The blueberry muffins in Roxana Jullapat's new 'Mother Grains' are seriously the best I've ever tasted

By Leslie Brenner

“It’s time to give the classic blueberry muffin a makeover, swapping out all the refined white flour for whole-grain spelt” writes Los Angeles baker Roxana Jullapat in her new cookbook, Mother Grains. Music to my ears!

I’ve always loved blueberry muffins — or maybe loved the idea of them, as I’m inevitably disappointed, finding them too white-floury, too cottony, too sweet. They stick unpleasantly to the roof of your mouth.

Because I love sneaking whole grains into baked goods whenever I get away with it, I was excited to learn of Jullapat’s book, subtitled “Recipes for the Grain Revolution.” It is scheduled for publication on April 20, and I’ve been cooking through it with plans to review, but you need this recipe now. It is far and away the best blueberry muffin I’ve ever eaten in my entire life.

Having a Easter brunch? It’ll be smashing on your table. Or on any weekend morning table.

The recipe, which has you top the muffins with a light and crunchy spelt streusel, is quick and easy — just 15 or 20 minutes to get the batter into the tin. The muffins bake for about 25, then need to cool for 20.

Their crumb is gorgeous and light, and the whole-grain spelt — which I had never baked with until I made the muffins this morning — gives them a mildly earthy flavor without clobbering you with an overly rustic texture or punitive health-food taste. Spelt, writes Jullapat, is “perhaps the best-known ‘ancient’ wheat.” She considers it “a gateway for bakers starting to explore ancient grains.” If I had money, I’d invest in a spelt farm.

Anyway, back to the recipe. Jullapat calls for a half-cup of frozen blueberries, adding that you can use fresh ones as long as you’re careful folding them in. I used fresh ones, and couldn’t help but wonder if the muffins might benefit from more berries than that. I made half using her exact recipe, and added more berries to the other four.

The muffin halves on the right were made according to Jullapat’s exact recipe; the halves on the left have extra blueberries.

I loved the extra berry version, while my husband, Thierry, preferred the less berryful original. In any case, the extra fruit did not compromise the recipe, so feel free to play with that.

Both ways were outstanding, though. I don’t believe I’ve ever eaten more than one muffin in a sitting in my life, and I had one and a half. I could easily have eaten three. Can’t wait to hear what you think — if you’d be so kind as to leave a comment.

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RECIPE: Roxana Jullapat’s Spelt Blueberry Muffins

Outrageously luscious comfort from your pantry: Hello, huevos rancheros!

Huevos rancheros is the opposite of a salad. It’s warm, and saucy. It’s rich and spicy and comforting. With everything we’re all going through these days, you deserve to have it for lunch — even in the middle of the week.

Does the steaming, rich, gooey extravaganza seem like something that can only be had in a restaurant? It’s not! It’s actually super easy to make at home.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you had everything you need to make it already in your kitchen:

• Corn tortilla

• Eggs — or even a single egg

• A can of diced tomatoes

• One of those tiny cans of diced green chiles

• Half an onion

• Two or three garlic cloves

Maybe you don’t have garlic cloves, but you have some garlic powder. Maybe you don’t have that little can of green chiles, but you have some red pepper flakes or Tabasco. Maybe you don’t have corn tortillas, but you have masa harina and you know your way around a tortilla press. You’ll manage. I’ll walk you through it.

Probably you do have salt and cooking oil of some sort. Queso fresco or cotija — or even feta or goat cheese or one of those bags of pre-grated fiesta mix? I’m sure you’ve got one the above. Cilantro? Yes! Totally not essential, but lovely if you have it.

If you have a can of pinto beans (or some dried ones and you put up a pot first thing in the morning), you can have dreamy side dish, too. Or maybe you have black beans. But don’t even worry if you don’t: Your belly and your soul will be in a very happy place when the noon-time whistle blows.

We made this indulgent lunch from stuff we happened to have lying around.

Here’s how to achieve the lunch that we all absolutely deserve.

First, toss together a ranchera sauce: blitz a can of diced tomatoes with some diced green chiles from a can and two or three garlic cloves. Set it aside. In a saucepan, sweat half an onion, then add the purée and salt. Simmer five minutes. Taste it: Wow. Sauce whipped up from cans has no right to be that good!

Lightly fry a tortilla or two. Blot and put ‘em on a plate. Fry an egg or two in your tortilla oil, any way you like ‘em — over-easy, sunny-side-up. Slide the egg onto the tortilla, spoon ranchera sauce over. Garnish with whatever you’ve got — crumbled cotija or cheese from a bag, a fresh sprig of cilantro or two.

Don’t you wish you had a ripe avocado? Man, I actually had one and forgot I did. A few slices on the side would have been awesome. (Still kicking myself!)

You’ve already heated up that can of pinto beans or refried beans. Spoon that next to the eggs.

Got it? Here’s the recipe:

If you want to make pinto beans, wash a pound of dried pinto beans, place them in a large pot, add 10 cups of hot water and half an onion, sliced, and bring it to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to very low, cover the pot, and cook — stirring occasionally — till the beans are tender. It might take anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 1/2 hours, depending on the beans. Add more hot water as you go along if they need it toward the end (you want it very liquidy). 10 minutes before you want to eat them, stir in salt to taste. That’s the basic recipe; throwing in some garlic and herbs (thyme, bay leaf) in the beginning is lovely too.

If it’s only huevos rancheros that you’re after, you can put that together in twenty minutes. Is it a date?

Meanwhile, tonight, if you can’t sleep, think about all the ingredients in your pantry and fridge that you’d love to find a delicious use for. Give me a list in the comments below. I’ll dream up something enticing for you to make.