1 cup.
1 European Cucumber
Localvore Offerings Include:
3 lbs Frozen Organic Wild Blueberries!
Pa Pa Doodles Farm Fresh Eggs
On the Rise Pizza Dough
Pete's Musings
Our spring is back on track. Rough week with dime sized hail followed by 3 nights in the upper teens and low 20's. But in general the weather has been awesome and it's nice to see the crops grow. No baby greens again this week but we promise you will get them next week. Our greens are still recovering from the hail.
Farm work is going great. Today the crew is planting 5000 strawberry plants to double our strawberry field. Monday our brussel sprouts went in, followed by 1/3 of an acre of leeks and a nice slug of cauliflower. Then our main crop of kale and yesterday Steve seeded the beginning of fall storage beets. Onions are growing fast and our 4 acres of potatoes are not up yet but growing lots of pretty shoots and roots underground.
I'm really excited about this year's weed control. We learned so much last year about cultivation and it seems that we have the potential this year to keep our fields very clean. This is a great development. Proper weed control allows us to properly rotate our crops and not make decisions about what to grow where based on the weed pressure in the field. Weed control is a cumulative project. The better you do one year, the easier is is to do a good job the next.\
We hope you join us for the summer share. It's going to be better than ever and we're excited about where the farm is headed. ~Pete
Google Earth photo of the farm fields taken in 2009. It looks so NEAT from the air. The moving greenhouses are the four that are all the same size - you can see where they would slide back and forth.
Summer Share Sign-Up
There's only a few more weeks left to get your sign up sheet in before the new share period starts. Please send in soon to ensure uninterrupted weekly deliveries of veggies and or localvore products through the summer.
Summer Vegetable and Localvore Share Sign Up
Summer Meat Share Sign Up
Burlington Site News
Along with the existing sites at Adams Court and Grove St, we will add two new Burlington locations bringing the number of Burlington options to four! In addition, you if you sign up for their services, you can have your share delivered to your home or office by the new bicycle delivery company One Revolution. (See last week's newsletter for more info).
NEW! Ward Street - We just added this new site which we hope will be very convenient for folks in the North end or new North end. The new spot is on Ward St, which is just off North Ave. Hours for this site will be noon to 7 pm.
NEW! Burlington/Flynn Ave - Select Design at 208 Flynn Ave (off Pine St) will also be hosting beginning at the start of the summer share. Pick up hours for Select Design will be noon to 5 pm.
Williston Pick Up Site
New! Williston/Blair Park - DEW Construction is located at 277 Blair Park Road, Suite 130. The pick up will be located at the back entrance of this building and pick up hours will be 2 to 5:00pm. It is a short window, but we hope that the site offers convenience for some of you.
Montpelier/True Colors
True Colors will remain our pick up site in Montpelier. The share will move to a different door/building in weeks to come. We will notify you when that change happens and put a new Good Eats poster on the door at that time. The space is just to the left of the present entrance, in the neighboring building, and the space will be dedicated to Good Eats. We are pleased that we can continue our partnership with True Colors and the McQuiggans. It's a good, convenient spot and has the benefit of long pick up hours.
Pete's Pastured Chicken
If you order 5 or more of our pasture raised whole chickens, they are only $3.50/lb (regular price $3.75/lb). This is a great price for well raised pastured birds. These birds which were raised on our pastures in just about the best conditions possible. Their meat is far healthier having assimilated the nutrients of all the forage they consumed.
All free range is not created equal. Many farms that offer "free range" chicken raise their birds just to free range standards which require the birds have access to an outside area. Often times this means that the birds live loose in large barns with a couple openings to small dirt lots outside. This is an improvement over the standard meat bird production, but does not compare to keeping birds outside on pasture and greens throughout their lives. For more info about our ordering chickens, please visit the chicken page.
