Blessings, Books, and Blueberries

Sometimes, I have to remind myself to stop and really appreciate the little things in life. Each a kind of blessing. Like...
-Getting a grande latte for the price of a tall because the barista put the drive-thru sticker on the wrong size cup or...
-A random couple handing over their extra unopened delicious batch of sticky buns while we were pet sitting at the farmer's market or...
-A neighbor holding to doors open for me as I navigate my bike outside. (Trust me, it's tricky!)
-Meeting honest, friendly people at this running group I joined or (as always) at the farmers' market. :-)

Last night, I finished the second book from my latest trip to the library - Secrets to Happiness by Sarah Dunn. It wasn't quite what I had hoped but it was still enjoyable enough for a typical chick-lit kind of story where a girl is recently divorced/going through a mid-life crisis of sorts and must depend on her friends to help her get through and find new love. The best part of the book was seriously the end when she finally takes the time for some serious reflection and realizes that all her life she has been too quick to judge the people around her. This tendency leads her to lose some of her closest relationships,because you can't be happy unless you are willing to understand that people mess up and you have to be able to forgive. If I had to rate it, I'd probably give it 2 1/2 out of 5 stars.

This weekend, I was in the mood to do a little baking and I had been really craving muffins. So, I went to joythebaker.com's blog and found this recipe for the most delicious blueberry muffins. Ever.

It's extra crumbly! But so delicious!

Brown Butter Fresh Blueberry Muffins
(recipe from joythebaker.com)
Makes 12 scrumptious muffins!
Ingredients:
-7 Tablespoons unsalted butter
-1/3 cup whole milk
-1 large egg
-1 large egg yolk
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-3/4 cup sugar
-1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
-3/4 teaspoon salt
-2 cups fresh blueberries
For the Topping
-3 Tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
-3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
-I also added about a tbsp of flax to the topping :-)
Directions:
1. Put a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Keep an eye on the butter.  Melt and cook down the butter until little brown bits appear in the pan.  The crackling will subside and butter will begin to brown fairly quickly after that.  Keep a close eye.  Remove from heat.
3.Whisk milk, egg, yolk and vanilla until combined.  Add the brown butter and stir to combine.
4.Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl  Add milk and butter mixture all at once and stir gently to combine.  Gently but thoroughly fold in the blueberries.
5.Divide the batter among muffin cups and spread evenly.
 6.To make the topping combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until crumbly.  Sprinkle evenly over the batter in the cups.

Bake until golden and crisp and a wooden pick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.  Cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes then remove from the pan.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

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The whole 'browned butter' thing freaked me out at first, but I kept a close eye on it like she suggested and I think it turned out alright! I had mine with a cup of coffee and a banana before my running group yesterday. :-)