It’s
just too hot to cook.
This
week is the hottest week yet we’ve experienced in Warsaw with near record highs of 33 and 35C (91-95 F). Living
without AC like most Poles means sleeping is quite uncomfortable, so we’re
hightailing it to a hotel for the next two nights. Yesterday, I even leisurely
strolled the aisles in a grocery store for nearly an hour because it was the
coolest place I could find.
But
last week, when temperatures weren’t near as hot, I baked a batch of mini
muffins with Polish wild blueberries
for hubby to take to work for our Turkish friend’s final week in Poland.
Wild
blueberries have been in season for nearly two months, and I cannot get enough
of them! They are much smaller than cultivated varieties and have a distinct,
almost winey, sweet flavor. I’ve eaten handfuls of the wild blueberries just by
themselves as well in cereal, yogurt and in my Independence
Day Berry Cobbler. I even made a batch of blueberry-ginger jam and
blueberry cheesecake ice
cream.
Sadly,
the wild blueberries at Hala Mirowska
seem to be disappearing, and normal-sized blueberries have replaced them. Luckily,
I stashed away a kilo or two of the wild blueberries in the freezer so I can
make another batch of these muffins when our Istanbul friends arrive next month.
These
muffins are a combination of lemon-poppy seed and blueberry – a perfect
pairing! Hope you enjoy them as much as our friend, Ozerk, did!
Smacznego! (Bon appétit
in Polish)
Mini Muffins
with Wild Polish Blueberries
Yields:
48 mini muffins
Ingredients:
1
¾ c. all-purpose
flour
½ c. granulated
sugar
2 tsp. baking
powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 ea. lemon
zest, freshly grated
1 tsp. poppy
seeds
1 ea. large
egg, beaten
¾ c. milk
¼ c. sunflower
or vegetable oil
1 c. fresh
or frozen wild blueberries
1. Preheat your oven to 375F/190C. Also,
line mini muffin pans with paper baking cups.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the
flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, lemon zest and poppy seeds.
3.
Create a well in the center of the
dry ingredients.
4. In a second bowl, mix together the egg,
milk and oil. Add this mixture into the well of the previous bowl. Using a
rubber spatula, stir just until moistened. Batter will be slightly lumpy.
5.
Lastly, fold in the wild
blueberries. If you are using frozen, I like to toss them with a little flour
to help prevent them from sticking together.
6. Using a spoon, fill the paper cups
about 2/3s of the way full. Bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden
on top. Optional: sprinkle a bit of raw sugar on top of the muffins before
baking.
2 comments:
I got my fill of blueberries in Sweden, massive ones. Why don't we grow them in Turkey, I wonder?
@Annie, Yum! In Istanbul, I'd find them now and then randomly at one of the pazars. I was told, if I understood correctly, some farmers in the Karadeniz region have started growing them, but it will take a few years before there are good crops. That would be great!
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