Baar Bazaar… AAAAAR!

This Saturday night, July 10th, the Baar Bazaar descends on the Majestic Theater from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Live music from Eleanora and Mod Orange, more than 30 genius crafty vendors, free admission, drinks… sounds like a perfect summer Saturday night, right?! Come on out… I'll be there, will you?

Cleveland Rocks, fo shizzle

Last Saturday I spent a long, sunny, happy day at the Bazaar Bizarre in Cleveland. My poor helper — the boy — got sick at the last minute, so I was on my own. Honestly, I think it was for the best — it kept me from wandering too far and shopping too much. That said, in just the booths right around me, I could have done some serious damage to the old wallet. There were so much crafty goodness, I had to bring something home for the sick boy.

The first item is the Hussy. What can I say? I acted like a total stalker fan all day peering across the aisle, keepin' my eye on that hussy in the Purple Hippo Stitches tent. Then I made her mine. I marched right across and said, "I've come for the hussy." I had to fight back the urge to pick up ten more of these sassy cross stitches as gifts. I'm a fan and I'll definitely be back to the Purple Hippo Etsy shop often!

And then…

On the complete opposite of the silly spectrum, I came home with this gorgeous piece by David DiZinno of Americana Dentata Works. Dave has a huge selection of beautiful wood mosaic sculptures that I think are just so beautiful and unique. Unfortunately he doesn't have a web site, but I'm hoping he'll come for a show in Ann Arbor some time soon!

Big Bang Big Boom BLU

I was going to give you a little look-see at what I bought this past Saturday at Cleveland's Bazaar Bizarre, but I saw this animated video this morning and had to share. It's on the long side, but so worth it. Truly magical. I'm in awe! It comes from BLU. I'll be back tomorrow with that look-see.

BIG BANG BIG BOOM - the new wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Summer berry muffins in red, white & blue

I picked up some beautifully ripe and tender raspberries at the Westside Farmers Market last Thursday. I nibbled quite a few of them straight from the box — fresh raspberries need nothing to dress them up. But I couldn't resist throwing some into my favorite muffin recipe, along with some blueberries I had in the freezer. So I ended up with some very patriotic red, white and blue muffins for the July 4th weekend. Yay!

I was also really happy to find out that Michigan's only shrimp farmer — Russ Allen from the Shrimp Farm Market in Okemos — is now selling at the Westside Market. (You can read more about this farm in an article I wrote for Edible WOW last spring here.) I splurged on some of his shrimp salad — it cannot be beat. Next time I think I will have to try the ceviche. The freshest most local shrimp you'll find in these parts!

Now, back to those muffins…


Browned Butter Summer Berry Muffins

Adapted from Joy the Baker

Makes 12 muffins.

7 Tb unsalted butter
1/3 cup milk
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups fresh berries: blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, or any combo

Topping:
3 Tb cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 Tb sugar

Put a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375º F. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. After it melts, continue cooking. It will make a distinct crackling sound as it cooks. Keep a close eye — and ear — on it this point as it turns very quickly. The crackling will subside and the butter will begin to brown fairly quickly after that. Keep cooking until the butter has a nice brown color and little brown bits appear in the bottom of the pan. I like to use a pan with a white inside so I can really see the color of the butter as it cooks. Remove from heat.

Whisk together milk, egg, yolk and vanilla until combined. Add the brown butter and stir to combine.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl Add milk and butter mixture all at once and stir gently to combine. Gently but thoroughly fold in the berries.

Divide the batter among muffin cups and spread evenly. I use an old, large gravy ladle that my mom always used — it works like a charm for muffins.

For the topping, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and gently rub together with your fingertips until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over the batter.

Bake until golden and crisp and a wooden pick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack for 15 minutes then remove from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.