A Mixer and A Muffin

Well, folks. I’m still cooking. I swear. In fact, I’ve been cooking and baking SO much that I haven’t had time to stop and write about it. I promise to do better!

First things first. I got the best present EVER for Christmas. Not a car. Not a diamond tennis bracelet. Something a foodie like me can really get excited about - a brand new, shiny, KitchenAid mixer! And if that weren’t enough, it’s not just any mixer – it’s THE BIG ONE – the 6 quart professional! It’s a cook’s dream. At least 5 or 6 times a day, I tell my hubby much I love my new mixer and how excited I am about it. Needless to say, he’ll be glad I’ve found someone else to tell it to. So, Hey! All you readers out there – I LOVE my new mixer!

How much do I love my new mixer? I love it so much that I did minor construction on my kitchen so that it could accommodate the new giant. The thing is really BIG, I’m telling you. I made cat food in it the other day (yes, I MAKE catfood). It’s not because I’m a crazy cat lady. My cat was on the verge of death and the food thing saved his life. So, enough said. I’m not nuts. Anyhow, I put 6 pounds of raw meat in there and some other ingredients. That mixer handled it like a pro. I was very impressed.

So, we know it can handle cat food. What about people food? Yes, yes, yes! The first thing I made with it was blueberry muffins. They’re called “To Die For Blueberry Muffins”, and they are…to die for! Incidentally, I got the recipe from AllRecipes.com . I LOVE that site because not only can you find multiple recipes for just about anything you’d ever want to cook or bake, but there are dozens (even hundreds) of reviews posted by other people who’ve tried the recipe. You can get great tips based on other peoples’ experiences – what works and what doesn’t.

And while we’re on the subject of great websites – I’ve been visiting KitchenAid’s forums on their website – www.kitchenaidconversations.com . It’s like an ocean of fun that I could swim around in for months and never get bored or even begin to skim the surface of what’s there. And it’s not just fun stuff, but really practical stuff about your KitchenAid products and recipes that you might make with your KitchenAid products. Very cool. Fair warning though – it might make you want to get more KitchenAid stuff. If you already have the itch to buy something KitchenAid, this will definitely take you over the edge.

So, here’s the “To Die For Blueberry Muffins” recipe I mentioned. They’re great!

TO DIE FOR BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

PREP TIME 15 Min
COOK TIME 25 Min
READY IN 40 Min

SERVINGS: 16

INGREDIENTS:
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ¾ cups white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 Tbsp vanilla (optional)
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter (room temp)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). (If you’re not sure about the temperature of your oven, err on the low side. It’s not going to kill these if the temp is slightly less than 400.) Grease muffin cups and/or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine first four ingredients. Place vegetable oil into a 2 cup measuring cup; add the eggs and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture and add vanilla. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups ¾ full, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture. (don’t overfill the cups because they’ll run over the top and get burned. I know because I tried it. The sugar and butter in the topping can’t take that kind of heat – they burn quickly when they touch the pan.)
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together last 4 ingredients. Mix with fork (or a pastry cutter), and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.