Blackberry Muffins

Hello all! After a long, long drive that narrowly avoided getting flooded out by Tropical Storm Alex, I am in mexico! We are in a small town called Tezontepec in the state of Hidalgo. Nearby there are a lot of natural springs that have been made into pools, some hot and some cold. That is where I am spendin my days! We start our teaching tomorrow, and I´m pretty excited. I am going to class with worksheets and candy, hoping one will balance out the other.

Food wise, don´t you worry! Things have been, as usual, extravagant. Squash flowers, sheep marrow, pig skin (chicharron) and barbacoa have all gone down the hatch in the past few days (veganism be dammed it´s Mexico!) I couldn´t quite stomach the menudo, however (sic).

Anyways, I am planning on taking lots of photos of lovely food, and putting them on here! But not yet. We are still getting accustomed to our settings, living with a very nice family, and I haven´t broken out the camera yet. Still, it should be good. The hermana has promised to show me how to cook some lovely mexican delicacies such as chiles en nogada and conchas. Cakes are her favorite! Me too, hermana! And the language barrier comes a tumbling down!

Anyways, until then here are some photos of some excellent blackberry muffins I made a few weeks ago when I was still stateside. They were very good. The recipe calls for blueberries, but I didn´t have them so I used black and they came out great. I especially recommend the buttery streusel, mmm! Enjoy!












Blueberry or Blackberry Muffins

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh berries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Enjoy amigos!