Strawberry Muffins

The Recipe

3 1/2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup half-n-half or milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups chopped strawberries
1 tsp cinnamon mixed with 2 tsp sugar

Preheat oven to 375; oil (or line with paper) 2 12-cup muffin tins.

Mix first four ingredients in large bowl; set aside. Whisk eggs in medium bowl until light; whisk in half-n-half or milk, oil, and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Toss strawberries with flour mixture. Add liquid to dry, stirring just until most of the flour disappears. DO NOT OVERMIX! Spoon batter evenly into muffin tins. Carefully sprinkle cinnamon-sugar over muffin tops.

Bake 18-20 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Makes 24 muffins.

The Story

So far we've picked 26 lb. of strawberries this summer at Lee's Turkey Farm. We've frozen a lot and eaten a whole lot!

I searched around on the interwebz for good strawberry muffin recipes, but there are wide variations. This is my version, the way I like them. I had half-n-half sitting around and I used it up here, it was awesome, but milk works just as well. (Just not fat-free half-n-half, it has no place in a diet for humans.)

Enjoy the end of strawberry season! Blueberries are coming on strong!

Indian-style Eggplant

The Recipe

1 tsp. brown mustard seeds 3 T. veg oil or ghee 1 onion, sliced thinly lengthwise 2 in. piece of ginger, peeled and chopped very finely 4 long eggplants (often called "Chinese"), quartered and sliced into 1 in. chunks 1/2 tsp. turmeric 2 tsp. Sambhar Masala (see The Story) 1 14oz can diced tomatoes 1 or 2 hot chile peppers, chopped pretty darn finely 1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper salt to taste 1 cup or so water, veg stock or leftover bean cooking liquid

Heat oil in large pot; add mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add the onion. Stir & fry for a minute or two, then add the ginger, and keep stirring until the onions brown nicely. Add the eggplant; stir to coat with oil and stirfry for 5 min. Add the turmeric and Sambhar Masala; fry for a minute until the kitchen smells heavenly. Add the tomatoes & your choice of liquid, the pepper, some salt, and the chile(s). Stir well; bring to boil, reduce to simmer, and let cook for a good half hour, until the eggplant is lovely soft and the chiles have made it spicy. Serve over brown basmati rice.

The Story

Was going to pick up the ingredients for dinner, but too expensive. I pretty much invented this out of what I had in the fridge. Nice hearty stewed dish. I served it with roasted cauliflower & sweet potatoes (cut into similarly-sized pieces, toss with oil and a few cumin seeds, roast at 375 until brown in spots, turning occasionally, about 30 minutes; dust with Garam Masala and you're all set.)

This is about as traditionally Indian as I am- not at all. But it's inspired by those flavors, and I did get some of the ingredients at the local Indo-Pak grocery. That's something, isn't it?

*Sambhar Masala is a spice blend, like curry powder and Garam Masala. I made my own from a recipe in a book. Here are some places if you want to make your own: IndiaCurry.com's Sambhar Masala or Food-India.com's Sambhar Masala. A quick Google search reveals, as expected, that there are as many versions of this as there are Indian cooks. I bet you could buy one from a quality spice vendor, too.

Turkey talk

Lee Turkey Farm is taking orders. Placed yours yet?

Summer in Jersey

First tomato of the season came out of the garden today!

Cherry Grove Farm

Nice article in the Star-Ledger about Cherry Grove Farm in Lawrenceville.

Asparagus and Ricotta Fritatta

The Recipe

1 bunch local asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 in. lengths
1 Tbsp. olive oil
6 eggs
1/2 bunch Italian (aka flat leaf) parsley leaves, finely chopped
1/2 of a 15oz container ricotta cheese

In a 10 in. nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron skillet, saute' the asparagus in the olive oil until just about done, between 3-8 minutes depending on the thickness of the stalks. When almost done, turn the heat down to low, and season liberally with salt & pepper.

Turn on the broiler to low. Beat the eggs lightly with the parsley and pour over the asparagus in the skillet. Drop the ricotta cheese over the top in medium- sized dollops, randomly over the top. Pop the skillet into the oven until the eggs are just set, about 2 minutes (but don't turn your back on it! Only you know how hot your broiler is and you don't want to burn up dinner.) Cut into 8 wedges and serve. Feeds 4 folks as a main dish for dinner.

The Story

Yes, this recipe is just what it sounds like- I used up leftovers in the fridge with some lovely asparagus. The kids loved it, however, and asked if I could make it again- so that's a winner-and I figured I should write it down. I made some roasted roots with it: couple carrots & couple fat potatoes cut into uniform chunks. Add a chopped onion, some dried thyme and some paprika, toss to coat with olive oil, and roast at 400 until done (1/2 hour or more depending on the size of the potatoes.) Has a nice eggs and hash browns feel that way, just with more veggies.

Would work maybe even better with goat cheese. Try 4 oz, broken into chunks.

Not sure how to tag this: lunch? Dinner? breakfast? vegetarian? leftovers? It works in a lot of categories. So I'll start a new one for eggs.

New Central Jersey Farmers Market

Hightstown is starting its own Farmers Market, Fridays through the summer from 3-7, by Peddie Lake. (That's the corner of Morrison and Main Streets, aka the corner of Rt. 33 and Rt. 539, aka the park by the library.)

They're starting small but hopefully more farmers will join in soon. Come out and get what's fresh!


(Cross-posted to The Center of NJ Life)