Blueberry Muffins and Breakfast smoothies

I’ve been making these muffins for breakfast a lot lately. They are from “The hummingbird bakery cookbook” – thank you Claire for the great, and very well used present.  I’m able to rustle up a batch in ten minutes now, such a wonderful breakfast. More often than not, I use frozen blueberries. Here In Canada I only like the cultivated blueberries, I’m not exactly sure what cultivated blueberries are, but I have a feeling that the have been sprayed with various insecticides, injected with hormones, and been genetically modified. Yup, love giving these to my kids for breakfast. Thing is, the other blueberries here are small and tart, and lousy in the muffins. These muffins are amazing – the buttermilk is a must, and they actually seem to improve with time

 

Blueberry Muffins
2 cups whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 Cups  blueberries

Preheat oven to  350F.

Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases.

Place the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a medium-large bowl and whisk with a fork.

Pour  the buttermilk, egg and vanilla extract into a jug and mix to combine. Slowly pour into the flour mixture and beat until all the ingredients are incorporated.

Pour in the melted butter and beat until the butter is just incorporated – don’t over stir. Finally, gently fold in the blueberries until evenly dispersed.

Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the center should come out clean. Leave the muffins to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Put the kettle on, turn the phone off and enjoy.

Makes 12

Smoothie

Another  great breakfast, especially for those less inclined to the muffin top, is a smoothie. I usually have this for breakfast, Some frozen raspberries and or blackberries, a little maple syrup, a little hot water, milk, blend, perfect.   I am of course STARVING by lunch time when I have this for breakfast, but hey.