Blueberry Lavender Cornbread Muffins Revisited

Fans of Muffins,

This recipe originally posted in June 2008 on my blog. I figured it was time to revisit it. Plus I got some great photos this morning. My Mary aka "Big Fruit" absolutely loves these muffins. I should be a good friend and bake them for her more often. She got some this morning. Joy.


It's not blueberry season yet so please use frozen ones until we are blessed with fresh blueberries once again in June. Don't waste your money on buying out of season produce from another country. It's going to be poor quality, lacking in nutrients and you are supporting an "on-demand" produce industry that is leaving a huge footprint on our environment. Local seasonal food is way more gratifying and tasty. *Stepping down from my soapbox now.* Since I downsized out of my house and moved into an apartment, my friend Katy is babysitting my blueberry plants until I have space for them again. I saw them today and they have so many new buds! It's going to be a great blueberry season for my plants. If you don't grow your own blueberries--you should! They are very easy to grow and do great here in Portland. Stop by the nursery and chat with me about growing them if you are interested. I love talking small fruit, it is in fact my nickname at the nursery. "Small Fruit" at your service! Here's a link to some helpful basics about growing blueberries.

This recipe has dried lavender. I love everything about lavender. It is a gorgeous ornamental plant and once established in it's first season it never needs supplemental watering again in Portland. I use it for countless medicinal purposes, in my skin care products, as an herbal tea, for aromatherapy, and as a culinary flavor. The lavender I used today is from a big harvest I did in my friends Anne & Megan's garden last Summer. Kept out of sunlight in an airtight jar it still smells great! Check out this link to helpful information on growing your own lavandula.

If you haven't cooked with lavender then get started because it's awesome.

In Health & Love,
Miss Jolie Ann




1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup cornmeal

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp dried lavender (crush blossoms, whole ones can be overpowering!)

5 tbsp butter (or canola oil for less dairy)

2 tbsp organic honey

2 organic large brown eggs

1 tsp organic non-alcohol pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup nonfat greek style yogurt

zest of 1 fresh lemon, about 1 tbsp
1 cup fresh (if in season) or frozen blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly grease a muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and powdered sugar. Stir until well mixed. Add the lavender and stir.
3. Melt the butter and honey together. Combine in another bowl with the eggs, vanilla, yogurt, and lemon zest. Beat until well mixed.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Stir until just combined. Do not over mix. Add the blueberries and stir until combined.
5. Pour about 1/2 cup batter into each muffin pan. I like bigger muffins so this recipe makes 8 muffins for me.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Let cool on counter and remove from pan.

Creamy Mushroom Casserole

Dear Readers,

I love mushrooms. But, what's weird is I am picky about what kind of mushrooms. I adore white button, cremini and portobellos--your standard grocery store mushrooms. This recipe has all three. I am not a fan of the shiitake, porcini, chanterelle or any other wild fungi. Also, I will only eat mushrooms that are perfectly fresh. Any signs of browning or smell creep me out. I hate raw mushrooms or undercooked mushrooms. I love them sauteed just perfectly so they are soft and melt in my mouth. That's my tangent about mushrooms. Thanks for listening.

This recipe has more dairy that I'd typically eat but I was feeling inspired for a rich creamy casserole tonight. Portland has been blessed by unseasonably warm Spring weather throughout January & February. Today it was cold, rainy, windy, dark and down right dreary. It felt like Winter again and that made me crave a substantial hearty casserole. It seemed the perfect night to create this recipe. 3 types of mushrooms mingle with wild rice and brown rice. The sour cream adds a stroganoff-ish flavor. The casserole is topped with bread crumbs browned in butter & lemon zest. This recipe takes about an hour to bake after you are done with all the prep, so probably 2 hours total. That means it's not a quick week night supper. Better to do when you can futz around the kitchen doing other things while it cooks. But what I love about casseroles is they make many servings. And for a single eater this means leftover meals all week. Or you can freeze portions to enjoy later on when you are really hungry and don't feel like cooking. Take it to your next potluck and tell them the recipe came from my blog.

I absolutely love the bread crumbs in this recipe. When I have extra bread (which I don't have around anymore since I drastically reduced my gluten intake) I chop it up, toast it in the oven for a minutes until browned, then freeze it for later use as bread crumbs. It is way better than any store bought packaged bread crumbs. In this recipe I saute the bread crumbs in butter and lemon zest until they are saturated and browned. The aroma is heavenly and they taste amazing.

