Blueberries are in season and the markets are lousy with them!  Take advantage of the bumper crop and celebrate the father in your life with these muffins.  (If you aren’t having brunch make ‘em anyway and freeze what you don’t eat.  But if you eat them all, and you might, don’t blame me.)

Here’s What You Need for the Streusel Topping:

1/3 cup brown sugar (light or dark it doesn’t matter); 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; 2 tablespoons chilled butter cut into small cubes; 1/2 cup of chopped pecans; 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour

Here’s What You Do for the Topping:

When you measure out the brown sugar really pack it down. 

Place all of the ingredients into a bowl.  Mix all of the ingredients together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  It’ll be chunky.  Set the topping mixture aside and make the batter.

Here’s What You Need for the Muffin Batter:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I’ve used whole wheat and it makes more dense muffin but it’s good); 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (make sure it’s fresh.  Don’t pull the stuff out of the fridge that you use to deodorize or the muffins will taste like dirty fridge); 1 teaspoon baking powder; 2/3 cup brown sugar; 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil; 1 egg; 1/2 cup buttermilk; 2 teaspoons vanilla; 1 cup fresh blueberries; 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Here’s What You Do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (Preheat just means turn it on and leave it until you’re ready to put something in.)

Next, lightly grease the insides and top surface of a 12 muffin cup pan.  (This is the only special equipment you need for this recipe.  If you don’t have one…I don’t have any clever substitutions.  You’ll need one.)  I use a cheating method…I buy Baker’s Joy or Pam for baking.  If you have an oil spray like Pam use it.  If not just dribble about 1 Tablespoon of veggie or canola oil on a paper towel and rub the oil all over the inside and outside of the pan.

In a largish bowl place all of your dry ingredients.  Give them a whisk and set aside. 

In another bowl whisk together all of the wet ingredients.

Next, fold the wet ingredients into the dry.  That means pour about 1/3 of wet ingredients into the dry and stir it around using your whisk. 

Repeat with another third.  Finish with the final third.   Finally, with a wooden spoon or spatula, gently fold in the beautiful blueberries. 

Take care not to mash up the blueberries or your batter will be a greyish color when done.

Using an ice-cream scoop if you have one, scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan.  Try to get each cup evenly filled. 

It batter should reach about 2/3 of the way up the cup. 

Top each filled cup with some of the streusel topping.

Bake about 20 to 25 minutes.  They should look like this when done (hello lovers!)…

Take them out of the oven and let cool for about 15 minutes.  Then carefully turn them out onto a rack to cool completely.  (Look at the beautiful berries poking through!  Delicious!  You’ll want to eat one hot and I recommend that you do.  Immediately.)

The muffins are kind of delicate so some of the topping might fall off or the edges might come away.  Who cares?  Once you try one of these babies you will never go back to store bought muffins!  I showed off with these beauties at a brunch with my friends Mark and Bryan last week.  They were a huge hit.  Make them…go on…show off a little.

It will really help keep the avocado looking fresh. This tip also works with guacamole. You know how some people put an avocado pit in the bowl to keep the guacamole from blackening? Well…it might look nice…but it doesn’t work. Any portion of the guac that comes in contact with the air will turn that icky black even if there is a pit in it! So…if you have any left-over guacamole (you should be ashamed of yourself! Who leaves guacamole?) do the same thing with the plastic wrap. Simply lay it directly on top of the guacamole…not on the lip of the bowl…and press it down. Even if the bowl has a lid…do the plastic wrap trick. Your guac will not get black and gross and you’ll have it for the next day.

But one of the traditional meals that I wanted to try was schnitzel.  We had grand plans to hit Schnitzel Louie, a restaurant that only does schnitzel, the Austrian/German dish comprised of flattened and breaded pork shoulder or loin.  But, we never made it to Schnitzel Louie (where if you eat the whole schnitzel the second is free and ketchup is considered a scourge) because I was too busy eating the rest of the city.  So, I came home still dreaming about breaded and fried meat.  But considering that my jeans are slightly smaller than they were a week ago, I decided to do schnitzel with a California twist!  Instead of the traditional pork, I used chicken.  And instead of serving it with the traditional fried potatoes, I opted for a super simple salad.   Now don’t write saying it’s not really schnitzel…I know it’s not…but try it anyway.  It was delicious and easy-peasy (as my Berlin friends are fond of saying).

