I am a pretty patient person. Excuse me while I push my chair away from the computer for a great big belly laugh. I really am…wait, still laughing. Okay, I’m about as patient as the next guy or gal…man this is really funny. Truthfully, I’m about as patient as, well as patient as I think I need to be in any given instance. This is despite the fact that when I first moved to the south to attend college, I use to finish the sentences of people I was talking to because they took too long (in my opinion) to finish their statements.

Excuse me? A little over the top you say? What was that?…I’m waiting!

Well, now that I’ve managed to turn a completely lovely post into a combative experience, I’ll be the first to apologize. Apologies! I am pleased to say that I’m much better the second time around after moving to the south. I still may not be able to stand the whining of my children, but I at least allow people to finish their statements without my help.

My whole reasoning for bringing up patience in the first place is because I have managed to wait almost an entire year for these, fresh blueberries, to finally be available in a field or grocery store near me. You see, I have been craving blueberry muffins for more than one year. The last time I had one was before our move from California; fresh blueberries were everywhere.

By the time we moved here and got ourselves situated blueberry season as well as strawberry season and any other fresh fruit I could possibly desire was out of season locally. Having fresh fruit year around, locally grown, is one thing I definitely miss about California. With determination to continue shopping as local as possible, I decided to wait until next spring – NOW! YIPPEE! – to make these muffins.

I found this recipe in the 1996 November/December issue of Cooking Light magazine, which someone tossed into the recycling bin where I use to live. That issue has become gold to me because I have found several (a lot, a whole big bunch, many) delicious recipes that I frequently make. The other funny thing is that the original recipe for these muffins, which I modified, is part of a paid advertisement for Chevrolet. They were promoting cars and threw in the recipes to satisfy the cooking readers. Cars and cooking can be a delicious combination.

These are quick and easy to whip up and start with the flour which you place in a medium size mixing bowl.

Add the baking powder.

The baking soda comes next.

After that, add the salt.

Why does granulated, white, pure cane sugar have to taste sooooooooooooooo good? I need to cut back, but I’m not really sure where. All I now is that it won’t be with these muffins, so go ahead and add the sugar.

Whisk the dry ingredients.

I make this recipe a lot and end up with a bunch of bald (zested) lemons. My suggestion is to have a recipe waiting near by that uses a lot of lemon juice. You could also make fresh lemonade or lemon popsicles for the children. All you need to add is a little bit of sugar.

Add the lemon zest to the dry ingredients and whisk until well blended.

Yes, I know I could use frozen blueberries, but the full flavor and the lemon zing you get from these muffins would totally get lost in translation. I also like how the fresh and hot blueberries pop in my mouth and ooze with flavor. Add your fresh blueberries.

When mixing the blueberries into the dry ingredients, be gentle so as not to burst them.

Add the buttermilk. These also make up well using soy milk.

The oil is next. Most recipes call for vegetable oil and I replace it with canola oil. What type of oil do you usually use when baking? I’ve also read that olive oil is great for baking. I made a cake once using olive oil. It was good, but I couldn’t get past the fact that I was using olive oil. It just didn’t seem right. I’ve got soooo many issues.

Whisk the eggs and add to the mixture.

Gently mix the batter together.

The flour mixture will take over for a while.

Soon, everything starts coming together and it looks more like a muffin batter – slightly stiff – but definitely muffin batter.

Put the batter in a muffin tin.

Spoon a little bit of sugar over the top of each muffin. This is optional, but I go all the way when making these; buttermilk and sugar.

It may get better than this, but I don’t really think so.

How You Do It:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
3. Add the blueberries and stir until they are coated with the flour mixture.
4. Add the buttermilk, oil, and egg to the dry mixture and then mix until well blended.
5. Measure the batter and spoon into the muffin tin.
6. Bake for about 10-12 minutes.