Blackberry Lemon Thyme Muffins #MuffinMonday

Blackberry Lemon Thyme Muffins marry a trio of flavors that go so well together in a syrup or in a muffin. First make the syrup then use the leftover blackberry puree to make these fluffy delectable muffins.

Just yesterday, over on the Sunday Supper Movement website, I posted a recipe for blackberry lemon thyme syrup from the new cookbook, Not Your Mama’s Canning Book* by Rebecca Lindamood. I divided the ingredients list by three which made two almost full 8 oz jars of the most delightful ruby syrup, full of flavor and sweetness. But after draining the puree of the syrup, I couldn’t just throw the sweet mashed blackberries away. With Muffin Monday coming up – always the last Monday of the month – I knew just what to do with them!

If you’d like to learn how to can or are already a avid fan of canning, you’ll want to check out my post. Thanks to the Page Street Publishing, Sunday Supper is giving away one copy of Rebecca’s book.

Ingredients
For the blackberry lemon thyme puree and syrup
10 3/4 oz or 300g fresh blackberries
1 1/2 cups or 300g granulated sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 sprig fresh thyme

For the muffins
2 cups or 250g all purpose flour
3/4 cup or 170g sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup or 240ml milk
1/2 cup or 120ml canola oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1/2 cup or 160g blackberry puree
Optional – 12 fresh blackberries for decoration

Method
Follow these instructions to make the blackberry syrup but with the amounts indicated above. Discard the thyme sprig but save the strained blackberry puree to make these muffins. Trust me. That syrup is worth the time and effort.

Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C. Generously grease cups and top of 12-cup muffin pan or line them with paper liners

In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, thyme leaves and salt together. In another bowl, whisk together milk, oil, lemon juice, vanilla and eggs.

Add all the milk mixture to flour mixture.

Gently fold just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Drop dollops of the blackberry puree on the batter then use a spatula to swirl them in, leaving streaks of color.

Divide your batter relatively evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Top each with a blackberry, if desired.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden.

Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 before removing muffins from pan.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other muffins we have for you this month!

• Apple Zucchini Muffins by Palatable Pastime
• Blackberry Lemon Thyme Muffins by Food Lust People Love
• Doughnut Muffins by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Key Lime Pie Muffins (two ways) by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Lemon Muffins by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Whole Wheat Pear & Pecan Streusel Muffins (aka the Crack Muffins) by Farm Fresh Feasts
• Plantain Muffins by Passion Kneaded

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

*Amazon affiliate link

Nectarine Kumquat Habanero Chutney

Nectarine Kumquat Habanero Chutney has the perfect blend of sweet and sharp and spicy. The tart kumquats add an extra bite to the sweet nectarines and the heat of the habaneros complements the dried spices, giving this chutney a distinctly Indian flair.

This week my Sunday Supper group is sharing recipes that save the summer harvest. I love adding peppers, especially habaneros, to sweet condiments. There’s something special about that hit of heat and sweet that goes so perfectly with pork or chicken. I just can’t resist. One day soon I’ll share the recipe for my confit pork belly, shown here, because it’s my favorite thing to eat with nectarine kumquat habanero chutney. But meanwhile, serve it along side grilled chicken breasts or pan-fried pork chops.

Ingredients
12 1/3 oz or 350g kumquats
3 cups or 710ml apple cider vinegar
3 lbs 12 oz or 1700g nectarines
2 tablespoon canola or other light oil
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
12 fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon kalonji
4 in or 9cm piece of cinnamon stick
1 cup or 240ml fresh orange juice
2 large, thick thumb-sized pieces fresh ginger
6 cups or 1200g sugar
3-4 habanero peppers – about 38g

Method
Wash your kumquats and remove any stems.  Finely slice them, removing any large green seeds.

Pile them in a bowl and cover them with the vinegar. Push them down into a little if necessary. Cover the bowl with cling film and let marinate for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to proceed, chop your ginger finely. Mince your fresh habaneros. You can discard the seeds but know that even doing that, this is going to be pretty spicy. Be very careful with the habaneros. I recommend you use gloves. Do not, I repeat, do not touch anything – face, eyes, nose, etc. – before washing your hands very thoroughly with full strength soap, or better yet, an abrasive scouring powder, just in case.

