My morning looked like this:
A trip to the farmer’s market where I picked up a pound of okra and a half dozen San Marzano tomatoes.
A quick perusal of an Estate Sale on Avenue F.
A few hours with a banana smoothie, a handful of crackers and my laptop at Whole Foods.
By the time I arrived, the store was crawling with a mixture of hipsters, young families, running groups, older couples and vivacious teenagers. I weaved in and out of the collecting groups, sampled a few flavors of gelato, and picked out two larabars to bring to work with me on Monday. As I waited for my smoothie to be blended, I talked to a man who swore by his daily shot of wheatgrass. I watched a little girl with more hair than body waddle up to the bakery case. “Yes, yes, please!” she pled, pointing to a cinnamon bagel.
In the upstairs seating area, I peered over the glass wall too the pizza crew toss dough, layer on toppings and slice each pie into eight gigantic pieces. My smoothie was refreshing, but after a few minutes, I wanted a piece of pizza too.
To capture both the harmony and cacophony of life. To distill the seemingly disparate moments into something worth holding, admiring, keeping in a pocket or under a pillow. I don’t understand many things in this world. The tragedies of this last year being paramount. But I do find that writing about them, along with the many joys, brings my view into better focus. When I see people of all shapes, when I hear people of all voices, when I smell food that brings us all together, I write.
So in many ways, Whole Foods is a perfect place for my stories to happen.
I made these muffins on Saturday afternoon after I learned about a blogger contest Whole Foods is hosting to celebrate that delicious summer-time fruit—fresh, red sweet cherries. The contest requirements were simple: make a kid friendly recipe with 7 ingredients or less (3 of those being a fresh fruit or veggie), and use ½ cup of red sweet cherries.
Check out their blog for more contests, recipes and whole foods facts!
These muffins are a fun adaptation of a traditional corn muffin. They taste like summer and would go perfectly on a table covered in backyard barbecue fare. Starting with a simple cornbread mix, I added fresh corn, blueberries and chopped fresh cherries. A hidden layer of berries makes these muffins a fun treat to eat. To add some sweetness and moistness, I subbed organic vanilla yogurt for the milk. Simple, flavorful and chock-full of summer goodness.
2 Packages Cornbread mix (I used Hodgson Mill Cornbread Muffin Mix, but Jiffy works well too)
2 eggs
2 TBSP oil
1 1/2 cups organic vanilla yogurt (I used the Whole Foods brand)
1 ear of corn, shucked (about 1 cup of kernels)
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup fresh, red sweet cherries, removed from pits and chopped
*If using Jiffy or another mix, follow the back of box instructions but sub in vanilla yogurt for milk or water.
1. Line a 12 tin muffin pan with paper liners, or grease well with butter. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, oil and vanilla yogurt.
3. In a large bowl, combine 2 packages of cornbread mix with the liquid ingredients. Fold gently using a rubber spatula until fully hydrated. Be careful to not overmix. Gently fold in corn kernels.
4. Scoop 2 TBSP of muffin batter into muffin tins. Place a few chopped cherries and blueberries on top. Scoop 2-3 more TBSP of batter over the top of the berries. Arrange a few more pieces of fruit on top.
5. Place prepared muffins in preheated oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Mom and Dad can help with this part!).
6. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in pan before removing to a wire rack. Enjoy soon after!
Always,
Monet
Anecdotes and Apple Cores