Localvore Lore
This week we have a special treat for you - Maine wild blueberries! Maine you ask, Maine? OK, I know we have strayed a bit from our mission of really local here, but honestly, we have tried hard to find local wild organic blueberries in quantities enough for the share and it's been challenging. Ben Perrin, one of Maine's largest organic wild blueberry growers, has been providing his beautiful berries to our friend Todd Hardie, for use in Todd's Honey Garden's Blueberry Mead. Todd introduced me to Ben at the grand opening of his new distillery in February, and I drove home that night eating a large cup full of some of the sweetest frozen wild blueberries ever. I resolved that I might have to make an exception to bring you all these berries. Many thanks to Todd and Ben for their efforts in making this happen.
Deb's hen flock is in full on egg laying mode now so you can plan on regular egg deliveries. You may have noticed the eggs were on the smaller size last week. Young hens (aka pullets) lay smaller eggs (pullet eggs), but these will size up considerably in the coming weeks.
We have pizza dough once again from On The Rise Bakery. This dough is made with VT sunflower oil, Milanaise unbleached white flour, Ben Gleason's whole wheat flour, local honey and sea salt. This dough does not need to rise again. For best dough quality you should use it after it reaches room temperature. If you won't be cooking it Wednesday evening, put it in the freezer until you do wish to use it. Then take it out, thaw it, and again, use it as soon as possible after it has thawed. Ben posted the instructions on line along with some instructional videos that you can watch for technique and inspiration. If you make a great looking or great tasting pizza that you are pleased with, email a photo along to Ben or post it to the On the Rise Facebook page.
Recipes
Swiss Chard and Potato Frittata
Leftover frittata makes a great grab and go breakfast! From bigoven.com.
6 large Swiss chard leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium boiling potato, peeled and diced finely
6 large eggs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
Wash the Swiss chard and pat very dry. Cut off and discard the stems, then gather the leaves into a tight bundle and finely chop them.
Heat the oil in a 9- or 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté until the onion turns golden, about 10 minutes. Mix in the potato and cover the pan. Cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the potato is tender and the onions are brown, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the cover and pile on the Swiss chard. Cover again and cook, tossing occasionally, until the leaves are wilted, about 5 minutes. Scrape this mixture onto a plate and let cool. Wipe the pan clean.
Beat the eggs thoroughly in a large bowl. Beat in the cheese, salt and pepper. Stir in the cooled vegetable mixture.
Melt the butter in the skillet over low heat and swirl it around to coat the sides of the pan. Pour in the egg mixture. After about 5 minutes, when the edges begin to set, help the liquid egg pour over the sides of the frittata by occasionally loosening the edges with a rubber spatula and tilting the pan. It should take about 15 minutes for the frittata to become almost completely set.
Preheat the broiler. When the frittata is about 80 percent cooked, slide it under the broiler for a minute or so, until the top is set. (If the handle of your pan isn't ovenproof, wrap a few layers of foil around it before placing it under the broiler.) Let the frittata cool 10 minutes before cutting it into wedges.
Potato Pizza
From Epicurious January 2001
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, green germ removed, thinly sliced
3 medium potatoes (about 14 ounces), peeled, cooked, and thinly sliced into rounds
1/2 cup heavy cream or crème fraîche
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Let dough come to room temp. Dust a baking sheet with semolina flour. Roll out the dough to an 18 x 12 inch rectangle, and fit it onto the baking sheet. Let the dough rise for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Brush the dough with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, then sprinkle it with the garlic slices. Cover it with the potato slices, then drizzle those with the remaining olive oil and the cream. Sprinkle it with the fresh thyme leaves, crushing them as you sprinkle, and season it liberally with pepper, and lightly with salt.
Bake in the center of the oven until the dough is golden at the edges and the cream is bubbling gently, about 35 minutes. Remove, let sit for 5 minutes, then cut and serve.
Beet Risotto
Here's a recipe from Bill that he says is tried and true. Sounds delicious with the addition of the ginger!
