Lemon Blueberry Muffin Bread - for Angela!

One of the most brilliant things about summer is the varieties of fruits and vegetables that are bursting all over. I am pretty sure I could eat blueberries all day long, every day, and still not be sick of them (although my body may disagree!). And I know I'll never fall ill with scurvy due to my love of all things citrus, especially lemons and limes. 

A fabulous combination of tastes is blueberry and lemon, and I love making this bread because it's wickedly easy. Honestly, it's more like a cake, because it is extraordinarily moist, but bread-like enough that you can toast it (in a toaster oven anyway) if you like. 

Photo from the PBS Food website, as I didn't take any. Oops.

I found this recipe in an email from PBS Food, as I am a huge PBS nerd (mainly thanks to my dad), and it is really easy to make!

Lemon Blueberry Muffin Bread

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour (I've used gluten free flour before and it turns out well too)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar (I've used refined and demerara sugar - the refined makes for a smoother batter, but the demerara makes for a tastier break in my opinion)
2 eggs, room temperature
2 cups (12 oz.) blueberries, organic is best - rinsed and de-stemmed
2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cups plain yogurt, room temperature

Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the blueberries and zest, and toss to combine together.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
5. Add the yogurt, then the dry ingredients, mixing only until incorporated, and being careful not to crush the blueberries.
6. Scoop the batter into your prepared loaf pan, and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, until golden brown.
7. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting gently onto a plate.

Photo from the PBS Food website.

Tips
- Wrap the bread tightly in plastic wrap, so it stays as moist as possible.
- I usually add more than 2 tsp of lemon zest, because I love a palate forward lemon flavor with the blueberry.
- Room temperature really is best for the butter, eggs, and yogurt - makes for an even creamier bread.
- I use my homemade yogurt, of course. 

I've made this as a breakfast accompaniment, as a dessert, and just had it as a snack (toasted with real butter). It's just the right amount of sweetness, without going overboard. 

Had already planned to post this, as I made it for a Fourth of July picnic, and received a special request from my friend, Angela, who is learning the joys of Oregon farmer's markets of late. I can't wait to visit her in Oregon!!! Happy Baking, my friend!

Do you have a go-to bread that you like to make? 

Or a quick bread? Share the recipe!

Biltmore is nothing when compared to good friends.

Got some awesome news about a friend's new job this week, and it jogged my memory that I hadn't written about hanging out with her (her hubby, and another delightful friend) in February. #BadFriendAndTraveler

My friends, Angela and Ashley, have been in my life since 2005 and 2002 (not 2022 as I originally typed. Derp.) respectively. We all worked for the same unit here at the university, and even though since 2007, we've all been long-distance friends, we still talk, visit when possible, etc. They are both just delightfully beautiful women, inside and out, and I just adore the stuffin' out of them both. Angela is a double joy, because with her, is her amazing hubby, M. 

When Ashley moved to DC (where she still lives), Angela & I were still in the same city, so she & I flew out for a girls' weekend there, and had a really fun time. Both enjoy traveling a lot, and are fun partners-in-crime. We visited the all of the memorials, including the WWII, which I had not yet seen. We went to Mount Vernon, which was really lovely. We went to the Native American Museum on the Mall. In short, we did that city up. 

My favorite photo from our girls' trip to DC. 

Mediterranean Deliciousness as My Lunches This Week (#12)

First note: I have the hardest time spelling Mediterranean. Every single time, I over-think it and add in an extra syllable. One would *think* I'd come up with some mental clues as to how to do it, but thanks to the miracle of spell-check, I guess and red squiggly line it to get the correct spelling. #FirstWorldProblems

<clears throat>

This week's lunch was inspired by last Friday's lunch, which was eaten at one of my fave local joints, Mazah Mediterranean Eatery, with a particularly lovely colleague, Meg. I love Mazah and discovered them via another particularly lovely friend, Angela, in 2010. The restaurant recently moved to a slightly larger location, basically around the corner from where it's been since it opened and just YUM. 

The food is fresh, homemade in so very many cases, service is friendly and I'm not only supporting a local business, but a locally owned family business. Total score. 

I will say, the new & larger location is awesome and the food was delicious, but I will say, I think they are experiencing some growing pains. The new location is easily twice the size, and so the service on this visit was pretty slow and not that attentive. It was also lunch, although a bit later than rush, and still busy - everyone seemed to be really busy and a touch flustered. 

Also, if you have a sensitive nose to smells - the tables were all made for the restaurant by one of the owners and stained recently. They are gorgeous, but still off-gassing, so either wait or try to snag one of their sidewalk tables. 

Ok, so my favorite thing to get at Mazah is their vegetarian grape leaves. They are simply delicious - flavorful, tender and just delicious. I don't ever see myself undertaking making them because I just don't think I'd ever be able to do them justice. Plus, with Mazah not terribly far away from home or work, why would I? 

A few weeks' ago, I stopped into Trader Joe's to pick up the two things we only buy from them (as opposed to the many items I always impulse buy there). I had quickly picked up the bag of shredded parmesan cheese, and was headed to get their green chilies, when a few shelves below, I noticed Trader Joe's had vegetarian grape leaves in a tin. 

First, I find it odd to buy entree-like-items in cans. It smacks of Spam or beef stew. Second, MAZAH! But curiosity got the better of me, especially after reading the label and not finding anything horrible in it. 

I'll be honest, I've looked at the tins in my pantry the last few weeks.....but gone past them, due to nervousness. 

