July 11, 2016 - National Blueberry Muffin Day and MLB All Star Game Home Run Derby

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 21 DAYS

Celebrating Blueberries!

HAPPY MONDAY! 
Am I the only one in the world that totally loves Monday?

​I'm telling you, I just love the start of a new week and getting back in the swing of things!

As far as weekends go, this was a pretty good one. 
Because last week was a holiday week, the girls rode on Friday.  Usually, Friday is a non-riding day.  

And as a result, we stayed at our hotel out near the barn through Friday morning.  Thursday evening was super fun for the girls as they all gathered at our hotel for an early evening swim!  Boy, did they have a great time!!

Pool Fun - lots of giggly girls!

​I got to spend some time with the Fam. Saturday we had dinner with Mom and Dad and then yesterday, the kids went swimming in my sissy's pool with my nephews and we all had a big, Sunday family dinner!

Today...we got out bright and early.  No hotel this week - we'll be commuting and car pooling starting tomorrow.  Two other sisters that go to Dream Come True live nearby and so we'll be alternating driving throughout the rest of the week.

​Well, well, well...guess what today is??

It's National Blueberry Muffin Day!
I just love blueberry muffins.  In fact, blueberries, in general are pretty terrific! 

Did you know...
Minnesota designated the blueberry muffin as the official state muffin in 1988. Wild blueberries are native to northeastern Minnesota, growing in bogs, on hillsides, and in cut-over forested areas.​

16 Fun Facts About Blueberries

(credit: realblueberries.com)

1. The blueberry is the second most popular berry in the US (the strawberry is number one).

2. Blueberries are perennial flowering plants with indigo-colored berries, native to North America.

3. The blueberry bush is a relative of the rhododendron — and the azalea.

4. Blueberries contain anthocyanin, which is good for eyesight.

5. Blueberries contain significant quantities of both antibacterial and antiviral compounds, and have a reputation in northern Europe of fighting infections. 

6. Blueberries are one of the only natural foods that are truly blue in color. 

7. Because of the high amount of antioxidants in blueberries, it is thought that they may help prevent damage caused by cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s.
​
8. The blueberry muffin is the official muffin of Minnesota.

9. If all the blueberries grown in North America in one year were spread out in a single layer, they would cover a four-lane highway that stretched from New York to Chicago.

10. The U.S. is the world’s largest producer of blueberries, harvesting a total of 564.4 million pounds of cultivated and wild blueberries in 2012.

11. They have a history being used as a natural dye - legend has it that early American colonists boiled them with milk to make gray paint, according to the Produce for Better Health Foundation’s Fruits & Veggies More Matters campaign.

12. You should not wash blueberries until you are ready to eat them since water softens them and can cause quicker spoiling, according to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

13. According to a 2011 Consumer Wellness Center investigation in the LA Times, many blueberry-flavored processed foods do not contain any real blueberries - in fact, products like bagels, cereals, breads and muffins from brands like Kellogg’s, Betty Crocker and General Mills were reported to use combos of sugar, corn syrup, starch, oil and artificial flavors and dyes to create their own mock blueberries. 

14. The peak season for fresh blueberries runs from mid-June to mid-August.

15. Michigan was the nation’s leading producer of cultivated blueberries in 2012. The state harvested 87 million pounds for the year. 

16. Maine was the leading producer of wild blueberries, harvesting 91.1 million pounds of wild blueberries in 2012.

John Pupek, at his Brockton, MA bakery, has been baking the popular Jordan Marsh muffins (credit: archive.boston.com)

The most FAMOUS Blueberry Muffin was the Jordan Marsh Department Store Blueberry Muffin.  

While the renown Boston retailer is no longer in business, the Jordan Marsh's blueberry muffins are a local legend.

The baker was Mr. John Pupek who began baking at Jordan Marsh in 1961. For decades, it was customary to end a downtown Boston shopping trip with a visit to Jordan Marsh, for one of their famous, sugar-crusted blueberry muffins.

After Jordan Marsh closed its bakeries and Macy's bought the department store in the mid-1990s Mr. Pupek opened Jordan Marsh Muffin Co. in Brockton, MA, which turned out thousands of blueberry muffins a week, as well as other delicacies made famous by Jordan Marsh, since 1998.

He closed his bakery in December, 2004. 

Here is the Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffin recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups flour (unsifted, blend of bread and pastry)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups blueberries
• 2 teaspoons sugar (for tops)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

On low speed, cream butter with sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and mix until blended. Sift dry ingredients; add to eggs-and-butter mixture, alternating with milk. Mash 1/2 cup of berries and stir into mixture by hand. Add the rest of the berries whole and stir by hand. Grease muffin tins well with butter; grease the top surface of the pans as well. Pile mixture high in each muffin cup, and sprinkle the sugar over tops.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

The secrets to what made the muffins so good are in the techniques used by baker John Pupek, which include
* Blending the flours in his recipe and the fistful of sugar tossed on top of each sweet muffin before baking.
* Mixing the blueberries with some of the flour before adding them to the batter.

