Mom's Birthday

I wanted to make something light & not too sweet for my Mom's birthday celebration. This blueberry muffin recipe is adapted from Simple Treats.
Now a trip down memory lane...
We didn't bake much when I was a kid, but I do have memories of me & my sister making blueberry muffins. Blueberry muffins & peanut butter cookies, plus a few other things which I can't think of right now - pumpkin pie. My sister was always the baker/sweet maker when I was younger...now that she's moved away & doesn't live near us, it seems that I have taken up that role. Together, my sister & I made the "American" food, which I believe helped bridge my family from pure Asian cuisine to American-Asian variety at home. I can't remember all too much of my childhood - since my language was a lot more limited back then, but food was always a big part of our lives, as it still is today. At times I miss having my sister around & us cooking together, but as much as we resist change, we also find ourselves adapting & going with the flow without even noticing it. Life is all about change - taking new roles & moving beyond old ones. Although quite rare, life changes quite a bit more when we have the illusion of control, thinking we have the chance to consciously choose our roles. Ahh...all to give it all up in the end. That's what birthday's are about, a little reminder of our past experiences, although quite limited in scope. Come to think of it, my own birthday is quickly approaching - 9 days to be exact.
Back to the muffins - they were moist, not to sweet with a crunchy muffin top.

~*~
Blueberry-Lemon Muffins
Topping:
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp barley flour

Muffins:
1/4 cup coconut oil (2 ounces)
1/4 cup maple syrup
5 /8 cup rice milk (5 ounces)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon extract
zest of one lemon

1/4 cup sugar
1 cup barley flour
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

1 cup fresh/frozen blueerries, if frozen - do not thaw
few blueberries for topping

• Mix together sugar & flour for the topping. Set aside.
  
• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Oil/line 8-cups of muffin tin. Set aside.
• Mix oil, syrup, milk, vinegar, extracts & zest.
• In a large bowl, sift together sugar, flours, soda, powder, nutmeg & salt.
• Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until barely combined, do not overwork batter.
• If the batter is too stiff, add another teaspoon of milk.
• Fold in 1 cup of blueberries using as few strokes as possible to prevent batter from turning purple/blue.
• Spoon batter evenly among 8 tins. Do not overfill tins, as muffins tops will spread, not puff up vertically.
  
• Sprinkle the muffins with the topping mixture & place 2 - 3 whole blueberries on the top of each muffin.
• Bake for 20 minutes & rotate pan half turn for even baking. Bake additional 5 - 10 minutes, till toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Remove from oven, allow to cool for a few minutes & remove from pan & cool completely on wire rack.
• Makes 8 medium muffins.