Here’s What You Need for the schnitzel:

One skinless chicken breast; 1/3 cup of bread crumbs; 1 egg beaten; 1 T of flour; two wedge of lemon; salt and pepper; olive oil. 

Here’s What You Need for the Salad:

Half of a peeled cucumber; 4 radishes; half of a small orange; 1/4 of an avocado; 1/2 of a lemon; 1 T chopped italian parsley; olive oil; salt and pepper.

Here’s What You Do:

You have to get the chicken breast really flat.  So, what you do is butterfly it.  I know this sounds challenging, but it’s not.  Just lay the rinsed chicken breast on a clean cutting board, with the rounded part facing up. 

Then place one hand on top of the breast.  With a paring knife in your other hand, just insert the knife at the top of the breast and run the knife down the breast toward the bottom, taking care not to cut all of the way through to the other side.  Then just open the chicken up like a book.  (Don’t worry about how it looks…you’re going to pound the daylights out of it in a minute.)  If it’s not laying out flattish, just cut it along the seam a little more until it lays out flat.  If the flattened breast is gigantic, and it might be, just cut all of the way through the seam so you have two pieces (that’s what I did because I knew it wouldn’t fit in my skillet). 

Then place one of the halves between two pieces of plastic wrap. 

If you have a meat mallet (which I don’t) pound the hell out of the piece until it’s about 1/4 inch thick.  (I used a heavy metal serving spoon…a can of veggies or tuna also works well.) Start pounding in the middle and work your way out toward the edges.  Then repeat with the other half.

Put the flour on one plate, the beaten egg on another (crack the egg directly on the plate and beat it) and the bread crumbs on a third plate.  Sprinkle the bread crumbs with salt and pepper.

In the meantime, make the salad.  Just chop the cucumber and radishes into thin slices, cube the oranges and avocados.  Place them all in a bowl and squeeze the lemon over all of it.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the parsley and salt and pepper.  Toss it all together and set it aside. 

Going back to the schniztel….pour about two tablespoons of olive oil into a skillet and turn the heat onto medium-high.  (The oil should cover the entire bottom of the pan.)  Then taking one of the flattened pieces of chicken place it on the plate with the flour.  Coat the piece of chicken with flour on both sides and then give it a little shake to remove any excess flour.  Next place the floured chicken piece in the egg.  Coat both sides and then let the excess drip off.  Then place the floured/egged chicken piece in the bread crumbs.  Coat each of the sides with the crumbs (you can press it down a little to make sure it sticks). 

 Place the chicken piece into the hot pan.  Let it cook until it’s golden brown on one side…about 3 minutes.  Then flip it over and let it cook until that side is also golden brown. 

Remove the cooked chicken to a plate with a paper towl.  Give that lovely delicious thing a little pat with the paper towel to remove any excess oil.

Place the chicken breast on a dinner plate.  Place some of the salad along side of the schnitzel and serve with the lemon wedges.  Squeeze the lemon onto the “schniztel” and eat up! 

The whole recipe takes about 20 minutes to make from beginning to end.  Now I’m sure it’s not as great as Schniztel Louie’s, and you won’t get a second for free if you eat the first, but you might have a second piece left-over for tomorrow. 

If you have any left-over use it to make salad.  If there is left-over cucumber salad, just toss it with some greens and then place the chicken on top.  (You can heat it up beforehand, if you want, but it would be great cold too.)  The left-over chicken would also be great for a sandwich. 

Yum!