In honor of the day, I'm going to be sure to get myself a blueberry muffin today!!!

See ya back here tomorrow!
-E
xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 5 DAYS

It was a GREAT DAY!

Hiya Guys!

GREETINGS once again from San Diego.

Being down here in San Diego (on our little stay-cation) although it's a Monday, it totally still feels like the weekend to me...and what an absolutely incredible yesterday we had!!! 

Everything went either exactly according to plan and it was even better than I could've expected...

We started out by going to the Hillcrest Farmer's Market - and the main reason (probably the only reason) that I was drawn to this particular Farmer's Market was because of a specific vegan food stand that we were planning on grabbing a togo bite from (for lunch today - although that plan did change along the way). 

So upon our arrival to this very bustling Farmer's Market, we found several stands of vegan goods and vegan goodies...and I do mean several!
             How very exciting for us!

We walked and wandered about, sampling, and checking things out. Picking up some lovely yum along the way.
It was quite delicious and great fun too. Eventually finding what we initially came looking for, the  'Anthem Vegan' stand and ordering our togo meal, along with what I called a breakfast appetizer! 

Hillcrest Farmer's Market (c)travelincousins.com

Hillcrest Farmer's Market (c)travelincousins.com

Hillcrest Farmer's Market (c)travelincousins.com

Hillcrest Farmer's Market (c)travelincousins.com

HOLY SNAP! These are all Vegan and Gluten Free! Hillcrest Farmer's Market (c)travelincousins.com

Hillcrest Farmer's Market (c)travelincousins.com

Next up was heading to our actual breakfast/brunch at Bar Kindred.
While I've been drooling over their online menu, this was the first time that I've been able to make it over.  

(c)travelincousins.com

Being inside the bar/cafe and seeing their decor really took me way outside of the SoCal feel and I actually felt like I was sitting in New Orleans minus the live jazz. It was pretty sweet! But it only got sweeter once we tasted the food..."My oh my!"

Everything was so freakin' delicious I think I found a new favorite brunch spot!!

(c)travelincousins.com

Next up for us was going to Balboa Park and to the Museum of Man, we were heading up the famous and iconic tower that remains one of the most famous sights in all of San Diego.

Balboa Park (c)travelincousins.com

Museum of Man - Balboa Park (c)travelincousins.com

Museum of Man - Balboa Park (c)travelincousins.com

(c)travelincousins.com

But since a ticket up to do the tower tour was only available with admission to the museum, we decided to spend some time exploring about...

Museum of Man - Balboa Park (c)travelincousins.com

Museum of Man - Balboa Park (c)travelincousins.com

Balboa Park (c)travelincousins.com

Balboa Park (c)travelincousins.com

Balboa Park (c)travelincousins.com

Cabrillo Bridge - Balboa Park (c)travelincousins.com

Cabrillo Bridge - Balboa Park (c)travelincousins.com

The kids and Dave were all exhausted and very ready to leave, so next up was checking in to our hotel and last but certainly far from least GOING to Petco Park for the MLB All Star Sunday and the Legends and Celebrity Softball Game!

Downtown San Diego (c)travelincousins.com

Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

And what an amazing, fun, and festive time it was!!

We even indulged in some super yummy Garlic Fries - I don't even like French Fries (yup it's true - I'm not a fry lover or liker) and I devoured these!

Seriously the only other 2 fries that I like are:
1. Up at AT&T Park in San Francisco - and I wasn't even expecting these to be half as good!!
&
2. At the Mill located at the Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort.                    And that's it!

Garlic Fries - Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

Before the game we got in plenty of laughs and giggles at all of the team mascots and the Mascot Olympics!

Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

And the laughs certainly didn't end when the Legends and Celebrities came out to take the field.

Three total stand out - LOL things/moments about this Legends and Celebrity Softball game were:
1. Jamie Foxx is a CLOWN - seriously. If you can take a clown serious!
​2. Terry Crew going shirtless up to bat.
3. Tyler Hoechiln knows how to play ball! And therefore won the MVP!

Jamie Foxx - Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

Shirtless Terry Crew - credit: K.C. Alfred/SD Tribune

SWING! Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

Celebrate! Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

In the end the American Team won in an 8-7 victory over the National Team!

It was a great night and although this was my first time watching the Legends and Celebrity Softball game - it certainly won't be my last!

Next was a fireworks spectacular and trying to find some grub for dinner (since the planned restaurant had already closed, being that the game went later than I anticipated).

Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

Enjoying the show! Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

Great time! Petco Park (c)travelincousin.com

What a great day! (c)travelincousins.com

After grabbing some Mexican food togo, we ate in the comforts of our hotel room and called it a day. A GREAT DAY!

Today we are heading to the FanFest and the Home Run Derby!!! See ya there!

-T