I have never made any secret of my love affair with blueberries. If you have been reading my blog for any length of time at all, it should be really obvious to you that I adore them.
It's kind of odd really . . . because when I was a child I wasn't overly fond of them. Or maybe it was the picking of them that I wasn't fond of. Every summer we would be taken out into the bush and forced to pick gallon sized ice cream buckets of the berries. As wild blueberries grow close to the ground, that was really hard work, to say the least.
And . . . it was always really, really hot . . . the black flies and mosquitoes would be pestering us to no end . . . and I was terrified of bears, because . . . truth be told. They probably love blueberries even more than humans do and in August, at the end of the summer, when the blueberries are ready to be picked, they are storing up their fat for winter.
So really I guess . . . it was the picking I deplored, not the berries, coz I certainly do love them now, and I don't have to fight mosquitoes, or blackflies or bears to enjoy them . . . nor do I have to crouch down for hours on end to pick them. We have our very own high bush cultivated berries right here in our back garden!
They do lack the intense flavours of the wild ones from back home, but . . . beggars can't be choosers and so we enjoy them regardless of their size. They really shine in muffins, like these Blueberry, Maple and Corn Muffins that I am showing you today.
These are pretty darned good muffins if I don't say so myself. (And I know I just did.) With a great cornbread flavour, lightly sweetened with maple syrup and then stogged full of lovely blueberries, they are real family pleasers. A bit more rustic than most muffins and hearty with crisp cornmeal edges. They are a real favorite around here. Because of the fresh berries, they do need to be eaten on the day. I have never frozen them so I don't know if they will freeze well or not.
*Blueberry & Maple Corn Muffins*
Makes 12Printable Recipe Lovely muffins with a moist crumbly texture. Lots of blueberries help to keep them moist, but the polenta/cornmeal gives them a bit of a crunch! Delicious!255g of cornmeal or coarse polenta (1 1/2 cups)70g of plain flour (1/2 cup)1 TBS baking powder100g of granulated sugar (1/2 cip)1/2 tsp salt225ml of buttermilk (1 cup)2 large free range eggs4 TBS butter, melted78ml of pure Maple Syrup (1/3 cup)100g of fresh blueberries (1 cup)
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Butter a 12 cup muffin tin reallyreallywell or line with paper liners. Spray the liners with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, butter and maple syrup. Add all at once to the dry ingredients and mix just to combine. Fold in the berries. Divide the mixture equally amongst the muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until well risen and golden. Serve warm.