Measure out your spices, putting the mustard seeds in one bowl and the rest of the spices in another.

Seed and thinly slice your nectarines. No need to peel them.



In a large pot, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add in the other spices and give the whole thing a quick stir.

Now add in the chopped ginger and stir again. Pour in the orange juice.

Now add in the kumquats and the vinegar they marinated in. Bring to a low boil and cook for about 10 minutes.

Add in the nectarines, habaneros, the stick of cinnamon and sugar.

Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn the fire down.  Be careful at the beginning because the sugar really makes it bubble up.  You do not want this to boil over!

Cook until the chutney thickens to your desired consistency. Remember that once it cools, it will thicken even more so stop before you can stand a spoon in it or it will be too thick cold. I cooked mine for almost one hour over a low heat. If you are a thermometer using type, I find that jam or chutney will set when cooled if heated to just under 220°F or 105°C.

Turn off the fire and remove the cinnamon stick.

Transfer the boiling chutney to sterilized jars, popping in clean teaspoons to make sure the jars don’t break. Screw the sterilized lids on tightly.  I use the inversion method to seal my jars but experts like Rebecca Lindamood, author of Not Your Mama’s Canning Book does not recommend this. She advocates processing the jars in a boiling water bath or pressure canner.

Enjoy! If you like kumquats, you might also like my spicy tangy sticky kumquat chutney.

Check out all the fabulous recipes our Sunday Supper tastemakers are sharing this week to save the summer harvest. Many thanks to today's host Caroline of Caroline's Cooking and our event manager Renee of Renee's Kitchen Adventures.

Condiments

• Blackberry Lemon Thyme Syrup by Sunday Supper Movement
• Brinjal pickle (Indian eggplant relish/aubergine chutney) by Caroline’s Cooking
• Freezer Mixed Berry Puree by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Ginger Fig Jam by Palatable Pastime
• Herbed Salsa by What Smells So Good?
• Homemade Giardiniera by Curious Cuisiniere
• Homemade Sriracha by Monica’s Table
• Hot Pepper Oil by Feeding Big and more
• Mediterranean Chutney by Wholistic Woman
• Nanny’s 7-Day Sweet Pickles by Grumpy’s Honeybunch
• Nectarine Kumquat Habanero Chutney by Food Lust People Love
• No Pectin Mixed Berry Jam by My Imperfect Kitchen
• Peach Butter by Redhead Baker
• Pear Ginger Jam by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Simple Basil Butter by Momma’s Meals
• Spicy Mango Jam by Family Foodie
• Stove Top Roasted Garlic by Cricket’s Confections
• Tomato and Chili Pepper Jam by Delaware Girl Eats

Main dishes

• Grilled Peach and Burrata Pizza by An Appealing Plan
• Oven Roasted Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce by Renee’s Kitchen Adventures
• Tomato-Zucchini Pesto Flatbread with Chevre and Balsamic Drizzle by The Weekend Gourmet

Sides

• Garden Rice by Basic N Delicious
• Pickled Asian Vegetables by A Mind Full Mom

Snacks

• Homemade Fruit Leather by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Slow Cooker Cinnamon Apple Sauce by Books n’ Cooks

Dessert

• Chocolate Zucchini Banana Muffins by The Bitter Side of Sweet
• Drunken Peaches by Nosh My Way
• Freeze and Bake Blueberry Pie by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• How to Freeze Peaches and Make Peach Sauce by The Freshman Cook
• How to Make Chocolate Zucchini Bread by Asian In America
• Mom’s Zucchini Bread by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Peach Yogurt Popsicles by Food Done Light
• Summer Fruit Crisp by Pies and Plots
• Summer Fruit Popsicles by Powered By BLING

Beverage

• Berry Shrubs + A Cocktail by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Pin this Nectarine Kumquat Habanero Chutney!

