The Giant Blueberry Muffin
Louisa has had a craving for giant blueberry muffins for several months. Usually I make chocolate chip banana muffins, because what else can you do with over-ripened bananas? But today was a snow day, and she wanted to whip up something special for breakfast. Would cinnamon rolls be possible? No, not really because they take time to rise. How about banana muffins, Louisa? (I’ve been saving a few special black ones for the occasion.) Nope. How about blueberry muffins, mom? Sold! I just happened to have picked up a large box of fresh blueberries at Trader Joe’s this week, just because they looked good and were on sale.
So we went down to the kitchen, pulled out my recipe, and set to work making these large, coffee cake blueberry muffins. They’re not exactly giant, but they’re bigger than the usual banana variety. Louisa was happy. So were the rest of us. A perfect start to a snowy morning.
No Need for Panic in the Supermarket Aisles
Don't Add These to Your Pasta
It’s no surprise that in an effort to grab eyeballs, “Time Magazine” has produced a list of The Top 10 Most Dangerous Foods. But in order to avoid a panic in the supermarket, I will reassure you that there’s no real news in this list. In fact, my guess is that most folks have never heard of several of these items, and will probably never run across them in their lives.
Fugu, the Japanese blowfish delicacy won’t hit many plates in the U.S. or elsewhere at $200 a dish. And you’ll only need to worry about the unripe ackee fruit on your next trip to Jamaica. I’ve never met a person allergic to tapioca pudding, but be cautious the next time you run into a cassava plant.
The next couple of warnings fall into the “this isn’t news category”. Anyone with a kid in grade school knows that peanuts are both villains and heroes with peanut butter the lunchtime staple for many, and peanuts the fearful allergen of others. Tuna is another dual personality food, wonderful for its brain boosting abilities, and dangerous for the mercury levels. Just be sure not to eat too many pounds of it each week. Rhubarb has been around as a springtime pie ingredient for years, but any baker using it knows to toss the leaves away.
Hot dogs are another “dangerous” food that moms have been warned for years to cut into small pieces for their children. But really, are they any more dangerous than other large chunks of food? Apples? Soft pretzels? Grapes? And I’m sure that many kids will be happy to hear that leafy greens made the top 10 dangerous list. “But Mom, the spinach is too dangerous for me to eat.” You know “Time”, it’s not the plants, it’s the humans that are mishandling them.
That brings us to the last two items, mushrooms and coffee. This is just plain silly. Mushrooms? A most dangerous food? Only if you’re picking wild mushrooms and don’t know what you’re doing! That’s like saying picking and eating poison ivy leaves is dangerous. And coffee. “Time” must be joking with this one. They’re not referring to the elevated heart rate or sleep deprivation. No, coffee has made the list because of the dangers related to hot coffee being spilled on your lap. In hindsight, this article must have been an April Fool’s piece that was run a little too soon.
Quote of the Week – 2/24/10
“C is for cookie, that’s good enough for me.”
Cookie Monster from Sesame Street.