Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Last week I went to a end of the summer party and couldn't decide what to bring the hostess. I thought about it for a while and came to the conclusion that a great gift would be something she could use the next morning. So, I decided to try my hand at a new blueberry muffin recipe. I stumbled upon this recipe via Foodess and knew it had to be good. Why? Because the amount of sour cream was sure to produce moist, delicious muffins. Let me tell you, this recipe did not disappoint. These muffins are so good that I ate 5 OF THEM straight out of the oven. I'm not exaggerating. If you're a muffin fan, you definitely need to give these a try.

Ingredients (I doubled this recipe):

• 2 cups flour
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup melted butter
• 1¼ cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• 1 cup blueberries (I used fresh but frozen would work too) 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin tin. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Zest your lemon and squeeze the juice.

In a separate bowl, stir together melted butter, sour cream, vanilla, egg, lemon zest and lemon juice.

Add to dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated. Fold in blueberries.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until the tops spring back when pressed.

These muffins are good the next day but best served warm straight out of the oven.

The Bembridge House

My mom and I have been spending a little time visiting local historical sites recently. On Tuesday we took a tour of the Bembridge house in Long Beach. It was built in 1906 and it's absolutely beautiful so I took some photos to share with you guys. See photos from other historical sites we've visited here and here.

Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas

I don't know about you but I'm definitely on a budget these days. These past couple of months have been pretty expensive so I'm trying to eat every meal I can at home and make those meals cheap. Budget Bytes is one of my favorite places to find inexpensive recipe ideas. That's where I found one of my all time favorite simple spicy noodle recipes as well as this quesadilla idea. I usually stick to boring old cheese quesadillas but why do that when you can add delicious inexpensive ingredients? A can of black beans and some frozen corn will run you about $2 total and it makes the quesadilla way more filling. I definitely recommend it!

Ingredients:

• shredded cheese (I used monterey jack and cheddar)
• black beans
• frozen corn (or canned... or fresh of course)
• cilantro
• taco seasoning
• tortillas

I don't have exact measurements for this because it's one of those 'do whatever you want' kind of recipes. Basically I just mixed everything together in a bowl and put it in between two tortillas. I'm not going to tell you how to fry up a quesadilla because you probably already know how.

Beth of Budget Bytes also had the brilliant idea of making a few quesadillas and freezing them. That way you can grab one in the morning and heat it up for lunch at work. Genius!

Happy Birthday!

It's Julia Child's birthday today! I couldn't let that go unnoticed. She's one of my favorite ladies!

Photo above found here.

Below is one of my favorite Julia quotes. I made this a while back but can't remember if I ever posted it.

Happy Birthday, Julia!

On 365 Projects...

Well, I'm getting there. I'm on day 226 of my 365 day project... only 4 1/2 months left. Will I be finishing it? Absolutely. I've gotten this far so I can't stop now! Will I ever do a 365 project again? Absolutely NOT. Sorry to burst your bubble if you're planning on trying one, but I'm going to be honest, it's a pain. 

I know what you're thinking... how hard is it to take one photo a day? Well, it's not that it's hard, it's that it's easy to forget. And sometimes when I'm sick or I'm tired after work or, dare I say it, hungover all day on my day off... the last thing I want to do is find Kewpie (as he's come to be known) and figure out where to take a photo.

I think I knew in the back of my mind that I would end up getting tired of it but I also knew I would finish it because I'm pretty determined. So, why don't I just quit? Well... there are two reasons. One is that I'd be disappointed in myself. The other reason is that I know I'm going to be really stoked when it's done. Not only will I feel relieved but I'm going to be proud of it... and there's a lot I can do with it. I could make a little book or print all the photos and frame them or I could Mod Podge a table top with them. Those possibilities and that feeling of accomplishment are what keep me interested.

The point of all of this is... if you've been thinking about trying a 365 project, go for it. Keep in mind that it won't be easy but it'll be worth it. I'm certain of that because I know that when I take my last photo on New Year's Eve, I'm going to be damn proud and excited to have hundreds of cool photos to work with.

Currently

It's been mighty quiet around here lately. I'm flattered if you've noticed. I don't know why, I just haven't been in the blogging mood recently but I had some free time today so I thought I'd check in. 

I'm finally settled into my new apartment and I love it. Last time I wrote one of these posts I was getting ready to move and so ready to leave my old apartment. This place is bigger and brighter and quieter. It's perfect. My kitchen is bigger too so I bought an old library cart (pictured above) off of craigslist and I'm using it to display all of my favorite kitchen items. What do you think? I might paint it at some point but for now I'm digging the blue.

I'm sure I'll get back into the swing of things soon enough. When the weather cools down, I'll definitely be cooking and baking more so I'll be posting more recipes. I may not blog much these days but I'm pretty active on Instagram so feel free to follow me there! [misspleasenote]

Round 2

I went to the fair again... and I just wanted to share a few of my favorite instagram photos. We got in free when we donated five clothing items so I figured, why not? I managed to indulge in a giant turkey leg, homemade potato chips, some deep fried cookie dough, and an ice cream cone. I'm still dreaming about that turkey leg.