Blueberry Goat Cheese Muffins

Restless and craving a baked treat on a lazy Sunday evening, I rushed off to the kitchen within an hour of finding this recipe for Blueberry Goat Cheese Muffins at Coconut and Lime. The addition of goat cheese is barely perceptible to the palate, but it certainly adds a delectable creaminess to these blueberry packed muffins that literally melt in your mouth, especially when served warm. I can honestly say these are some of the tastiest blueberry muffins I have ever eaten, and that's saying something, because blueberry muffins are my favorite berry muffin.

I added some cornmeal and goat milk to the recipe, cut back on the sugar and used St. Dalfour's Blueberry fruit spread sweetened with white grape juice instead of the blueberry puree called for in the original recipe. Imagine the possibilities.

Blueberry Goat Cheese Muffins

1 1/2 cups of unbleached white flour
1/2 cup of cornmeal
1/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup of milk (I used goat milk)
1/2 cup of goat cheese, softened and mashed
1/2 cup of blueberry jam
1/4 cup of butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 cups of blueberries, rinsed

Grease a 12 cup muffin baking tin generously with butter. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, butter, milk, blueberry jam, goat cheese and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the blueberries.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15 - 20 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the muffins sit in the tin for 5 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cook for a few minutes before serving.

More berry muffin recipes from Lisa's Kitchen:
Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins
Raspberry Cornmeal Muffins
Raspberry Lemon Muffins
Cranberry Lemon Ricotta Muffins

Sky-high strawberry shortcake

I hadn’t used one of my favorite books in quite a while and looking at its cover I knew exactly what recipe to choose from it. Yes, strawberries again – I’ve warned you, remember? :D

This cake is so pretty I’d an eye on it since buying the book, but I ended up making other cakes from it and all of a sudden the strawberry season was gone. I would not make the same mistake this time, oh, no!

It

Three-Bean Salad with Fennel

Cool, crunchy and fresh … the mild savoury licorice flavour of raw fennel is always deliciously refreshing in warm weather. It's also part of a substantial and nourishing spring lunch in this attractive salad adapted from Yamuna Devi's Lord Krishna's Cuisine and provides a delightful contrast in colour, texture and taste with three different kinds of beans and a brisk lemon, herb and seed seasoning.

This is my contribution to My Legume Love Affair, one of my favorite monthly events celebrating the mighty bean. Susan is the mastermind behind this popular event and the host for the 13th edition is Harini of Tongue Ticklers.

Three-Bean Salad with Fennel

Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking Cuisine: Indian Published on July 5, 2009 Cool, crunchy fresh fennel provides a delightful contrast in color, texture and taste with three different kinds of beans and a brisk lemon, herb and seed seasoning in this refreshing spring or summer salad Print this recipe Ingredients: 1/2 cup dried chickpeas 1/2 cup dried black-eyed peas 1/2 cup dried red kidney beans 1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced 2 hot green or red chilies, seeded and minced 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped 3 tablespoons fresh coriander, finely chopped 1/4 cup olive oil juice of 1 lemon 1 teaspoon sea salt fresh ground black pepper to taste 1 tablespoon ghee or a mixture of olive oil and butter 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon ajwain seeds 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds 1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and thinly sliced Instructions: Rinse the beans together* under cold running water and soak overnight under several inches of cold water with a little yogurt whey or lemon juice added. Drain and rinse the beans, then place in a medium saucepan and cover again with fresh cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the beans are just tender but still firm. Drain and set aside to cool. Put the ginger, chilies, parsley, coriander, salt and fresh ground pepper to taste in a salad bowl. Heat the ghee or olive oil-butter mixture over medium heat in a small frying pan. Toss in the black mustard seeds, ajwain seeds and caraway seeds and fry until the black mustard seeds start sputtering. Remove from heat, and pour the seasonings straight into the salad bowl. Whisk together thoroughly, and gently stir in the beans and fennel. Refrigerate before serving. *Note: If you don't want the pink from the kidney beans to bleed into the other beans, soak and cook the kidney beans separately. Makes 6 – 8 servings

Better-than-Brownie-Cookies

I was really sad a few days ago... My sister is growing up and doesn’t care about me anymore – the sister who, as a little girl, would be around me 24/7; the same sister who would grab my legs if I got the car keys. Feeling her so distant breaks me heart... :õ(But life brings us great surprises – one day after calling my sis and hearing “I’m busy now” I met a reader of the blog that put a smile

Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Hummus with Goat Cheese

Hummus has long been a popular easy summer meal solution. Also a delightful appetizer to serve to guests, such a simple indulgence will likewise bring comfort to the staunchest of hermits. Once the beans are cooked, and a few things roughly chopped, everything goes into a food processor and in minutes, you have a healthy legume dip to serve with raw vegetables and slices of pita bread or perhaps some Whole Meal Biscuits - assuming you can resist the urge to eat it by the spoonful, in large quantities. Honestly, I could eat vats of this stuff, which might account for the large quantity this recipe yields. Imagine 4 cups of good nourishment dressed up as decadence.

This is a riff on my favorite trio of sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese and olives. Inspired by memories of Olive Tapenade, Olive Hummus, and Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, this new favorite was born and consumed with pleasure. For a vegan version, simply omit the goat cheese.

Enjoy with a full-bodied glass or two or three of Ruffino.

Sun-Dried Tomato and Olive Hummus with Goat Cheese

1 cup of dried chickpeas (roughly 2 1/2 cups of cooked chickpeas)
2/3 cup of sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup of tahini
juice from one lemon
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large jalapeno pepper, roughly chopped
generous 2/3 cup of kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup of goat cheese
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne
1/3 cup of fresh parsley
2 tablespoons of olive oil
sea salt to taste

Soak the chickpeas overnight in enough water to cover. Drain, cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and cover and simmer until the beans are buttery soft - roughly 1 - 2 hours. Drain and set aside.

Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in hot water for 15 - 20 minutes. Reserve the soaking liquid and roughly chop the tomatoes.

Reserve a few olives for garnishing, along with a few chopped olives to stir into the processed hummus for added texture.

In a food processor, combine the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, a few tablespoons of the reserved sun-dried tomato soaking liquid, jalapeno pepper, cumin, cayenne, paprika, goat cheese, olive oil, parsley and sea salt. Process until all of the ingredients are well combined. Add more of the reserved sun-dried tomato liquid to achieve your desired consistency.

Stir in the reserved olive bits and garnish with a few whole olives and some sprigs of parsley.

No Croutons Required - The Winner for June and the Theme for July

The winner of the June leafy green challenge is Yasmeen of Health Nut. She cooked up a healthy bowl of spicy Kale and Barley Soup. This hearty, fiber rich soup is certainly worthy of the No Croutons crown! Congratulations Yasmeen!

It's my turn to host No Croutons Required this month. The theme for July is grains because grains are an essential part of a healthy vegetarian diet. Rice, quinoa, millet, spelt, barley, oats ... choose your favorite grain(s) and make a soup or salad for a chance to win the July challenge. A recap of the submission guidelines can be found here.

Roasted carrot soup

A lot has been said about Michael Jackson’s death and I won’t bother you with my thoughts about it. Just wanna say that to me he was a genius, his music has been part of my life since I was a little girl and “Thriller” scared the bejeesus out of me for the first time - the guy never ceased to amaze me.

When it comes to food, Donna Hay is the one that always amazes me – this delicious soup