Do you know the Muffin Man...or Woman?

This morning I woke up with a strange desire to bake...so after surveying the contents of the fridge I decided on homemade blueberry muffins. Lately I've been on a berry kick so I've been heading to Costco (yea, I know you're thinking Costco and Sam's are the home of 30 gallon bottles of catsup not berries!) where I have been the lucky finder of low priced 24oz containers of berries. Right now I've got blackberries and blueberries in the fridge but last week also added raspberries (which I eat faster than I can keep on hand) to the mix. Let's put it this way, 1 small container of any of the aforementioned berries costs between $3-$5, at Costco I've gotten my 24oz boxes for less than $7 a piece...a good savings for someone who eats them as quickly as I do. So, as I said, homemade blueberry muffins were the muffin du-jour today, with an added bonus of a strusel topping!


Blueberry Muffins
1 Stick Softened Butter/Margarine
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Large Eggs
2 Tsp Baking Powder
2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
2 1/2 Cups Fresh Blueberries

Strusel Topping
2/3 Stick Softened Butter
1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Oats (as in Quaker Oatmeal Oats)

1. Preheat oven to 375. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar and salt.
2. Add eggs one at a time, beat well after each egg. Add baking powder.
3. Slowly add in and alternate between flour and milk, beating well in between.
4. Mash 1/2 cup blueberries, add to batter. Stir in vanilla.
5. Add remaining 2 cups blueberries.
6. Pour batter into paper-lined muffin pans filling to the top.
7. Put all dry strusel ingredients together into a bowl, cut in softened butter. Sprinkle evenly over muffins.
8. Bake muffins for 30 minutes or until a cake tester can be inserted and come out clean. Cool on a rack.

So on a separate note, yesterday I had the pleasure of going to Dallas to see the King Tut exhibition at the Museum of Art, a very cool experience. Prior to our entrance time, my boyfriend and I wandered around the remnants (I say that because it was 2pm) of the Farmers Market and found all kinds of great produce we brought home with us. I bought red plums, fresh mangos, fresh shelled peas, brussel sprouts and more jalapenos than I know what to do with. I guess I'll be making some salsa this week and stuffing jalapenos but that will still leave me with plenty (as you can see from the photo), any ideas for all these jalapenos?