Muffins Made With Love

When the weather warms up, I look for any excuse to throw berries into a dish. Wanting to cook breakfast for my honey, I looked through the pantry to see what I could find. Way at the top of the shelf was a container of organic cornmeal mix I had bought with my Williams-Sonoma gift card a while back. Sometimes breaking out something you were saving for a special occasion makes it a special occasion. It was a Sunday morning and heart shaped berry corn muffins was the occasion! I just followed the directions on the container and added in blackerberries and blueberries to the batter. They basically made themselves...I will say that the berries added a lovely sweetness to the salty cornmeal mix and they turned out perfect.

If you do not have the organic cornmeal mix on hand, here's a quick and easy recipe for berry cornmeal muffins (heart shaped tin- optional)

INGREDIENTS
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· 3/4 cup cornmeal
· 2 to 2 tbsp. sugar
· 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
· 3/4 tsp. salt
· 2 beaten eggs
· 1 cup milk
· 1/4 cup cooking oil or melted butter
· 1/4 cup fresh blueberries
· 1/4 cup fresh blackberries

DIRECTIONS
(makes 12 muffins)
· preheat oven to 400°
· in a medium bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside
· grease a muffin tin
· in a small bowl, combine eggs, milk, and oil
· add egg mixture to dry ingredients and stir until moistened
· fold in berries being careful not to break them
· pour batter into muffin tin only filling each cup 2/3 full
· bake for approx. 15 minutes and check with toothpick to make sure they are cooked through
· serve warm and with love

Williams Sonoma goodies

My dad gave me a gift card to Williams Sonoma for Christmas. He knows me too well. I am not sure what it is about gift cards, but they burn a hole in my pocket so quickly. We weren't back from our holiday trip for more than a day and I had to go check out the goods that they had to offer. My plan was to use it on something practical, like an electronic kitchen device or a nice bowl or something. I must admit, I am not the most practical shopper, but more an impulsive thrifty one. I saw the sale section and couldn't resist.

From left to right: a $25 dollar bottle of balsamic vinegar that is as sweet as candy, two tubes of Sprinkles spiced cupcake mixes, Organic corn meal mix, an orange W-S spoonula (as RR would say), a can of sugar cookie mix, a jar of Wich Craft cranberry apricot chutney, and a jar of dijon mustard aioli.

I cannot wait to begin cooking and eating these yummy items. I still have money on my gift card and next time I will get something practical!

Thanks, Dad!