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Spicy Salmon Shrimp Burgers #FishFridayFoodies

Spicy salmon shrimp burgers are just about all seafood, with very little filler. These orange-hued burgers are bright and flavorful! Add a little spicy pink sauce for extra oomph. 

It’s a funny thing but I know from experience that unappetizing grey shrimp turn a lovely orange color when cooked, but it still amazes me when it happens. What looks like magic, turns out to be science. It’s a little more complicated that this but, simply put, shrimp have carotenoid pigments in their shells and flesh which are released by heat. In fact, they are also released by stomach acid and fat inside of the flamingos that eat them, which is why those birds are various shades of pink in the wild. If you see bright pink flamingos, like in some zoos, someone is probably feeding them a carotenoid-enriched diet. Salmon farmers do the same to create the orange flesh that is naturally found in wild salmon. The great news is that carotenoids offer a lot of health benefits so it's all good.

Isn’t food a kick? I am also amazed by how much I still have to learn about the world around me, even about ingredients I’ve been eating for years.

This month Fish Friday Foodies is being hosted by the very talented Heather of All Roads Lead to the Kitchen. She challenged us to create burgers, proper solid "meaty" patties, with the seafood of our choice. My younger daughter is here with us for a long visit and she voted for salmon burgers. I was all for that since salmon has natural oils that would keep a burger from drying out, but I wanted to boost the flavor with the addition of some shrimp.

I’m telling you, these were wonderful. Moist, tender, almost all salmon and shrimp with just one slice of bread and some seasonings. The secret is to process one quarter of your salmon and shrimp till you make a paste. That paste is the “glue” that holds the patties together so you don't need an egg or other binders.

When I was growing up my stepmother used to make something she called salsa rosada or pink sauce for us to dip hardboiled quails’ eggs in. She considered that beach picnic food. Why? I have no idea, but I loved it. Basically salsa rosada is mayo and ketchup with some hot sauce. It goes well with quails’ eggs, boiled shrimp and, of course, spicy salmon shrimp burgers.

Ingredients
For four spicy salmon shrimp burgers:
1 lb or 450g salmon fillet – weight after skinned and bones removed
9 3/4 oz or 275g shrimp – weight after peeling and cleaning
1 slice fresh whole wheat sandwich bread
1/2 medium onion, chopped (about 60g)
1 small red chili pepper, chopped
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Fine sea salt
Black pepper
3-4 green onion tops, minced

For the salsa rosada or spicy mayo
4 tablespoons good quality mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon hot sauce – or more to your taste

To cook and assemble the burgers:
1 tablespoon canola or other light oil for pan-frying
Lettuce leaves
Tomatoes slices
Onion slices
4 hamburger buns
Salsa rosada

Method
Lay your salmon and shrimp out on a cutting board and season them with salt and a few good grinds of fresh black pepper.

Put the slice of bread into your food processor and process until it is large fluffy crumbs.

Add in the onion, chili pepper, mustard powder, cayenne and a few good grinds of fresh black pepper.

Pulse until all is well combined.

Cut salmon into two equal pieces. Cut 1/4 of the salmon in small pieces. Cut 1/4 of the shrimp into small pieces.

Add the salmon and shrimp pieces into the food processor. Pulse until you have a thick paste. Tip the mixture from the food processor out into a bowl.

Cut the balance of your salmon and shrimp into small cubes.

Add them to the paste bowl along with the green onions.

Mix well with a wooden spoon.

Cover a plate or platter with cling film. Form four patties by shaping them with wet hands and place them on the covered plate. The cling film makes it easy to remove the patties from the plate because you can lift one side and tip the patty into your hand. My mix weighed almost 800g or 1lb 12oz so each patty was just shy of 200g or 7oz.

Drizzle the oil into your non-stick skillet and cook the patties over a medium hight heat for about seven minutes on one side.

Turn and cook on the other side for another seven minutes or until they are cooked through.

Serve on toasted buns with salsa rosada, lettuce, tomato and onion. The radishes are just for nibbling.

Enjoy!

Don't you want to see what everyone else has made today? I do!

An InLinkz Link-up

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