My kids are reluctant produce eaters, and I’ve become a pretty avid label reader which makes me want to avoid processed foods. Those two things together have me searching for recipes that taste delicious while incorporating a fruit and/or vegetable. I’ve been looking for a really good blueberry muffin recipe that didn’t have a glaze to worry about, and this one fits the bill. I adapted the recipe to use the ingredients I had on hand, and to make better use of paper muffin liners (I’ve found that I lose half the muffin stuck to the paper if I use all whole wheat flour).

Blueberry-Lemon Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

Adapted from Gourmet

1 cup + 2 teaspoons white whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup + 2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
zest of one small lemon
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup 1% milk
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries (keep frozen; do not thaw)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Line a muffin tin with paper cups (or butter a non-stick muffin tin). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup white whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Whisk to combine. Make a well in the middle.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the butter, milk and egg. Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened (may still be a bit lumpy).

4. In a small bowl, toss the blueberries and remaining two teaspoons of flour to coat the blueberries. (This will help prevent them from sinking and turning the batter purple.) Stir the blueberries into the batter. Distribute the batter among muffin cups.

5. Combine the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle the mixture over the muffin batter. Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, turning the pan halfway through, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. The batter will be very lightly browned.

After reading the ingredients list on store-bought spreadable butter and seeing a few posts, I resolved to start making my own spreadable butter. It turns out to be a super easy thing to do:

Homemade Spreadable Butter
Makes approx. 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:
1/2 cup room temperature butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup vegetable, canola, or olive oil
3 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl, and blend together until smooth. (I use the whisk attachment on my hand mixer, and it takes about 3 minutes.) The mixture will appear lumpy at first, but keep it going and it will come together.

Pour the butter into a sealable container and refrigerate until firm.

The butter may “weep” a little after refrigeration. If that bothers you, omit the water from the recipe. (I like to add it to reduce the calorie count a little.) If you prefer saltier butter, add more salt to taste.

I’m a huge fan of Zankou Chicken‘s roasted chicken, which is served with pita bread and their famous garlic spread. The garlic spread is white, thick, and just a tad lumpy. It’s super garlicky, and is just the perfect match for the chicken.

As I mentioned earlier this week, I want us to eat out less. And a full dinner from Zankou runs our family $15 to $20, plus the cost of veggie sides. So I recreated a meal from Zankou for dinner last night using a whole chicken from the freezer, and Jennifer B. asked for the recipe of their garlic spread since I confessed to breaking the emulsion yesterday.

I’ve made the garlic spread several times, and I’ve tried a few different ways. The one thing you need is a blender, because I don’t think a whisk is going to get the job done.

So the first version I tried, via Chowhound, involved 3 small russet potatoes, 14 cloves of garlic minced (1 head), 1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice, 1/2 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 cup canola oil (tip: “mince” the garlic using a microplane). I made mashed potatoes, then pureed the rest of the ingredients, and then added the potatoes. It tasted okay, but more like garlicky-lemony mashed potatoes than garlic spread.

So the next version I made eliminated the potatoes. When you add the oil slowly to the garlic, lemon juice and salt, it emulsifies and turns into this glorious, thick mayonnaise type consistency. What I learned the hard way is that you need to let it mellow for a few hours at least. The sauce was way too intense at dinner, but the next morning it was delicious.

That second version is what I was going for yesterday. Unfortunately, I didn’t add the oil slowly enough and my emulsion broke. It was no longer thick and glossy but liquidy. I tried starting over but for some reason I couldn’t get the second emulsion to form either, so I was feeling a little desperate. I’ve served roasted chicken with my white bean dip, so it occurred to me to add about 1/2 cup of cannellini beans to my non-emulsified liquid. It did the trick, and I had a spreadable sauce that was still garlicky and lemony and went nicely with the chicken.

I’m not sure which version I prefer – the second or the third. In the future, I’ll probably try making the second version, and resorting to the third if my emulsion breaks again.

Be warned – it’s a lot of garlic and it’s intense! But delicious

I don’t know if your kids will like this (mine didn’t), but I thought it was a nice pasta salad and a pleasant change of pace from the usual pasta dish.

Farfalle with Cauliflower and Raisins
Serves 4-6

1/2 cup raisins
1 cup hot water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large head of cauliflower, broken into small florets
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 2-oz can oil-packed anchovies
3/4 cup chicken broth (or white wine)
12-16 ounces dried farfalle, cooked according to package directions
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Combine raisins and hot water and set aside.

2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the cauliflower and garlic and saute until the cauliflower is lightly browned (about 10 minutes). Add the red pepper flakes and anchovies, and stir until the anchovies have mostly dissolved. Add the broth or wine and simmer until the cauliflower is “al dente” and the liquid has reduced by half (about 15 minutes). Stir in the pasta and drained raisins. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

Note: I cooked the pasta first until it was al dente, then drained it and covered the colander with the lid while I cooked the cauliflower in the same pot. (I set aside some pasta tossed with a little butter for the boys.) This dish is great cold the next day.