Do you know the Muffin Man?

Perhaps you've heard of the Birdman of Alcatraz? Well, I should like to be known as the Muffin Man of Hill Street. A short time back a friend gave me a bag of dried blueberries. They are supposed to be full of anti-oxidents, which I guess is good. God forbid that you should have oxidents in your body, for whatever reason. When I had  reduced the bag (with the help of the dog) to less than half full, I got the brilliant idea of making some muffins with the remainder. This past year our neighbor blessed us with this Taste of home Cookbook. If you never get another cookbook in your life, I would like to highly recommend that you have this one. It is so complete from start to finish, covering everything from making hard boiled eggs (only boil them for one minute- then let them stand in the water for fifteen minutes before cooling them off) to buying and storing fruit, to baking bread. I LOVE this cook book. Twice I've made twice baked potatoes with the recipes from this book.  I learned the proper way to boil my shrimp. It covers just about anything you could want to learn about cooking. I fully intend to utilize it some more this winter as I wind down from fishing. Anyway, back to the muffins. I found a recipe for blueberry muffins using sour cream. I wasn't real sure I'd like it, but I gave it a try anyhow. Let me tell you- I AM  the Muffin Man! Just look at those blond beauties resting on the cooling tray. I wish I could let you all have a taste of these puppies. They were delightful. I'm actually kind of glad that they are almost gone. If I had more blueberries at my disposal right now, I'd most probably bake another batch, which of course I would have to eat. Then instead of being the Muffin Man I  would look more like a cross between the Pillsbury Dough Boy and the Michelin Tire Man. They are by far the best muffins I've ever eaten, and I'm not just saying that because I baked them. I don't know why I'm all proud of them to begin with. All I did was follow the directions in the cookbook. Someone else came up with the recipe. It's like people getting proud when they own a nice house. They didn't build it, so what's to be proud about? Human nature I guess. It just so happens that muffins were in the news recently. Some government agency had a powwow and bought a bunch of muffins at the ridiculous price of  $14.00 each. I can't recalll the exact amount of money spent, but I believe it was in the thousands. Just another example of government buffoonery. Now, had they been Muffin Man muffins that I had baked, I could understand the expense. If you should happen to hear that old childrens rhyme, Do you know the Muffin Man?, you can answer yes, he lives on Hill Street in Hoonah. In the event that anyone reading this would like the recipe,  here it is. It was the brainchild of one Linda Gilmore of Hampstead Maryland. Thanks Linda!

BERRY CREAM MUFFINS

2 cups all purpose flour

1cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (or dried) raspberries or blueberries

2 eggs lightly beaten

1 cup (8 oz) of sour cream

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a large bowl combine flour,sugar,baking powder, baking soda, and salt; add berries and toss gently. Combine the eggs, sourcream, oil and vanilla, mix well. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

2. Fill greased muffin cups two thirds full.Bake for 18-22 minutes at 400 degrees or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for five minutes before removing from pan to wire rack. Serve warm. Yield about one dozen.

Editor's note: If using frozen berries, do not thaw before adding to the batter.

 So there you go folks. If you too would like to have a tire around your middle, go ahead and make a batch, but be forewarned, they're like Lays chips. Nobody can eat just one-unless you've eaten all the others and that's all that's left. Have fun.