Hope you enjoy the recipe. And, hey, if you are out there reading...I really have no idea if anyone ever reads my blog! Drop me a comment once and a while so I know I have some readership. I'd appreciate the encouragement. I know my book deal or HGTV show is out there somewhere. Help me find it. I love hearing from you. Thank you people.

In Health, ,
Miss Jolie Ann

Creamy Mushroom Casserole
6-8 servings

1 cup short grain brown rice
1 cup wild rice
4 cups water
bay leaf
1 tbsp butter
1 cup dried bread crumbs
zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, minced
1/2 pound mixed mushrooms-white button & cremini
1 portobello mushroom
sea salt
black pepper
pinch each of nutmeg
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup fat free cottage cheese
1 cup light sour cream
1/2 shredded asiago cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Rinse well the wild rice. Combine wild rice, brown rice, bay leaf and 4 cups of water in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce the heat to a low and simmer covered for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside covered for 5 minutes. Remove cover, discard bay leaf and fluff with fork.
2. While the rice cooks prepare the bread crumbs. In a skillet warm 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add the bread crumbs, lemon zest, and a pinch of sea salt. Saute for about 5 minutes until the bread crumbs have saturated the butter and have browned up nice and crispy. Set aside.
3. In the same pan warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes until onions begin to soften. Add the mushrooms and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes. You want the mushrooms to be soft and their liquid to have absorbed. Add the garlic, nutmeg, sage, tarragon, and rosemary. Saute for 1-2 minutes more. Remove from heat.
4. In a large mixing bowl combine the cooked rice, the mushroom mixture, eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, and asiago cheese. Stir until well mixed.
5. Grease a 13x9x2 baking dish with butter or olive oil. Spread the casserole into the pan. Cover with foil. Bake in oven at 350 for 45 minutes. At 45 minutes remove the foil, spread the bread crumbs on top of the casserole and bake uncovered for another 15 minutes until the top is toasted. Done. Enjoy the creamy goodness Gina Drew.

Blueberry & Dark Cocoa Pancakes

Good Morning Readers!

It's my day off and it's been a really busy couple of weeks at work for me. After sleeping in this morning I wanted a more substantial breakfast than my usual fruit smoothie. It's true. Every morning at 6:30am I make a fruit smoothie & green tea for breakfast. I usually follow this up with some steel cut oats around 9:30am. I am a total creature of habit. I've had this breakfast every morning for easily the past 8 years. Prior to that my breakfast was a strong cup of coffee and a couple of cigarettes. So, I'd say my current breakfast routine is a huge improvement. Little did you know Miss Jolie wasn't always such a healthy eater :)

I am not creative when it comes to breakfast. I found what works for me. But, on my days off I'm a little more adventurous. And this morning when I looked outside at the bleak rainy cold morning I was craving pancakes. Since I kicked the gluten last Autumn I've found success with the Trader Joe's brand gluten-free pancake and waffle mix. I also like this mix is sugar-free, as I try to eat a limited amount of sugar in my daily diet. I try to reserve sugar for special occasions. For this recipe you could substitute any gluten-free pancake mix. For the add-in's I used frozen blueberries because we are months away from fresh blueberry season. The frozen organic wild blueberries from Trader Joe's are the perfect tiny size. I was craving chocolate and had on hand unsweetened cocoa powder and dark chocolate. So these got thrown in the batter. I love the taste of pancakes on their own so much that I rarely add syrup. If you use syrup, please people, invest in some pure maple syrup. That "syrup" junk most folks eat is just brown dyed corn syrup without a trace of real maple. Kick the corn syrup to the curb where it belongs. You'll be better off. I hope pancake joy brightens your day today!

In Health & Happiness,
Miss Jolie Ann

Blueberry Dark Cocoa Pancakes
Improvise with Me....

1. Gluten-free pancake mix (follow directions for the quantity you crave)
2. 1 tbsp unsweetned dark cocoa powder--mix this in with the dry ingredients
3. Prepare the pancake mix according to directions. Once wet & dry ingredients are mixed then add in a handful of defrosted frozen blueberries (the amount will depend on how many pancakes you are making).
4. Add in a few shavings of dark chocolate. mmm.
5. Cook pancakes with according to package directions.
6. Optional toppings: butter, powdered sugar, more dark chocolate shavings, maple syrup, blueberry syrup.
7. Drool and/or eat pancakes now.

