When the northwesterly wind blows through the open kitchen window it keeps it comfortably cool so that I can spend my time baking/cooking without heating up the cabin. Baking is easier than splitting firewood or putting in fence posts (my recent project) and I really enjoy doing it as a way to spend quality time with the little angel. I have salal ( a common native shrub of the Pacific Northwest) growing around the edge of my yard and now the berries are ripe. Raw they are dry and mealy but in baked goods they are scrumptious. This is my muffin recipe: I mix the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry in another before combining. Wet ingredients: 1 cup salal berries ( I also substitute blueberries); 1/3 cup melted margarine or a flavourless oil; 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk or any kind of milk; 11/2 tsp vanilla; 1/2 cup applesauce or one 113 gram snack cup of unsweetened applesauce. Dry ingredients: 11/2 cups all purpose flour; 3/4 cup white sugar; 1/2 tsp. sea salt; 1/2 tsp. baking soda; 1/2 tsp. baking powder; 1/2 tsp. cinnamon; 1/8 tsp nutmeg Preheat oven to 350. Bake 25 mins in greased muffin tins. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from tins. Makes 9 large muffins. Freezes well.
Good morning Ronda! There is nothing like making some fresh muffins with REAL berries from your own yard. We don't have a berry bush, but there are plenty of raspberry bushes in the alley ways of our neighborhood! On our morning walks, my husband snatches a few ruby gems and pops them in his mouth.....
ReplyDeleteI hope you are no where near those wild fires? We experienced a cloud of smoke yesterday from up north; it even smelled as if there was a giant barbeque going on!
Enjoy a lovely summer day. Anita
Hi Anita The wildfires are a long way's off on the mainland. We have been under an air quality advisory because of the smoke. Yesterday it was very bad; I have never seen it like this before but today it is much better. At least I can see the orange globe of a sun. Yes I agree with you - real berries is one of the beauties of summer. Thanks for coming by. It's nice to hear from you!
DeleteI am sorry about your smoke exposure. That sounds scary. The muffins sound delicious and yes, fresh ripe berries are always a summer treat!
ReplyDeleteIt has irritated my allergies but since the advisory covers a wide area some of it densely populated my thoughts are with the individuals with existing health problems who are affected by it. Hopefully the weather conditions will change sooner rather than later. Thanks for dropping by Kim.
DeleteThose sound delicious, Ronda. I have never heard of that kind of berry though. Hope you have a great week with your angel. xo Diana
ReplyDeleteThank you Diana. I am going to post more on salal soon.
DeleteI'd never heard of that berry either. The muffins do look wonderful though :)
ReplyDeleteHi Rue Salal berries are similar to a blueberry in baked goods in that they hold their shape well. Their taste can be described as mild, somewhat sweet, and rich with earthy and juicy flavours. I picked some more with my daughter this morning and we are going to do more baking this afternoon. I hope you are enjoying the local wild berries in your area and thanks for stopping by.
Deleteyum!
ReplyDeletei even like the word ... muffin!
oh. i bet they'd be good in a cobbler too... just right. not too sweet!
you live a charmed life ronda.
i just like the thought that there's a lady somewhere in a huge wood with a little angel ... living simply and beautifully.
there's a book there.
and that she weaves gorgeous useful things too...
and i haven't forgotten. if i ever get you know what paid off... LOL!
who knew it's like having major surgery!!! the cost i mean. xo
Tammy you take my breath away.....thank you for that....yes the berries make a very good cobbler....will send you an email
DeleteI took lots of pictures of salal when my husband and I were traveling in the Northwest a couple of years ago, and I first learned the name of the plant - but it was a little early in the year for berries to have formed. Maybe next time I'll go in July and experience the fruit, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm super impressed that you noticed our lovely salal!
ReplyDeleteHow exciting to have a salal berry plant! I don't think we have wild salal berries here, but we do have the wild huckleberries, and also Oregon grapes. I have never made anything with the oregon grapes, which we have a ton of growing on our property. I bet I could bake your muffins with the oregon grapes though! Thanks for sharing your recipe! We are having terrible wildfires here too, although thankfully in the last couple of days we have gotten some rain which has really helped! Stay safe and cool :)
ReplyDeleteIn this climate salal grows in wetter forests than Oregon grape which prefers it a little drier. I do have some Oregon grape but not enough to do anything with the berries. If I was closer or vice versa I would volunteer to come pick with you. We do have huckleberries here but they are a different species than yours and not nearly as tasty. I hope everything is well with you......
DeleteYummy, they look good.
ReplyDeleteCarla
Thank you Carla!
ReplyDelete