I love blueberry muffins and this is hands down the best recipe. Leave it to Martha to create perfect perfection. I dare you to only have one!
Check out the recipe here
My favorite berry takes on a whole new meaning in this delicious and moist scone recipe. They are quick and easy to create, the best reward is obviously getting to eat them! My method in creating these is similar to a drop biscuit technique, you will love how little fuss they require.
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries (6 ounces)
Preheat oven to 400º. Sift together flour, cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, add butter and cut until pea-size pieces form.
In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg yolk. Slowly add buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon till just combined.
Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and sprinkle raspberries on top. Knead three times to fold in raspberries (there may be loose pieces of dough and a stray berry or two). Using a 2oz ice cream scoop, scoop the dough onto parchment lined baking sheets, leaving a 1 inch space between each scoop. It is ok if they don't look "pretty" they will bake into perfect rounds.
Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.
Lauren Conrad Loves Honey Too! Check out her post using honey in an amazing face mask!
As a woman who loves to use makeup to enhance my features I struggle with the information that is released on all of the terrible chemicals that are being used in our cosmetics. I don't want to put anything near my face or hands that has traces of formaldehyde, that just sounds gross! The other side of the argument is finding products that yield beautiful results naturally. In the last few years natural product lines have risen to the challenge and I am over the moon to share my top picks. In the below images you will see all of my top picks that make my makeup bag happy. Check out my pinterest board to see all of my pins on these cosmetics and their benefits.
These are just a few of my faves that I put my stamp of approval on. These are pricier products but their results are phenomenal and this is money well spent. I also like to remind friends that a healthy lifestyle of hydration, vitamin rich foods and plenty of rest makes for the need of less makeup. When you take care of yourself you feel better and look better. There is nothing wrong with splurging on a lipstick that will make you feel like a million dollars.
A recent vintage cookbook I inherited from a friend of my mother's was Soup A Way of Life by Barbara Kafka. What an amazing book, I have poured over the pages and been inspired to recreate so many dishes. One of the first soups to be featured in the book is a recipe for a gazpacho that is written by none other than James Beard. A perfectly balanced recipe that compliments these hot and humid days of summer. I made mine with a slightly more spice by adding half of a jalapeño pepper instead of chili powder and substituting two small green peppers for one large red pepper.
Ingredients;
1/2 Bermuda or other sweet white onion, peeled and quartered
1 1/2 firm medium cucumbers, peeled and cut in small pieces
1 large red pepper, seeded and cut in eighths
6 medium to large tomatoes, peeled and cut in eighths
5 large garlic cloves
1 cup (or more) tomato juice
1/2 cup light olive oil
1/2 of a jalapeño
1 Tbs. kosher salt
Prep the vegetables.
With metal blade in place of food processor, add the onion to the beaker. Process, turning on and off rapidly, until finely chopped, about 4-5 seconds.
Transfer onion to a large bowl.
Repeat with the cucumbers, then with the red pepper, adding each to the bowl with the onions.
Process 5 of the tomatoes until evenly chopped into small pieces. Transfer to the bowl with the other chopped ingredients.
Process the remaining tomato with garlic, tomato juice, olive oil and chili pepper until a smooth liquid is formed.
Combine with chopped vegetables and chill in a covered container.
Before serving, taste for salt and adjust.
I garnished mine with a dollop of Greek yogurt for a little tangy flavor
If texture is too thick add more tomato juice or a combination if 1/2 tomato juice. Vegetables are chopped separately to enable control of the texture of each. It is not necessary to wash beaker of processor between vegetables. Also, we use V-8 for the tomato juice.
I have been enjoying the leftovers for the past few days!