Corn Tortillas Layered with Garlicky Wilted Cabbage & Chard, Black Beans & Eggs

Dear Readers,
My friends Sherrie & Mindy gave me these adorable little eggs from their backyard flock of hens. I wanted to create a recipe to feature these delicious cute tiny eggs. What I came up with is this recipe that features soft corn tortillas layered with garlicky wilted cabbage & swiss chard, black beans, fried eggs, and I used some roasted green tomato chipotle sauce I preserved in the Autumn. You could use any salsa, enchilada sauce, or hot sauce for this dish. The flavors stand on their own. Whatever sauce you choose, don't use a lot. A little goes a long way to mingle with the other flavors of this recipe. And, this is a VERY improvisational recipe so there aren't exacts. Play with it. Play with your food. Just play as much as possible. Create beautiful food and follow your bliss. Life is short. Enjoy!

In Health & Joy,
Miss Jolie Ann

Corn Tortillas Layered with Garlicky Wilted Greens, Black Beans & Fried Eggs
Serves 2

2 cups shredded purple cabbage
2 cups thinly sliced swiss chard
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
1 clove garlic, minced
Butter (less than one tablespoon)--or more olive oil to keep it vegan
4 corn tortillas
14oz can black beans
2 eggs
1/2c cup salsa, enchilada sauce, or hot sauce--your choice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Warm the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the cabbage and a pinch of sea salt. Saute for 3-5 minutes. You want the cabbage to be slightly wilted, but still firm and retaining it's color. Add the swiss chard and garlic. Saute for 1 minute, no longer. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Add a very thin slice of butter to the pan. Add one tortilla and cook on each side approximately 1 minute. Set aside. Continue to cook all 4 tortillas individually. If the pan gets dry, add it more butter. (If you don't do dairy you can easily substitute olive oil)
3. While the tortillas are cooking, drain and rinse the black beans. Set aside.
4. Once the tortillas are cooked, use the same pan for the eggs. Add a tiny bit of butter if the pan is dry. Fry the eggs over medium heat until the yokes are firm but not hard.
5. Put 2 tortillas on each plate and begin layering. First tortillas, then sauce, then cabbage & chard, then black beans, then 1 egg, and garnish with cilantro.

Quinoa-Lentil Salad with Greek Flavors

Quinoa-Lentil Salad with Greek Flavors

Hello! This main dish salad is packed with protein, fiber, and all kinds of colors, textures and flavors. The quinoa and lentils are combined with sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, walnuts, and herbs used in Greek cuisine. You can add feta cheese or leave it vegan. It's delicious either way. Think taboulli without the wheat or summer veggies. This salad also keeps well all week, so I make a big batch on the weekend and take it to work for lunch each day. It would be perfect on a picnic. It's one of my favorite recipes and a staple for me during the Winter. While the quinoa and lentils cook (in under 30 minutes) you chop and prepare all the other ingredients. This meal is done & in your happy belly in a flash! Enjoy!

In Health & Love,
Miss Jolie Ann

Quinoa-Lentil Salad with Greek Flavors
Original Recipe by Miss Jolie Ann
makes 5-6 servings

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 cup dry brown lentils
2 cups water
1/4 extra virgin olive oil
2 lemons, juiced
1 tsp sea salt
pinch of black pepper
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1 tsp chopped fresh dill
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup packed chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 cloves of garlic, pressed
1/4 cup minced red onion
4 stalks celery, minced
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup julienned sundried tomatoes (packed in olive oil)
1 cup whole pitted kalamata olives
Optional: 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. Place the quinoa and water in a sauce pan. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Let cool to room temperature.
2. Place lentils and water in a sauce pan. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let cook for about 20 minutes. You want the lentils to be cooked, but not mushy. They should still be firm and hold their shape. Drain water from lentils and set aside. Let cool to room temperature.
3. In a large bowl combine the quinoa and lentils with all the remaining ingredients. Stir until well combined. Serve at room temperature.

Coconut Corn Chowder with Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice

Coconut Corn Chowder with Fresh Squeezed Lime

As a seasonal eater, sometimes I really miss the sweet flavors of Summer during the Winter. In fact, I miss them a lot. This recipe is great with frozen corn and satisfies some of those cravings until fresh corn is available in July. I recommend using frozen vs canned corn. Canned corn, or any canned vegetable actually, contains ridiculous amounts of sodium that honestly you just don't need in your diet. Corn chowder recipes are a dime a dozen. What I love about this one is the addition of creamy coconut milk. It really changes up with traditional corn chowder flavor. Fresh squeezed lime & cilantro are a perfect accompaniment to the coconut milk and corn. A comfort food, kind of like creamed corn, without all the dairy and sugar. Added bonus--the recipe is quick and very simple to prepare. Enjoy this little bit of Summer sunshine and flavor in March!

