Blueberry Basil Muffins

A plate of blueberry-basil muffins

Blueberry Basil Muffins

July in Indiana brings two of my all-time favorite flavors: Blueberries and Basil.  And they’re wonderful together.  Things have been really crazy lately, with hot, long days working in the field.  My body was crying out for a rest, with a long, hot, four days of Culver Lakefest on the horizon.  I didn’t really have the time, but I opted to listen to my body and spend some time in the kitchen this morning.  Haven’t spent any quality time in there since Hole in the Woodstock, anyway.  So, I came up with these Blueberry Basil Muffins to celebrate. Continue reading

X-Factor Muffins

Wild Black Raspberry muffins

The Wild Black Raspberry version of X-Factor Muffins

I’ve long made muffins using the “Old School Muffins” recipe in Alton Brown’s I’m Just Here for More Food.  I like the tender texture and the more moderate sweetness of his recipe, as compared with more typical modern recipes, which are more like cupcakes.  However, I wanted to make muffins to celebrate Wild Black Raspberries, but had not had time to make yogurt.  It turns out our local “grocery store” doesn’t actually sell plain yogurt(!), so buying some was nixed.  My wife, Xenia, suggested substituting sour cream instead.

The substitution was inspired!  It did require a bit of fiddling with the leavening, because sour cream is not as acidic as yogurt.  But the result is even better.  Hence, in honor of Xenia, I dub these, X-Factor Muffins.

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