Lovin' From the Oven

Buttermilk Blackberry Crumble Muffins

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Happy summer! Have I apologized lately about how I severely suck at posting during June, July, and August? Without fail, summer comes around and my computer collects a layer of dust while I’m out enjoying the weather. Basically, I get lazy. Instead of baking, I’ll fall asleep under an umbrella in my backyard or on the beach.

Since I’m partially living at my parent’s house at the moment, I’m spoiled by not having to cook dinner. I can get away with showing up around dinner time with food ready to eat.

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My dad does, however, constantly asks for sweets. That is one thing that is not made in the house when I’m away: dessert.

That’s also one thing I can and will gladly do.

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I love baking with fruits during the summer because grocery stores are overflowing with ripe, plump, and colorful goods. Nothing screams summer more than fresh berries, pineapple, and watermelon!

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Don’t get too caught up in the office this summer. Go out and enjoy this glorious weather! We haven’t quite hit the 90’s yet where I live, so this mid 80 degree weather calls out to me every day.

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I don’t really bake with blackberries too often, so the amount of seeds in these muffins caught me off guard. Do people actually like biting into all those little blackberry seeds? I never notice them when eating the fruit as is, but in desserts, I feel as if you need to crush and strain the blackberries before adding them in.

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Then again, that would defeat the purpose of having whole fruit mixed into the batter. You’d be adding more of a jam swirl into these muffins if you did that.

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In the end, it’s really all about personal preference. I thought there were way too many blackberries and it overpowered the batter. I’d halve the amount of blackberries and deseed them prior to adding them in next time. Recipe from Scarletta Bakes.

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Buttermilk Blackberry Crumble Muffins

Yield: 14 muffins

Ingredients

    For the muffins:
  • 3/4 c. white sugar, granulated
  • 5 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 c. buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 c. all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 c. blackberries, roughly chopped
    • For the crumble topping:
  • 3/4 c. dark brown sugar, tightly packed
  • 1/2 c. Maria cookies, crushed (You can use any type of plain vanilla cookies here, I just suggest that you crush them relatively unevenly -don’t completely pulverize all the cookies- and leave a few larger chunks for some crunch in the finished muffins.)
  • 3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. Line the cavities of a standard-sized muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
  3. To prepare the crumble topping, toss the sugar, crushed cookies and melted butter in a small bowl with your hands until well combined. Set aside.
  4. Meanwhile, begin preparing the muffins by creaming the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, and then the flour and baking powder alternating with the buttermilk, mixing just until you have a uniform batter. Fold in the chopped blackberries and fill the lined muffin cavities approximately 2/3 full. Top each muffin generously with the crumble topping. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Serve baked muffins warm or store in a covered container for up to 1 week.
https://lovintheoven.com/buttermilk-blackberry-crumble-muffins/

Creamy Avocado Pesto Pasta

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I’m so excited that it’s spring. That means we’re one step closer to avocado and watermelon season. Avocado truly is a food of the gods. It tastes great in so many ways! Remember the avocado smoothie I made a while back? Who would have thought that avocados go well in drinks?

It’s a pretty creamy fruit, so I figured mashing it into a pasta sauce would work. It tasted a little bland on its own, but throw in some pesto and you’ve got yourself a winner.

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Heck, I even tricked my non-vegetable-or-anything-green-eating-DB into having a couple of bites! He just figured it was plain pesto pasta and gobbled it right up. It wasn’t until he saw the avocado peel sitting on the counter that he realized this wasn’t just pesto pasta and immediately spat out his bite.

Oh well, at least I got one step further than anyone else ever has. My DB ate avocados for the first time in his life!

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I don’t understand how anyone can hate avocados. They’re just too good. My DB won’t eat them because they’re green, making them fall into the “vegetable” category even though it’s technically a fruit. What a sad, sad, life he lives.

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This pasta is best served immediately, as avocados have the tendency to brown. Just because they’re mashed doesn’t mean that they won’t brown as a sauce. This sauce isn’t meant to be reheated, either (But don’t worry, I’ve tried it and it’s fine. It just browns a bit when you do, which might not be the best served for guests). Shhh… we’ll save the reheating for eating alone in our kitchens.

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I could eat this for every meal and be content. Avocado, pesto, and pasta? That’s the secret to happiness!

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Creamy Avocado Pesto Pasta

Ingredients

  • 1 avocado, pitted and ripened
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon pesto
  • 8 oz pasta of your choice
  • water to boil the pasta

Directions

  1. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.
  2. While the pasta is cooking, make your sauce by mixing all of the other ingredients in a bowl and mashing it with a fork until smooth. You could also throw everything in a food processor for quicker results.
  3. Drain the pasta. Toss with the sauce and serve immediately.
https://lovintheoven.com/creamy-avocado-pesto-pasta/

 

Acai Berry Smoothie

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I really need to invest in a good blender. I always walk by the Vitamix blender at Costco and linger for a while. Right now, I’m using a cheap $20 blender that I picked up for convenience from Target or someplace. It’s the loudest thing ever and takes ten minutes for me to crush four ice cubes. Not to mention that I may or may not have cracked the glass while putting it away and now it has a huge line going down the side.

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I’m pretty sure one day it’s just going to burst and all the contents of my smoothie will be covering my walls and ceiling. I’ll keep pushing it until that day comes. Why? Well, it’s hard to have so many appliances when you’re moving every year. I can’t wait until the day comes where I will be living in a house that I own. No more renting, no more moving. Just a permanent space to really call my own personal kitchen.

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Until that day comes, I’ll be making simple smoothies. Nothing fancy, nothing too hard to blend down. Who has $500 dollars to spend on a blender, anyways? Ouch.

I bought this acai juice from Costco and it comes in a double pack. It tastes great as is, but even better when you thicken it up with some ice and yogurt. You can replace this brand with any other acai juice you can find in your grocery aisle.

Again, this is just a base smoothie recipe. Feel free to add more ice, juice, or yogurt depending on your desired consistency. You can even throw in some real berries if you’re so lucky!

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Acai Berry Smoothie

Ingredients

  • 1 cup acai juice
  • 1 cup ice
  • 3/4 cup vanilla yogurt (can also use greek yogurt)

Directions

  1. Blend all ingredients until smooth.
https://lovintheoven.com/acai-berry-smoothie/

 

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