Stirrin' Blog

The first Stirrin’Stuff Blog 28th August 2006
It’s the end of the summer holidays; its getting cold and my wee Trashers have begun to spend less time on the sun scuffed foot ball pitch on the lawn and more by the Aga in the kitchen.
Our kitchen really is the heart of our home – the eldest of the six now at university, went to a party at the weekend and said that the guy's parents were pretty good about it and kept out of the way, well a bit like Da and you would do, but come to think of it I can’t imagine our kitchen without you guys in it.
Maxim (number six child and number five son), made muffins today adapting a Stirrin’Stuff kid’s club recipe. He traded blueberries for the blackberries because our Scottish ones don’t seem to be ripe. (We do know where chanterelle heaven is though). I freeze my blueberries – frozen berries simply ouzzzze flavour in the muffins. Newly nine year old Maxim weighed everything out – BE PREPARED is the golden rule for the Stirrin’ kitchen, not that any of us really are. He left the blueberries in the freezer until the last moment; they might defrost too quickly the clever clogs said.
Several hours later, the chief stirrer (Ma Bird), sampled a muffin. Taste bud wow factor ‘fruity’ off the scale, absolutely delicious. How come? Maxim had thrown all of the blueberries into the mixture –lid of the tub missing, never mind a label, errant Ma should remember lessons on freezer burns).Whose fault ? Certainly not Maxim’s, Always Have A Grown Up In The Kitchen When You Cook – where was Maxim’s?

Here is the recipe – cheat/adapt with blueberries quantity as required but add a little pinch of common sense.

Watch out for a few student survival tips as number two son begins at his parent’s alma mater in a few weeks time.

Blackberry and Poppy seed Muffins

Makes 12
Cooking time 20-25 minutes
150g small blackberries (cut large ones in half)
300g self raising flour
100g unrefined caster sugar
One tablespoon poppy seeds
1 Egg
175ml milk
125ml vegetable Oil

Method
1. Put the oven on 190°C or Gas Mark 5
2. Put the muffin cases into the muffin tray. Weigh out the dry ingredients together.
3. Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the caster sugar and poppy seeds. Put a damp cloth under the bowl to stop it slipping.
4. Crack the egg into a small bowl.
5. Measure out the oil and then the milk.
6. Whisk the oil and milk together with a balloon whisk, making little stirs, in a large measuring jug (the liquids).
7. Add the egg to the milk and the oil, and mix well with your small whisk or a fork will do just as well.
8. Add the blackberries to the dry ingredients. Quickly add the liquid ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is ‘just’ mixed.
9. Use a desert spoon, to spoon the mixture into the muffin cases and use a scrapper to get the last of the mixture out of the bowl.
10. Put the tray into the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.
11. Transfer the hot muffins from the tray to a cooling rack – they will go soggy if you leave them in the tray to cool.

Try using frozen blackberries or blackcurrants later in the year.

ALWAYS HAVE A GROWN-UP IN THE KITCHEN WHEN YOU COOK

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