Ode to Summer: Blueberries

Summer has arrived—finally!

I know summer is here when boxes overflowing with soft apricots, smooth nectarines, plump plums, fuzzy peaches, and bright red strawberries line the grocery store shelves.

Last week, The Philosopher brought home several pints of fresh blueberries. I can remember buying five-pound boxes of blueberries from Michigan during our stint in Indiana. Those were spectacular. After filling the freezer with quart-sized bags, we would enjoy them year-round. Blueberry pie, blueberry pancakes, and blueberries on the morning oatmeal. The blueberries we get in Colorado come from California, but this latest batch was just as colorful and sweet.

So I had a sudden hankering for blueberry muffins.

I’ve been reading about arsenic levels in rice, especially brown rice, which is bad news for those of us with a gluten sensitivity. Most gluten-free baked goods and flour mixes are made from primarily rice flours. I wanted to make my muffins with something other than rice flour, so I settled on Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour, which you can find in many run-of-the-mill grocery stores (not just Whole Foods or specialty markets). I don’t normally like baked goods made from bean flours, and this particular flour mix combines garbanzo bean, fava bean, and sorghum flours. But by mixing in a little millet four, I mitigated the bean taste. The muffins turned out light and fluffy.

Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins

1 ¼ cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour           
½ cup millet flour
2 tsp baking power
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
¾ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup melted butter
¼ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup fresh blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 400-degrees.

2. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a second, medium-sized bowl, combine the egg, milk, and vanilla and mix well.

3. Fold the wet ingredients and melted butter into the dry mixture, alternating between the milk mixture and the butter. Do not over-mix. Add the walnuts and blueberries and stir gently.

4. Divide the batter between 12 prepared muffins cups (I recommend using those colorful paper liners so the berries don’t stick).

5. Bake for 20 minutes at 400-degrees.

6. Cool in muffin cups on wire rack for 5 minutes before removing. Serve warm with butter.

You’ll want to eat these within a day or two and store left-overs in the fridge.