In Health & Love,
Miss Jolie Ann

Coconut Corn Chowder with Fresh Squeezed Lime
Original Recipe by Miss Jolie
approximately 6 servings

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, minced
1/2 tsp fresh ginger root, minced
1 small yukon gold or other yellow potato, finely chopped
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
pinch of black pepper
2 16oz packages of frozen corn
2 cups water
14 oz can unsweetened light coconut milk
1 lime, plus extra for garnish
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

1. In a stock pot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the minced onions and cook for 5 minutes until they start to turn translucent. Add the minced ginger root and chopped potato to the pan. Continue to saute for 5 more minutes. Add the sea salt, coriander, cumin, and black pepper. Saute for a few minutes more until the spices are well combined and smell very fragrant.
2. Add the corn to the pan. Stir. Add enough water to cover the corn, approximately 2 cups. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer soup for approximately 20 minutes. The corn is already fully cooked, so you just need the potatoes to get soft and all the flavors to combine themselves.
3. Add the coconut milk and let simmer for just a few minutes until it's combined with the soup. Remove from heat and let cool enough to blend.
4. Reserve 1 cup of the soup and set aside. If you have an immersion blender you can puree the soup directly in the pan. Or you can puree the soup in batches in your blender. Remember to never put hot liquids in your blender because the heat will blow the lid off and make a huge mess. Safety first people! :) After soup is pureed to a creamy consistency, add the reserved cup of soup. This gives it a nice texture.
5. Squeeze the juice of one lime and add to the soup. Stir to combine. Garnish each bowl with chopped cilantro and lime wedges.

Beet & Grapefruit Salad with Black-Eyed Peas

My friend Catherine came to dinner and I wanted to create something really special for her that was vegan, gluten-free, and completely delicious. She loved it so much I'm going to name this recipe "Catherine's Salad." I just love beets--everything about them. The color, the earthy & sweet flavor, the dirt. Everything! The colors in this salad are beautiful and it's ingredients are substantial enough to serve it as a main course. It's combination of veggies and fruit is sweet, tangy and sour. The dressing is a combo of raspberry, mustard and balsamic vinegar. It's companions at dinner were coriander roasted yams and asparagus with chevre. It was a divine dinner. Enjoy the recipe!

In Health,
Miss Jolie Ann

Beet & Grapefruit Salad with Black-Eyed Peas
aka "Catherine's Salad"
Serves 4

1 cup dried black-eyed peas
water
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried rosemary
4 beets, rinsed & tops removed
1 tbsp sugar-free 100% fruit raspberry preserves
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp + 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
sea salt & black pepper
4 cups mixed greens, washed & dried
1 red grapefruit, peeled, and segments skinned into small pieces
2 ripe avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, and sliced

1. Rinse the black-eyed peas and remove any grit. Place in a large pot, add bay leaf, dried rosemary, and cover with water. Bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer until black-eyed peas are cooked, but not mushy. Approximately 40 minutes. Drain & set aside.
2. While black-eyed peas are cooking, remove tops from the beets and rinse. Place in a large pot and cover with water. Bring water to boil. Reduce heat to medium and let simmer until beets are tender all the way through when pierced with a fork. Once cooked, remove from heat, drain water, rinse and let soak in fresh cool water for a few minutes. Once beets are cool to the touch, pull the skins off with your fingers. They should easily fall off. Cut the beets in half and thinly slice each half. Put slices in a bowl and add 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar plus a sprinkle of salt & pepper. Set aside.
3. Once the black-eyed peas are cool begin the dressing. In a small bowl combine the raspberry preserves, Dijon mustard, olive oil, remaining 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and salt & pepper to your desired taste. Stir with whisk until well mixed. Combine the dressing and the black-eyed peas until combined.
4. Divide the salad greens among 4 plates. Divide the black-eyed peas into 4 portions and add to the top of the lettuce on each plate. Divide the beets and arrange on top of the black-eyed peas on each plate. Divide the grapefruit pieces and arrange on top of the beets on each plate. Divide the avocado slices and arrange on the top of salads.