Blueberry Lime Muffins

Sunday mornings, in this house, means it's time for "Family Breakfast". While we eat dinner as a family every night, it's near impossible to get everyone at the same table in the morning. The husband has an insanely long commute and leaves far earlier than our earliest riser wakes, the kids have either school or various activities, etc. You get the picture. But, Sundays... Sundays are for family and we start off our family day with a nice breakfast and see where it goes from there.

This Sunday was no exception, with the slight exception that one of the kids wasn't home and we were getting a bit of a later start than normal. Our 11 year old had spent the night with a friend and I was given the chance to sleep in a bit. Score on both counts! But, by the time I got up and moving, I realized breakfast was either not going to happen or needed to be something I could quickly throw together and ready to hit the table all at once. It was decided! Muffins were the ticket and I knew just which variety was hitting the table:

Blueberry!

Always a crowd-pleaser and, because the kids adore them so much, we usually have plenty in the fridge. And though I love a good blueberry muffin, I felt a little piece of summer was needed to make this batch over-the-top delicious. What screams "Summer" more than the bright notes of citrus? Maybe a hint of coconut. Well, seeing as I had limes and coconut oil on hand, I made a batch of sinfully good Blueberry Lime  Muffins.

Here's my method:
Makes 12 delicious muffins

2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled a bit
Zest of one lime
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup blueberries
1 Tbs raw sugar, optional

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line or grease 12 muffin cups.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda and set it aside.

In a large bowl, beat eggs and gradually add in the sugar while beating and then slowly add in the oil. Toss in the lime zest. Then alternately add in the flour and buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour until it's just incorporated. Fold in the blueberries and divide evenly between the prepped muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops with a bit of the raw sugar. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until done. Allow to cool a few minutes in the pan before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely... Or not so completely, if you really can't wait.

My family loved these and I really wish I'd made more, since all 12 were gone within minutes. Hope you love them as much as we did.

Cilantro Lime Brown Rice

For those die hard fans of a certain Mexican food chain, this post is for you. Even if you aren't the biggest fan of said food chain, you should pay attention, too, because this dish will rock your socks. Being from Southern California, we eat a lot of Mexican food, both when we're out and at home. It's simple to prepare, crowd pleasing, and allows me to indulge in my love of limes and cumin. It has quickly become one of my most favorite go-to side dish recipes.

When I first started making this dish, I used white rice, because I had it on hand. I loved it and so did my family, but my preference really lies more with using brown rice. Sure, it takes longer to cook, but my idol, Alton Brown, has an awesome method of baking brown rice and I've been a die hard convert ever since. Besides, baking has proven, in this house, to yield far more consistent results than sitting around babysitting a pot of boiling rice on the stove.

So, enough of my blathering, this is my method:

1 1/2 cup brown rice, medium or long grain
2 1/2 cup boiling water
1 Tbs unsalted butter
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
The zest of one lime
The juice of one lime

Preheat your oven to 375. In an oven safe casserole dish, add the rice, salt, butter, and boiling water. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour. Immediately after it bakes, fluff with a fork and add the cilantro, lime zest, and lime juice and toss to incorporate it well. Serve and devour.

Yes, it's really that simple! I hope you enjoy it, we sure do.