2 lbs. beets
3 cups water
1 onion, small dice
1 Tbsp. ginger, peeled, smashed and minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup Arborio* or long-grain rice
.5 cup dry white wine
.5 cup either local blue or goat cheese
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Wrap beets tightly in foil and roast in middle of oven until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Unwrap beets and let stand until cool enough to handle. Discard stems and peel beets. In a blender purée half of beets with 1 cup water and transfer to saucepan, whisking in remaining 2 cups water to make beet broth.
Bring beet broth to a simmer and keep warm.
In a large heavy saucepan cook onion, ginger and garlic in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until onion is softened. Stir in rice and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed. Continue simmering and adding beet broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding next, until about half of broth has been added. Remove from heat once the rice is al dente and stir in the remaining chopped beets and the cheese of your choice. Parmesan can be used as well.
Tip for peeling ginger: A spoon is the easiest and most efficient way to peel ginger. Use the lip of the spoon in a downward motion. As well, slice the ginger into small pieces and smash with the heel of you knife.
Turnip Hash
6 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, small dice
1 lb. turnips, small dice
2 cups hot chicken stock
2 Tbsp, unsalted butter
.5 cup reggiano cheese
.5 cup parsley, rough chop
Salt and pepper, to taste
Warm the chicken stock in a sauce pan over medium-low heat.
Heat the olive oil into a large skillet and turn the heat to medium. Toss in the onion and cook until translucent. Add the turnips and cook for 2 minutes. Ladle in some of the hot chicken stock and cook until absorbed. Continue until all of the stock has been added, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the butter and grated cheese off the heat. Garnish with parsley.
Rosy Beet/ Napa Cabbage Slaw
From Global Cookbook. Serves 4-6.
6 c. Thinly sliced Napa cabbage leaves
1 1/2 c. Minced red onion
2 med Beets, grated
1 c. Minced fresh parsley
1/4 c. Red wine vinegar
1/2 c. Water
2 Tbsp. Brown sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/3 c. Minced fresh dill leaf
3 Tbsp. Minced fresh chives
1/2 c. Low fat lowfat sour cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Combine vegetables and parsley in a large bowl. In a saucepan, combine vinegar, water, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring till sugar is dissolved. Pour over vegetables and toss. Add in dill and chives and fold in well. Cover and let marinate overnight. Stir well once or twice. Just before serving, drain off excess liquid. Stir in lowfat sour cream and add in salt and pepper to taste.
Blueberry Muffins
You all probably have a go to recipe for muffins, but JUST in case you don't, this muffin recipe from the Joy of Cooking is the one I turn to for unfailingly good muffins. You can substitute up to 1 cup whole-wheat flour or whole-wheat pastry flour for an equal measure of all-purpose flour. You can use the liquid ingredient of your choice, from low-fat milk to cream. You can even use sour cream, yogurt or buttermilk if you add in 1/2 tsp baking soda. You can use from a half stick to a whole stick butter. (Definitely opt for the larger qty of butter if you will be eating these muffins hours or a day after being made). Yield 14-16 muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground or freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
2 large eggs
1 cup milk or cream
⅔ cup sugar or packed light brown sugar
¼ to ½ cup (½ to 1 stick) butter, melted, or ¼ to ½ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1.5 cups frozen blueberries
Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a standard 12-muffin pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together thoroughly the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg (if using). In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk or cream, sugar, butter or oil, and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together with a few light strokes, just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in the frozen or thawed blueberries. Do not overmix; the batter should not be smooth. Divide the batter among the muffin cups.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in 1 or 2 of the muffins comes out clean, about 12 to 25 minutes or more depending on how big the muffins are, how big the berries are, whether berries are frozen etc. Let cool for 5 minutes minimum before removing from the pan. If not serving hot, let cool on a rack. Serve as soon as possible, preferably within a few hours of baking.
Variations - You can substitute different berries for this recipe - raspberries, strawberries are great too. When adding berries, if they aren't real sweet, you can add 1/3 cup sugar. You can add up to 1 cup of nuts to any (walnuts are particularly good in raspberry muffins). If using mashed fruit, like bananas, add 1 cup.
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