Bake it Blackberry

Black and Blue

Although muffins may not be my favorite breakfast, I had a request to make blueberry muffins. I like challenges and find blueberry muffins to be all too common, so I had to find some way to spin the original blueberry muffin. When I went shopping for ingredients I was unsatisfied with the fresh blueberries so then I thought to make substitute a different berry; I chose blackberries. Blackberries are more tangy than blueberries which resulted in a more flavorful muffin. And naturally, I added citrus (this time orange zest and juice).

Preparing the batter went smoothly because I had learned some lessons. I melted butter and needed to add buttermilk to the butter. I knew the butter would curdle if the buttermilk was not near room temperature (a lesson I learned from scone making). I also decided to cut the blackberries in half since they are considerably larger than a blueberry. I separated the batter into a cupcake pan and sprinkled the tops with sugar to add sweetness and also give the muffins a shimmery appeal.

The muffins browned beautifully and came out delicious. The blackberries were a great choice. The muffin was not very sweet but once you bite into a blackberry, the natural sweetness and tang balance out the rest of the muffin. My roommates were throughly satisfied but I hope my co-worker enjoys my innovation to the blueberry muffin.
Time yet for a hundred indecisions, and for a hundred visions and revisions.

That's one of my favorite TS Eliot quotes and basically describes my general indecisiveness (Prufrock and I are not so different). When asked to make blueberry muffins I contemplated dozens of ways I could make the muffin different and never resolved the situation. I had no clear idea of what I was going to make until I went to the grocery store and found the blueberries inedible. (This is the part where we flashback to me staring at the blueberries for four minutes as fellow grocery shoppers wonder why it is taking me so long to pick out berries). I was inspired to try a different berry and found the blackberries awaiting me.

This is also similar to my life philosophy. Decision making is so difficult for me that I let things make decisions for me. The blueberries were obviously not going to work so I looked around and the blackberries were so beautifully posed for me that I couldn't resist. This explains why it is so easy for me to stick to routine. My life is quite routine. It is not because I like change, it's because I am so much like Prufrock and contemplate what I am going to do instead of actually doing it.