pablo picasso's blue period & blueberry yogurt muffins

winter blues. i've been seeing allot of blue. i've been feeling blue. everything seems blue.  

after a lovely trip to the metropolitan museum of art. nicholas (my boo), nafisa (my bestie) and picasso (the one and only) inspired this pairing of picasso's blue period with blueberry yogurt muffins.  

pablo picasso's somber blue paintings guised with melancholy affirm themes of loneliness, isolation, poverty and despair. while you examine the depths of this period in picasso's career pair it with some of the subtle sweetness, moist texture and rich flavors of the blueberry yogurt muffins.

blueberry yogurt muffins

yields: 12 muffins

prep time: 10 min

cook time: 30- 40min

total time: 40 min

ingredients:

• 2 large eggs

• 1 cup of greek yogurt

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

• 1 teaspoon+ lemon zest, optional

• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 2 cups of blueberries (you could also use frozen)

directions: 

• preheat oven to 350F

• in a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, yogurt, sugar, oil, lemon zest, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.

• add the flour, baking powder, and mix until just combined.

• fold in 2 cups of blueberries and gently stir to incorporate (frozen blueberries bleed and run less than fresh and if using frozen do not thaw them first; add them directly into the batter frozen; alternate berries or other seasonal fruit such as strawberries, peaches, pears, or plums may be substituted)

• pour batter into muffin pan.  

• bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until top is lightly brown and set.(or a toothpick comes out clean,

<3 Hazelnut Cookies

valentines day (!) despite it's hallmark stamp has always been a very special holiday for me. as a kid, i was often in between traditions, but valentines day was especially exciting.  there was a shared enthusiasm both in school and at home! the little things in life bring so much joy and much of mine came via my mum and lala. (in urdu the word for mothers sister is khala, i lost the k somewhere & since it's been lala!) my lala would send send me elaborate cards (some were even embroidered) this was my favorite winter tradition. the week before and after valentines day, i would wait for the post and when it arrived, the smiles were wide and the excitement lasted for weeks.  share some love with this quick and simple hazelnut cookie recipe!

prep time: 10 min

cook time: 10- 12min

yields: 10-12 cookies

ingredients:

• 1 cup of your choice of hazelnut spread (i used nutella!)
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of flour 

directions:

• preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
• line a baking pan with a strip of parchment paper.
• in a mixing bowl, combine the nutella, eggs and flour. 
• make shapes of the batter and set the cookie batter to bake for 6 min
• depending on the density of the cookies and your preference adjust the remaining time.
• voila (!) delicious and easy cookies.
• add jam/jelly preserves or ice cream as a topping! (i used a raspberry-lemon preserve i had on hand.)

peter paul rubens inspired chocolate beet cupcakes with grape buttercream icing

my boo has taken up drawing recently. let me explain: he spends sundays enveloped in studying old masters paintings and at least once a week will set his alarm for 4:30 am, at which time he will sit at our table and draw for an hour before he goes off to work. the passion is infective. i was flipping through a book of peter paul rubens work and it hit me. chocolate beet cupcakes! inspired, i started baking immediately and thinking about the light, texture and contrast examined in rubens paintings. i wanted to make a frosting that would ignite those elements and voila (!) grape buttercream frosting.  

• prep time: 20 min
• cook time: 30 min
• total time: 1hr 30

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makes 18 cupcakes

cupcake ingredients: 

• Oil and flour for preparing the pan
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1 cup mild flavored vegetable oil
• 3 eggs

• 1 3/4 cups sugar (or your favorite natural sweetener)

• 2 cups cooked pureed beets (3 medium beets)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

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grape butter cream frosting ingredients:

• 1 cup of heavy cream

• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 cup of melted unsalted  butter
• 2 tbsp of grape jam/jelly
• 1 tsp of cinnamon 
• 1 tbsp of brown sugar

directions:

• whip butter and sugar until fluffy, slowly add in cream,vanilla,jam,and cinnamon, whip for 2 min, make sure all ingredients are mixed well and frosting is fluffy.  

directions:

•  preheat oven to 375 F degrees. 

•  partially fill the bottom of a double boiler with water and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to simmer. put the chocolate and 1/4 cup of the oil in the top of the double boiler, (**very important to put the chocolate and oil into the pot at the same time!**) heat until just the chocolate melts; remove from the heat and stir until well combined.

•  Combine the and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy. Slowly beat in the remaining 3/4 cup oil, chocolate mixture, beets, and vanilla.

• sift the all-purpose flour into a large bowl. stir in the baking soda and salt. gently stir the flour mixture into the egg and chocolate mixture just until the flour is mixed in. pour batter into cupcake pan.

•  bake until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

•  carefully remove cake from the pan and let cool on a rack. when completely cool, dust with powdered sugar. 

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