Warm New England Love

I'm not going to lie, the California weather definitely factored into my decision to move out here. I didn't miss the snow this past winter one bit (although Boston temperatures this past winter rivaled the Bay Area). That being said, I am, and always will be, a New England girl at heart. And you know what? Nothing beats a warm New England spring day.

Rockport, MA: Weather? Warm and sunny. Transportation? Motorcycle. Company? The best :-).

I have been a bit quiet on here this past week (my apologies), and it is because I was off enjoying some of that warm (dare I say hot) New England weather! I took a long weekend and made the trip home for my niece's 6th birthday and Mother's day. I had the absolute loveliest of weekends! It was 80 and sunny all weekend, I spent one of the days with my niece, got to celebrate Mother's day with my wonderful mama and family, played scrabble with my dad, and went for a glorious motorcycle ride with the boy. I ate plenty of delicious food, from cupcakes to my mom's famous grilled vegetables to tofu dogs in Rockport, and got plenty of loving from my kitties.

Here is my trip home in pictures:

My kitties :-)

My niece (and a little bit of mama) :-)

My nephew (and a little bit of dad and brother) :-)

OK! Onto the food!

My parents miss having their personal chef at home, so I like to cook for them when i'm home. For dinner on Monday, I made mushroom bourguinon, a spring salad, and then I made the following lemon-strawberry muffins (because my dad loves lemon desserts).

This was all a super long intro for what is ultimately a post about muffins. Sorry.

A little disclaimer: while these muffins were gorgeous, fun to make, and pretty tasty... there was something a little bit off about them. I may have slightly under baked them (the tops were starting to brown, but then the inside was still a little mushy). But I can't tell if they were, in fact, under baked, or if it was the fresh strawberries and lemon curd inside that made it seem that way. Either way, the flavor was absolutely delicious, but it was a bit doughy and kind of stuck to your teeth. And I don't like when things stick to my teeth. Also, there is avocado in the recipe, which I was intrigued by, and it worked... but it turned the muffins green. Anyways, I would be interested in trying these muffins again with some changes... because the idea and flavor is definitely a winner (of the chicken dinner variety).

First of all, check out these ingredients:

My lovely mama acted as my hand model :-)

How could they not be delicious?

Lemon-Filled Strawberry Muffins

From The Simple Lens

Materials:

For the lemon curd

• 3/8 cup non-dairy milk of choice
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 3/4 tablespoon corn starch
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

For the muffins

• 1 scant cup non-dairy milk
• 1 avocado, pitted
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cup all-purpous flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 cup strawberries, sliced
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest

Methods:
To prepare the lemon curd

1. Combine all of the ingredients except the lemon zest in a small pot over medium heat.
2. Stir constantly until the the mixture begins to thicken, maybe 3-5 minutes. 
• Be careful not to burn!
3. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest.
4. Allow to cool to room temperature for about 5 minutes, and then cover and refrigerate while you prepare the muffins.

To prepare the muffins

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line muffin pan with paper liners or spray with cooking spray.
3. Puree the avocado, milk, and water together and then stir in the vanilla.
4. Mix together the flour, sugar, and baking powder.
5. Gently mix the wet ingredients into the dry.
6. Fold in the strawberries and lemon zest.
7. To assemble the muffins, fill the muffins tins as follows:
• 1 scoop of muffin batter
• 1 dollop of lemon curd
• 1 scoop of muffin batter
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
9. Enjoy!