But because California has the most wonderful climate there are also some Summer-type things available too.  Don’t be too jealous but the market also has tons of berries and even really good, flavorful, tomatos.  When I went shopping today, I snapped some photos.  Check it out…maybe it will inspire you to do some shopping at your local market and then do some cooking (or even some baking…check out the post for an amazing blueberry muffin recipe and chard cooked a couple of ways).

Yummy asparagus!

Look at these babies!  I know cooking an artichoke can be daunting…all of those prickly leaves and the “choke”!  Who wants to eat something with a “choke”?  It just sounds like a bad idea…but it’s not.  Artichokes can be a little bit of a pain but are totally worth the effort.  Just cut them in half from stem to tip.  Scoop out the feathery, choke bit, and them dump in a pot of boiling salted water.  Let them cook until soft, about 20 minutes, and then take them out of the water with tongs.  Let them drain.  I eat the cooked artichoke with a mustard-vinaigrette.  Amazing!

Check out these berries!  They are not “organic” because the farm is not certified organic.  No biggie.  None of the berries are sprayed or fertilized.  I bought two baskets of the blueberries…they were incredible.  I used them to bake blueberry muffins for a bruch I was invited to.  They were a huge hit.  The recipe is not appropriate to make for one because it makes about 20 muffins!  And 20 muffins is more than any one person should ever need!  But hey…it’s an awesome recipe to use when you are entertaining or have been invited somewhere…single people get invites, don’t they???  Check out the Seasonal Recipe section of the site for the super easy recipe.

Those photos are just a little taste of what is in the market.  Go shopping.  Buy some stuff.  Cook some stuff.  Enjoy the Spring.  It doesn’t last long and if you live in Los Angeles, like I do, it could be Summer by next weekend!

The transition from season to season can be confusing for me.  What should I wear…sundress or  sweater? It’s hard to know when it’s 75 degrees in the morning, 85 degrees by noon and 50 degrees by evening! The answer, of course, is layering.  Still…my Spring “look” hasn’t quite worked itself out yet.

Like my “look”, my palate hasn’t really figured the season out either.  It’s confusing because I’m not yet done with all of the Winter goodness…like braises, satisfying soups and roasted veggies.  (Like putting away my sweaters…I’m not ready to let go of cauliflower, kale and root veggies!!!)  Here’s the good news…because it’s just barely Spring, the Winter produce is still available…but so are some of the delicious offerings of Spring!  The answer again is layering!  Here’s idea for using a combination of both Winter (mushrooms and kale) and Spring veggies (asparagus) for an easy vegetarian meal that is ready in no time.

Here’s What You Need:

2 portobello mushrooms; half of a chopped tomato; 1 cup of chopped Tuscan kale; 1 cup of ricotta cheese; 1 egg; 2 cloves of garlic, minced; quarter cup of grated Parmesan cheese; olive oil; red pepper flakes; salt and pepper.  (And about half a pound of asparagus.)

Here’s What You Do:

Turn the oven to 400 degrees.  Rub any dirt off of the tops of the mushrooms with a towel and remove the skin.  Place the mushrooms, gill side down, in a small oven proof-dish.  Drizzle the tops of the mushrooms with a little olive oil, about a tablespoon between the two, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

Put the dish in the oven and let the mushrooms bake for about 20 minutes, until they are soft, some of the water has released, but not totally squishy.  They’ll look like this:

While the mushrooms are softening up, place a skillet on the burner and add about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet.  Turn on the heat to medium-high and let the oil heat up.  Add the chopped kale to the pan, sprinkle with some red-pepper flakes and salt and pepper.  Let the kale cook until it is wilted and soft - it’ll take about 8 minutes.  

Turn off the flame and let the sauteed kale cool a little.  If you don’t have kale, or kale isn’t still available, you can use chard, spinach or even arugula!  (The “technique” is the same…just make sure to squeeze some of the water out of the sauteed spinach or sauteed chard.  If you use arugula…don’t bother to saute it.  You just add the uncooked arugula to the bowl with the Parmesan mixture.) 

