Blueberry Apricot Muffins

It's raining cats and dogs outside, there's nothing on TV...so what do you do? Well, that's when I start to bake. Mainly because afterwards I will be able to crawl up on the couch underneath my duvet with a cup of hot cocao, a newly baked muffin and continue to read the book I started yesterday. Then the rain outside seems a whole lot more cosy than half an hour ago...especially when I remember the lovely summer's day that I picked the blueberries I used in these muffins!

Today I tried to bake muffins with the wholegrain spelt flour I found this weekend at one of the larger supermarkets down in the village....and the result: DE-LI-CIOUS!!!

Blueberry Apricot Muffins
(makes about 18 muffins)

Ingredients:
125 gr butter
1 dl sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1 dl dried apricots, finely chopped
2 tsp baking powder
1,5 dl wholegrain spelt flour
3 dl all-purpose flour
1,5 dl milk
2 dl blueberries (preferably frozen)

1.) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
2.) Mix the butter with the sugar in a medium sized bowl with a handmixer, until light and airy.
3.) Add the eggs one at a time.
4.) Add the vanilla sugar, the apricots, the baking powder and the two types of flour, and stir well.
5.) Add the milk and the blueberries, and stir until it becomes a smooth batter.
6.) Line a muffin pan with paper muffin forms, or put double paper muffins forms unto a baking tray.
7.) Use two spoons to divide the batter over the muffin forms, approximately 1 tbsp of batter per form.
8.) Bake the muffins for 15 to 20 minutes on the middle rack of the oven, until golden brown. Check with a cake needle that the muffins are baked completely.
9.) Transfer the muffins to a rack to cool, after they have cooled down in the muffin pan for 5 minutes first.

Enjoy!

Banana Blueberry Yoghurt Popsicles

With the temperature rising above 25 degrees today, as it has done every day this last week, I started to rummage in the kitchen cupboard the other day...trying to find those old fashioned popsicle molds I got from my mom some years ago.

When I was little my mom used to make yoghurt popiscles for me and my sisters....I guess these memories from back in the days are so strong, that I do not consider it to be summer until I have eaten a homemade popsicle in the sun...

The whole rummaging for popsicle molds came about after I found this recipe by Martha Stewart. These popsicles are delicious!!!

Banana Blueberry Yoghurt Popsicles
(makes about 8)

Ingredients:
450 gr ripe bananas
0,4 dl yoghurt (plain or vanilla)
3 tbs of sugar
juice of half a lemon
0,3 dl of fresh blueberries

1.) Peel the bananas and put them into a blender. Puree the bananas until smooth.
2.) Add sugar, yoghurt and lemon juice, and blend.
3.) Pour half of the mixture into the popsicle molds.
4.) Add blueberries to the remaining half of the mixture and puree a bit more. You'll want to leave some blueberry chunks into the mixture, so that it's not completely smooth.
5.) Pour the rest of the mixture into the popsicle molds.
6.) Transfer to the freezer and leave until frozen (this takes about 8 hours).
7.) When you want to serve a popsicle, dip the molds quickly in hot water (or hold under a running tap) to unmold.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Smoothies

After a couple of weeks with pretty bad weather - as in snow falling in the middle of May!!! - the sun finally came out again yesterday and gave us the feeling that summer might be getting near.

Summer is synonymous with berry picking for me. Already in May I am looking forward to spending a couple of those long summer days out in the forest or at the farm of the in-laws, just sitting there amidst the bushes picking bucket loads of blueberries, lingonberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants and gooseberries.... and believe me when I say that I can sit there for hours on end!

I guess this passion for berry picking started when I was growing up. After moving from Wilnis to Laren (both in The Netherlands) when I was approximately four years old, my father planted vegetables and berry bushes at the back of our new garden. We cultivated lettuce, rhubarb, haricot vert, tomatoes and redcurrants, just for our own use. I wasn't forced to help in the garden, cultivating the vegetables and berries, but was allowed to help my father water the plants when I showed interest. Of course, while helping I could sneak a couple of ripe berries into my mouth! :-) My husband, on the other hand, was forced by his parents to pick berries every summer while growing up and therefore hates it now.

After all the berries are picked, I turn them into juices, jams and marmelades, or just freeze them to be used in muffins, cakes and smoothies during winter. It's always nice to be reminded of those long summer days during those long dark months of winter here in Norway.

With summer getting near, I always take a look in the freezer to see how much of last years "loot" is left over and try to use it all before Midsummer's Eve and the new harvest. I discovered yesterday that I still had quite a bit of blueberries left, so today it was time for smoothies!

Blueberry Smoothies

2 ripe bananas
0,5 ltr vanilla yoghurt
700 gr frozen blueberries

Just put all the ingredients into the blender and mix it all together! This makes approximately 1 liter of smoothies.

Enjoy!