Up and Down Lemon Blueberry Muffins

I was a bit stressed the other day and decided that I wanted to bake.  I was at a loss for what though, since I did not have much time.  For some reason, I thought of muffins... but then I wanted a bit of pizzazz so off I went to look in the library. 

I found Lemon Slice Muffins.  They were cute and intriguing, so that was it... but since I still had some blueberry filling left over, I decided to add it and make the kind of muffin that could be served right side up or upside down!

Right side up after removing the pan from the oven...

Upside down, after the muffins were removed from the muffin pan...

A peek at the inside of the muffin...

I found the recipe in this book...

and later found it online here.

As usual, I made some changes.  For one thing, I did not cook the lemon zest with sugar and butter, I just added everything together.  I used vanilla sugar and added about 1/4 teaspoon of lemon extract to the mix.  After spooning the batter into the muffin tin, I swirled in a teaspoon of blueberry filling.

Hubby found the muffins a bit tart, but that is to be expected.  I like it and so did some impromptu guests!

Oatmeal-Yogurt-Berries Breakfast Parfait

Summer is in full swing and it is hot, hot, hot!  In fact, the weather bureau has announced a weak El Niño that is likely to exist until June or July!  The heat index is nearing 41 and several areas have been declared as drought areas, with farmers suffering as their crops and fields are damaged by the extreme heat and lack of water.

I have not used the oven in a month!  It really is too hot to bake!  The last time I baked, the kitchen felt like a sauna.  We don't even cook long, because even with an exhaust system, it is JUST TOO HOT.

So, how to cool off?  Well, I have been making tons of ice cream... so far, at least once a week!  And I'm learning to appreciate the so-called ice-box cakes (like this tiramisu), with my next project being a mango refirgerator cake (if I can find sweet mangoes, that is).

Anyway, because of the heat, I served hubby a cool breakfast...

Of course I made it with my homemade Greek-style yogurt... (I discovered another use for my coffee filter/maker!  Definitely takes up less space in the fridge.)

And the wonderful thing about this parfait?  No cooking at all!  And it's super chilled!

1/2 cup instant whole oats, raw
1/3 cup milk
1/2 to 1 tablespoon chia seeds

3/4 cup Greek-style yogurt

150 to 200 grams frozen berries (or any combination fruit as preferred)

mascarpone cheese, optional

Mix together the oats, milk and chia seeds.  Let stand in the fridge for about 30 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and goopy.

Using a parfait glass, or in my case, a short and wide-mouthed tumbler/drinking glass, spoon a layer of oatmeal at the bottom, top with yogurt then frozen or fresh berries.  Repeat the layering.  Chill overnight, or do as I did (because I made it early in the morning, about an hour before hubby returned from the gym), stick it in the freezer!  Just before serving, dollop a tablespoon of mascarpone on top.  (Hubby opted out of this.)

Enjoy!!!!

(If you notice there is no sweetener added to this recipe.  Hubby prefers it that way; he says that he likes his breakfast parfait on the tangy side.  Sweeten according to your preference.)

Healthy Smoothies!

Hubby is always requesting healthier foods... breakfast specifically.  I'm used to a heavy breakfast of rice, egg and some form of meat (usually processed... not good, I know!  I know!) but hubby is just fine with yogurt or granola or oatmeal...

We have frozen strawberries and frozen blueberries that my brother got for me just last week.  And hubby just loves bananas (we froze some bananas just for this), so for breakfast yesterday morning, this is what he had...

The recipe is really simple... here are the main ingredients - 6 big pieces of frozen strawberries, a handful of frozen blueberries (about 1/4 cup more or less), a couple of frozen bananas, 1/2 cup low fat yogurt and 1/2 cup low fat milk.

Give everything a whirl in the blender and breakfast is served!  No sweetener required, since the bananas are sweet enough.

Today, he's having more of the same, sort of...  There's still strawberries, bananas and blueberries, but this time dried cranberries, cherries and golden raisins were thrown in to the mix.

The smoothie was definitely sweeter, due to the raisins.  But the mix made it more complex too.  Either way, it's good!

I've done this using all milk and it still turned out thick and creamy.  Maybe next time I will try it using all yogurt.