Next, in a smallish bowl add the ricotta, crack in the egg, add most of the grated Parmesan (leaving about 1 Tablespoon to sprinkle on top of mushrooms…don’t worry I will explain) and the chopped tomato.  Go ahead and add a little more salt and pepper.  Mix it all together and then add the coolish sauteed kale.  Mix it all together.

After the mushrooms are soft take the dish out of the oven.  Using tongs, or whatever, flip the mushrooms over so the gills, yes the gills, are facing up.  Then, using a spoon, fill the mushrooms with the ricotta-kale mixture, split the mixture between the two mushrooms.  Pile the stuffing up as high as you think it will go! Then sprinkle the tops with the left-over Parmesan. 

Next…you’re going to prep the asparagus.  (If you want to see how to keep asparagus in the fridge…check out the Kitchen Helper section of the site!)  Cut about an inch off the base, not the pretty tips, of the asparagus spears and place the asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet.  Drizzle the asparagus with about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle, yes more sprinkling, with salt and pepper.  Toss the spears around so they are covered with the oil.

Now…place the dish with the mushrooms in the oven on the bottom, or top, shelf.  Bake for about 20 minutes and then place the baking sheet with the asparagus on the other shelf.  Bake all of it for about another 10 minutes (you can give the asparagus a quick shake in about 5 minutes.)   The stuffed mushrooms are done when the parmesan on top is crusty and browned. 

The asparagus will look a little wilted and crinkled when it’s done.  (Some people like it when the asparagus gets some dark brown on it…but I prefer it just soft and not too browned.)

When it’s all done, serve yourself a mushroom, or two, and as much of the asparagus as you feel like!

Just take the bunch and cut about an inch from the base.  Then fill a jar with about two inches of water and drop the bunch into the water with the tips facing upwards.   It should look like the picture above.  Place the jar on the shelf in the fridge.  Just like cut flowers!  It will keep for about a week or so and will even look pretty in the fridge.   To use it…just take a portion out of the jar…cook it however you like and save the rest for another meal.  (For “roasted asparagus” take a look at the Stuffed Mushroom post.)

For most food folks, those who eat, cook or write about food, “green” means cooking organic, seasonal and locally available foods.  For many of us, “going green” means taking our totes to the farmer’s market and trying, trying, trying not to let any of those precious items go to waste.  For some folks it means raising their own veggies and composting what’s left.  But for most people, let’s be honest, even remembering to bring that reusable tote to the supermarket is a true feat!  (I’m really proud of myself when I remember!) 

I haven’t reached the level where everything I do is “green”.  I live in Los Angeles and I drive a car but it is a fuel-efficient cutie.  I don’t ride my bike to the farmer’s market on Sunday…it’s too damn far!  I don’t compost and I don’t have a veggie garden…I live in an apartment with no, and I mean no, outdoor space.  So…I just do my best to be as thoughtful and earth-minded as possible.  Here are ten really simple things I do to try and make a difference:

1.  I turn the lights off when I leave the room.

2.  I turn the water off while I’m brushing my teeth and washing my face.

3.  I keep the thermostat low in Winter (yes…I wear a sweater in the house and keep an extra blankie on the bed at night…this is not a hardship as my mom never turned on the heat.  My mom always ran warm and felt no need to turn on the heat.  When we complained she would tell us to put on socks and a sweater.)  I also keep the thermostat high in Summer (usually about 80 degrees…my mom does not approve of this one).

4.  I buy organic when I can.  If it’s not organic I buy untreated and unsprayed if the veggies aren’t certified organic.  (However, I don’t buy organic when it’s organic and grown in another country.  The stuff just has too far to travel and this contribute to the overuse of fossil fuels.)  I also try to buy as much locally raised produce as possible (I live in California so it’s not that hard…we are really blessed on this coast).

5.  I buy dry good from the bulk bins (less packaging means less trash in the land fill and less processing means less fossil fuels used to process).

6.  When I buy salmon I only buy wild caught (the farm raised fish, while much more affordable, is fed antibiotics and pigment…that just can’t be good for me or the planet).  If it’s from Alaska it’s a sustainable product.  Plus…wild salmon has more Omega-3 fatty acids than farm raised.

