Yummy

This is my older son's favorite muffin, and I couldn't help but think of him when I made a dozen blueberry muffins on Monday. I had planned to make them last week when my granddaughter was here, but she told me she did not like muffins at all! But who doesn't like muffins? Really? Blueberry muffins were among the very first things that I learned to cook because my Mother regularly bought Jiffy blueberry muffin mixes. The blueberries were real, not blueberry flavored apple pieces that show up in many other mixes these days, and came in a little can that had to be drained before folding them into the batter. They were really tiny blueberries, though, not like these big jumbo ones I bought at my local farmer's market. The resulting muffins were really good, probably because there is a lot of sugar in the dry ingredients. Jiffy introduced its first baking mix in 1930, which was a mix for biscuits. It was the very first of all prepared mixes of any kind, too. Other mixes followed, including the one for blueberry muffins. Jiffy mixes are made by the Chelsea Milling Company located in Washtenaw County, Michigan and is still owned and operated by the same family. It was the current company president's grandmother, Mabel, who came up with the idea for their first mix. The story goes that "the famous Jiffy Mix idea came to his grandmother after her twin boys invited a friend to their house for lunch one day.  The friend accepted the invitation but brought with him a bag lunch his single father had already prepared for him. And when she opened the brown bag, right on top was a biscuit which she kind of referred to later, it looked like a hockey puck.  But she was so overwhelmed knowing, remember it's 1925, 1926, knowing how much effort it took those days to make biscuits.  It softened her heart, and then she got the idea.  Wouldn’t it be nice to make a product that could save people time in the kitchen and be so easy, even a man could do it?" These days I almost never cook with a mix preferring the act of making things from scratch using few ingredients that contain a host of preservatives. But I am thankful for Jiffy and their mixes which introduced to me to the fun of baking. And blueberry muffins really are possibly the most healthy muffin choice because blueberries contain a lot of antioxidants, help brain health by improving neuron tissues, and help with digestion. I think my granddaughter should try my blueberry muffins next year when she visits. Maybe she will change her mind about muffins.