I am a 

Connecting story to my canned vegetarian grape leaves: Last week was our bi-monthly (as in every two months, not twice a month) work gathering for my floor. Work hasn't exactly been *challenging* of late, so with full disclosure to my bosses, I've started a group dedicated to fun in the workplace. It's maybe 6-ish people and I email them my hare-brained ideas, they say yay or nay, and we go about making stuff happen. I have titled us the Renegade Fun Group. 

We meet in the communal area on our floor, everyone brings in whatever they want to share, we stand around, chat, make up a reason to be gathering, and generally have a fun time with our colleagues. Last week was our third gathering, and the first with a theme, which was Healthy Snacks. 

Another colleague, Leslie, made and shared a delicious concoction of Greek yogurt, cucumber, avocado, tomato with dill, salt and pepper and garlic powder. She had taken part of the avocado and smashed it into the yogurt so that it was the pretty green color of the avocado meat, then chunked the rest of the avocado, as well as the chopping the cukes and maters. It was pretty scrumptious. 

Put all of this stuff together and you basically have my Lunches This Week. 

Had a small head of Bibb lettuce and a larger head of romaine. After washing and spinning it dry, chopped it up and put 2 cups of the lettuces into 3 lunch containers. 

Cracked open the delectable veggie grape leaves and put 6 on top of each container with the lettuces. 

Took my Homemade Greek Yogurt, and did what Leslie did, only in lieu of maters (The Chez was out), added thinly sliced carrots (after I peeled them o'course). I also added some lemon juice, as well as some of the marinade that was in the tins with the grape leaves. It was scrumptious!!!!

 

For my lunches, I'm taking a 1/2 cup of the yogurt/avocado/cuke/carrot mixture to plop on top of the salad, essentially so there's no other dressing. The total calorie count is 311 calories. 

So freaking tasty!!!

Just had today's lunch and I'm already lamenting that tomorrow will be the last. We need to pop over to Trader Joe's in the next few weeks, so their Dolmas tins are now added to the regularly shopped items list I keep. 

Sorry, long-winded, but STORIES!

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - 2 cups lettuces, 6 vegetarian grape leaves, 1/2 cup of avocado yogurt dip + 1 cup of homemade Greek yogurt and 6 oz organic blueberries. 

Thursday - a section of my freezer friendly quinoa/wild rice/spinach/kale casserole + 1 cup of homemade Greek yogurt and 6 oz. organic blueberries.

Friday - a section of my freezer friendly quinoa/wild rice/spinach/kale casserole + 1 cup of homemade Greek yogurt and some sort of fruit from the freezer (kiwi? peaches? strawberries?). I really need to do an inventory this weekend. 

Have you discovered an unexpected food in a tin/can/container of late? 

Share your favorite find!!

What To Pack for A Very Special Adventure.

After my year of commuting between Ohio and The 'Shire, I became very adept at packing a suitcase. Before then, I tended to over pack, like always bringing that one pair of shoes that never got worn, or that one extra sweater that never got worn. 

I started watching the weather pattern in Dublin a few months ago, since I had no idea what to expect. I knew Ireland, as an island, tends to stay within a range nicely - they never get really cold or really hot, being so far west and right on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. It appears we'll have weather with highs in high 50's and lows in low 50's, with a smattering of rain here and there. In short, perfect as far as Spouse and I are concerned.

I decided layers is really the way to go - and honestly not that far off how I dress each day. Being a private-school kid my entire secondary education career, I tend to a uniform, even as an adult. I really would appreciate adult Garanimals. I still find it a challenge to dress myself each day, hence why I tend to have a uniform of items - just different colors or textures. 

We'll be moving about, so laundry isn't really an option (I don't think), so I needed a plan to get me through 12-13 days without washing my stuff. 

Basic list of what I'm taking:
- three pairs of shoes, all very comfortable, well-worn, etc. (black, brown, metallic)
- three pairs of jeans
- three short sleeve tees (dark heather gray, white, black)
- two long-sleeved tees (maroon, navy-striped boat-neck)
- four open front cardigans (white, black, olive green,navy)
- one pull-over sweater (dove gray)
- five camis to layer under tees and/or cardigans (white, black, light green, navy, salmon)
- one workout outfit
- one knee-length rain coat
- two scarves (I travel with one around my neck no matter the season)
- one dress, in case we do a "nice" dinner - it's knit so will travel well

I was going to stick with one color palette (black/grays) but decided I have too many fun and comfortable clothes in a rainbow of fun colors, so I can mix it up. 

Here is everything in my favorite baby rolling piece. At this juncture, even though everything does fit nicely, I will bump up to the one size up from this. There are some things I want to buy for myself and others, plus a few folks have given me items to buy, if I can find them at a reasonable price. So  the extra space may come in handy. 

I'm also heading the advice of my lovely friend, Angela, when it comes to other pieces of clothing....she is ever so practical, yet graceful. 

I anticipate schlepping luggage myself between stops and stuff, so the green piece next size up piece is my favorite because it is fun-sized, but the next one up, isn't *that* much larger - just allows a wee bit more real estate. 

Plus, the outfit I am planning on wearing will be one pair of jeans, a cami, a short-sleeved tee, the pull-over sweater (my bulkiest piece), and one of the scarves. 

I've also decided to travel with the majority of my home-made personal toiletries (deo, facial cloths, toothpaste, toner) to see how they do. Could mean a run into the Irish version of CVS, but we'll see. I packed the facial cloths in a plastic baggie, then put the baggie into a snackTAXI, so even if the baggie gets punctured, it won't leak out.  

I'll let you know on the other side of the trip, how I did. If there's something that didn't get worn, if something leaked, if I ran out of something. Fingers crossed!!

Also, 3 hours to take-off!!!