Cook the Book! Next 3 Weeks! + Alyce's Blueberry Muffins

For the next three weeks, I’ll at some time during each week feature one recipe from my new book, Soups & Sides for Every Season (click HERE to order).   Make the recipe, photograph it, email the pic to me:  soupsandsides@gmail.com.   If yours is the first email with a recipe photo I receive, I’ll mail you a book!  Don’t forget to include your snail mail address in the email as well as any adjustments you made to the recipe.  Now get “cooking!”  I can’t wait to hear from you.

If you haven't had a chance to look at the book yet, it's a soft covered paperback, 174 pages, and was a more than two-year effort that included a wonderful team:  Patricia Miller, editor; Amanda Weber, designer; Daniel Craig, artist; and Drew Robinson, CS, sommelier.  I had a dedicated team of testers and they're all listed in the acknowledgment section.

Would You Bring Sangria? Malbec Sangria with Port and Blueberries

Whenever I want to make Sangria, I have to think a few times about what's in it.  I know I love it, but someone else usually seems to make it.  Or I pay $8 for a small, watery glass at the local Mexican joint and am very unhappy with the way I've spent my money.    Most times, embarrassingly, I just forget to make it.  I offer wine (or beer if I'm thinking hard) and, if I'm in St. Paul in July, the quintessential Twin Cities summer drink:  Gin and Tonic with Lime.

Salmon on Greens and Berries with Maple-Balsamic Vinaigrette

So good to be home and cooking again...

This so-fast dinner is a riff on "Simon's Favorite New England Salad with Berries and Goat Cheese" from Linda and Martha Greenlaw's now out-of-print Recipes from a Very Small Island (2005:  Hyperion.)   There are a few copies available through amazon.com, but I was more impressed with this:

 Linda Greenlaw, America's only female swordfish boat captain, was featured in the book and film The Perfect Storm. She has written three New York Times bestselling nonfiction books about life as a commercial fisherman as well as a cookbook and two mysteries. 

Cranberry-Blueberry Orange Muffins

Tender is the word.  Gentle is the method.  Don't over-mix or over bake.  Butter?  Yes.

 There really isn't anything homier or more welcoming than a basket full of fresh muffins. (Especially if you're having a friend for breakfast.)  And they're a bit more versatile than at first they appear.  I like them for breakfast, lunch, snacks, coffee, or dinner.  Much like quiche or omelets, they go anywhere, anytime.  They do travel well and keep for a few days on the counter or for a few weeks well-wrapped in the freezer.  Time?  5 minutes to stir up and 15 - 20 to bake?  They round up and out what might have appeared a paltry meal (think leftover salad or a jar of tomato soup or just yogurt and fruit) and  make you and the meal feel special.  Should I bring up butter?

Pork Tenderloin Salad with Blueberries, Oranges, and Sherry-Honey Vinaigrette

 I could look in my mom's frig and think there was nothing at all to eat in there.  I might even be found staring blindly into the freezer, hoping something would come to me.  Usually it was ice cream.  But let my mom loose in that kitchen and in record time, there was a full meal on the table.  Practice makes perfect.  The early bird gets the worm.  Hunger makes the best sauce.  Desperation is the mother of invention.  Whatever.  She knew how to bring it, as they say.  It seemed miraculous.