Design. Create. Decorate.

Design. Create. Decorate.

Friday, July 29, 2016

Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins - Recipe

Welcome to Quince Cottage!

Before moving to North Carolina, we lived in Maine, where wild blueberries reign supreme. We used to pick them on a road that ran behind our house. Here in North Carolina we haven't seen any wild blueberries, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy blueberry muffins.
This is an easy and delicious recipe that yields six bakery-size muffins with a beautiful, slightly crusty, top and a tender, moist center.

RECIPE:

Ingredients
2 1/2 C all purpose flour
1 TBS baking powder
 1 tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt
1/2 C unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 C white sugar
2 large eggs
1 C buttermilk (or 1C plain Greek yogurt)
1 TBS vanilla extract (use the real stuff, not imitation)
1 1/2 C fresh blueberries (rinse to clean, remove any stems, blot dry with a paper towel)

Directions
1. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray (I used one made from coconut oil).
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
3. In mixer bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and blueberries.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Slowly add to the dry ingredients. Gently fold together until combined. DON'T overstir!
5. Divide batter into 6 jumbo muffin cups. Bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes, then turn the oven heat down to 365 degrees and bake another 19 minutes.
6. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Remove from pan.


Muffins ©Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
Plated Muffins ©Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
Served Muffin ©Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
Yummy Muffin ©Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
These muffins freeze very well by the way, and if you have time, try them "grilled" (in other words, melt some butter in a frying pan and put the muffins, cut side down, on the pan to get a nice brown, crispy layer full of buttery goodness.

Our dogs, Daisy and Buster, recently turned 5. Here they are below as wee puppies of about 3 weeks!

Daisy & Buster ©Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
Here they are more recently.

Buster & Daisy ©Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
Follow us on Instagram and play our hashtags #MagpieMonday , where people share their decor collections.

©Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
And #HometownCapture , where people share pix of their current or past hometowns.

©Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
Don't forget to check our new Etsy shop QuinceCottageHome ! Here's a shop sampler below.

©Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
Quince Cottage Style is #agrarianchic - a mix of old and new, rustic and opulent.
Our goal is to make our new subdivision house look inviting, beautiful, 
and as though it wasn't born yesterday!

Monday, July 4, 2016

Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Bread - Recipe

Hello there and welcome to Quince Cottage! Happy 4th of July, if you celebrate! It was pretty low-key around here, since half of the family is in retail and had to work. Here's a red, white, and blue vignette I put together for a fun, non-traditional take.

©Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
Sorry we've been slacking in the blog department lately. We've been busy getting our Etsy shop up and running. If you'd like to take a look at what we're offering, click here, we'd love a visit!

But now, on to the star of this post -- a delicious-to-eat and easy-to-make recipe that gives you a fabulous option for all those zucchini your garden, or your neighbor's, has been yielding. The bread itself is not super sweet, so if you like things on the less-sweet side, skip the glaze. If you've got a sweet tooth, drizzle on, my friends...

Ingredients:
2 C cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/3C white sugar
1/2 C canola oil
1/2 C buttermilk
2 TBS fresh lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
1 C grated zucchini (squeeze some of the water out between paper towels)
1 C fresh blueberries (plus extra for garnish)

Directions:
1. Combine cake flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium size bowl. Add blueberries and stir in gently. Set aside.
2. Beat the two eggs, add the vanilla, white sugar, canola oil, buttermilk, lemon juice, lemon juice, and zucchini, stirring between each addition.
3. Add dry ingredients to wet, in batches.
4. Turn into greased 9 x 5 loaf pan.
5. Bake for 50-55 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (toothpick test).
6. Set on wire rack in pan for 15 minutes. Remove from pan, Drizzle glaze over the top if desired.

Glaze (Optional)
Ingredients:
1 1/4C confectioner's sugar
3 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS light cream or milk

Directions:
Combine ingredients and whisk until smooth. Drizzle over bread while the bread is still warm.

And there you have it!

©Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
Why yes, it WAS just as good as it looks!

Buster and Daisy have been enjoying early morning exercise lately, because it's just way too darn hot to walk after about ten o'clock. Summer in east central North Carolina doesn't mess around. The rest of their day is spent napping, doing sentry duty, tearing stuffies apart, and getting belly rubs. Hey, it's not such a bad life!

Daisy & Buster © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
Don't forget to follow us on Instagram, so you can play our two hashtags.
#MagpieMonday is for collectors of decor items, A few of our players were recently featured in Country Living Magazine!

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
#HometownCapture is a chance for you to have a pic of your hometown featured in a collage with others in our gallery.

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
And one last reminder before you go, don't forget to check out our Etsy shop. Some of the items in these vignettes are available for sale (at least at the time of posting, they may not last very long).

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet
Click on the meme below to go right to the shop!
©Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Quince Cottage Style is #agrarianchic - a mix of old and new, rustic and opulent.
Our goal is to make our new subdivision house look inviting, beautiful, 
and as though it wasn't born yesterday!