7.  I buy grass-fed beef.  I also try to buy meat that is humanely handled and raised.  Most supermarkets don’t stock humanely raised and handled beef…but some have grass-fed or “organic” (which is not fed antibiotics) but Whole Foods does.  Some farmer’s markets also have ranchers who bring their beef to market.  Try it once…you won’t be sorry!  It tastes like meat from Heaven!  Something all together different.

8.  I eat several vegetarian-type meals a week. 

9.  I bring my lunch to work four days out of five.  (I know this sounds like a pain, but it’s not…really.  I make a little extra dinner the night before and pack it up for lunch the next day.  It’s usually better than what is available on the run…plus everyone at work is always jealous!)

10.  I use cloth napkins at home.  (This is probably the easiest of all to do.  I just wash them…I don’t bother to press them.  It makes dinner elegant and feels like I’m treating myself like a guest.  I’m worth it and so is the planet.)

Try even one of the above suggestions.  It’s simple to do your part in keeping the planet healthier and maybe even a little “greener”.

Typically, I am not a breakfast-food person.  I always eat breakfast, mind you, I just don’t always love the type of fare that is associated with the meal itself.   However, I do love eggs.  Especially fried eggs.  Over-easy please.  Delicious.  This morning I was really craving an egg but I was also craving grilled cheese for some reason.  And, whenever I have eggs I also like to have green salad with some kind of vinaigrette.  (My mother thinks this is weird…I like to think it’s French. )  Anyway…I decided to make myself brunch using all of the above! Let’s just say…the result was less than low fat or low cal.  But hey…it was amazingly good plus calories don’t count on Sunday!  Try this sandwich for brunch.  And, hey…if you’re one of those people that like breakfast any time this would totally make a hearty and satifying dinner.

Here’s what you need:

Two slices of sourdough bread; one or two eggs; one ounce of a melting cheese (I used Brie); a cup of loosely packed arugula (or any baby green you like); two slices of tomato; butter; olive oil; vinegar; Dijon mustard; salt and pepper.

Here’s what you do:

Butter one side of each of two pieces of bread.  Set one butter side down on a cutting board.  Place the cheese on the slice of butter side down piece of bread.  Just leave all of that for a minute and turn to the dressing and green portion of the event.

In a small bowl place about 1 teaspoon of mustard in the bowl.  Drizzle in about 1T of vinegar and 1 T of olive oil. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper.  Whisk all of the ingredients together until it’s emulsified (that is a fancy word for mixed together so the oil and vinegar are not separating).  Put the arugula in the bowl an toss.  Then set the bowl aside and turn your attention back to the sammy.

Place two skillets on your stove and turn both on to medium heat.  In one of the pans add about 1 T of oil (or if you like to use non-stick spray feel free) and let it heat up.  Crack your one or two eggs in that pan.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

In the other pan place both of the pieces of bread in the pan, butter side down.  Let the bread toast up a little and then place the tomatoes on the side with the cheese.  Cover the whole pan with a baking sheet or a lid.  (This will help the cheese melt…hello lover…melted brie…ahhhhh)  In the other pan your eggs should be ready to flip.  Use a spatula and turn them over.  (If you don’t like the yolk runny break them with the edge of your spatula and then flip them.)  Let the eggs cook for a minute more.  Then remove the lid from the other pan and set the fried eggs on top of the piece with the cheese and tomato.  Top that piece with a small handful of the salad (use tongs or your fingers…I use my fingers…it’s easier). 

Now just top all of that with the other piece of toasted bread.  Using your spatula remove the sammy from the pan onto your cutting board.  Then just cut the sammy in half (it’s a little more civilized and easier to eat in halves). 

Put that baby on a plate and if there is any salad left that didn’t go on the sammy plate that too!  Hopefully, this will be runny and messy and totally yummy!  A simply decadent way to start a Sunday.  Enjoy.