Ten good reads from the past week that made us think, made us laugh, or made us hungry.
I am likely the last person in New York City to learn about Blue Sky Bakery muffins, and it’s all my fault because I wasn’t paying attention. Why would you, really? Most coffee shops don’t sell muffins worth noting. You can only audition so many flavorless, greasy, tight-crumbed, massive metallic-tasting muffins before not even looking in bakery cases when you go in for your morning fix. Four year-olds, however, are not suspicious — they are insistent. So, one morning over spring break (something you dread when you’re in preschool, live for in high school and college, and I’m sorry to admit, lightly dread again as a parent), when I tried to make the most of our more leisurely mornings with excursions, we got in the terrible habit of splitting one of their fruit-filled bran muffins each morning and by the end of the week, we were so addicted that I had to make them at home.
It’s no surprise that a bakery that takes their muffins as seriously as Park Slope’s Blue Sky does produces such excellent ones. In a video on Serious Eats, founder Erik Goetze notes that “most bakery muffins are made by just going through the motions, either in an industrial factory-type muffin-making operation or whether people are making so many things, they cannot focus on what makes a great muffin,” which he outlines as moist, having a nice peak to it and, ideally, straight from the oven when it’s still crisp and crunchy on top, and when opened, a little curl of steam comes out of it.
… Read the rest of blue sky bran muffins on smittenkitchen.com
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Happy Friday, everyone! You made it: It’s the weekend. What better way to celebrate than by watching a tiny hamster sit down at a miniature table and stuff its face with tiny burritos? You deserve this.
Over the past month I’ve been sharing the planning process behind my big spring project: stocking my freezer with healthy meals before the arrival of my first baby in early June. Checking in every week has been hugely motivating, but the even bigger benefit of letting The Kitchn readers in on the process has been the wealth of helpful advice you’ve given me in the comments. Here are the 7 best reader tips for filling your freezer before the arrival of a new baby.
From Apartment Therapy → 12 Design Ideas For Small Kitchens
“If you are planning a large renovation, or just want refresh your space, here are twelve tried and true ideas for getting a kitchen that totally works.”
4.88 / 5 Stars | 15 Reviews
by SUSANNAH
“These pickles soaked in a sugar mixture taste just like candy! They take some time to make, but are a sweet treat.”
Q: I am heading to Pittsburgh this weekend from Toronto. After hearing so much about Trader Joe’s from your readers, I’ve decided to make it one of my must-see destinations. What are the best products that I should buy? (Keep in mind that I have to cross the border again, so I can’t buy dairy or produce.)
Hands down, my favorite breakfast is a whimsical, slightly sour, oven-baked creature that my mom used to make for me when I had sleepovers at our house as a kid. We called it Big Pancake; others know it as a Dutch Baby or German Pancake. In the morning I’d hear the blender going and know she was making the batter. About 45 minutes later, a gaggle of pajamaed girls would gather around the over and watch the pancake’s showy, doughy display.
