As far as the east is from the west.....

If you stepped outside my house today, the God ordained climate would take your breath away. I think it hit 96 today.
I stopping counting at 90. Joe reminds me that NC has always been my home. Southern CA spoiled me when we lived
there for just 4yrs. Anyway, I love my state and greatly appreciate the change in seasons! But, did you know that today
in Monterey, CA it only hit 60? We are headed there on Thursday for a respite from humidity. Well, really and mainly to see great, dear friends.

Blueberries are a coming!

Although summer is not my favorite season (I dislike greatly mosquitos and humidity), I do love having a break from school, fun beach and pool days, and especially seasonal fruit and veggies. Here in eastern NC we are blessed with local blueberry farms that offer "u-pick" at a very good price at $1 a pound. The best time to pick is coming up at the beginning of July, so I thought I would share some of my favorite recipes with this delicious, antioxidant filled fruit. My boys are big fans of these. The muffins are even better the next day. The recipe is from www.joyofbaking.com.

Blueberry Streusel Muffins:

1 cup milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 tablespoon grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place rack in middle of oven. Line muffin pans with paper liners or spray with a vegetable spray. In a small measuring cup mix together the milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Remove 1 cup of the mixture and place in a small bowl to make a streusel topping later. Gently fold in the blueberries and lemon zest. Add the milk and egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Do not over mix this mixture or the muffins will be tough when baked. Fill each muffin cup almost full with the batter, using two spoons or an ice cream scoop. Fill any unused muffins cups with water to prevent the pan from warping.
For streusel topping: Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and drizzle over the reserved 1 cup of streusel topping. Mix together with a fork until it is crumbly and looks like coarse meal. Sprinkle a couple of teaspoons of the streusel over the top of each muffin. Place in the oven and bake until very lightly browned and firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 - 20 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool. Makes 14 - 16 regular-sized muffins.

Note: Frozen blueberries can be used instead of fresh. Do not thaw the berries before using them. Make sure you do not overmix the batter after you add the blueberries or the batter will turn blue.

Enjoy! More to come...

The Explanation

I am Joe. Average Joe as a matter of fact, or at least an average joe. I have wife and son (and desire even more kids). I have a job that is more important than riding a sliver of foam and fiberglass. I have a mortgage and private health insurance policy. I've been mortally sick. I'm for religion, namely mine. I am in my 30's. If I fall off the tax bracket I will not meet my deductible. I do the repairs to my home, not because I know how but because I have to. I'm very average. I do not own oceanfront property. I do not travel to exotic locations for surfing her waves. I do not have a personal trainer. I do not even have a membership to a gym. I do not have a sponsor for surfing nor have I ever. I did not grow up in San Diego or some other epicenter of surfing's origin or development and have no claim to native-born surfing rights. I was not taught to surf by my father or mother or brother or mystical water-living mammals. I slugged it out the ugly and embarrassing way - the hard way of learning alone and from inland and with my native, non-straining, anti-surfer accent. I'm average. So average that it has been work to even be average. But, I do happen to surf and enjoy surfing as much as any I've met. Which among those who really surf is still pretty average. I like surfing and surfboards. Not the clothes or language or idea of it as 'culture.' I don't care for the pluralistic ideology and generally inarticulate ethos of life and meaning of her icons, nor the rank and emotive hedonism that sells surfing (or at least its image). But I do like to ride the temporal swaths of water on pieces of foam and fiberglass. I like weather models and buoy readings and isobars. I like early mornings whether cold or hot, numb fingers or flesh rubbed raw from more than a hour surf for a one does not have more than an hour to surf. I like nasal drips at awkward times and the lingering smell of my wetsuit throughout the day after a morning session (which is at most once a week). I like the understanding and images of rockers, foils, vectors, cants, rakes, rails and tails.

Being an average joe, I like many things but a select number of them I like a quite a bit more than the others. Surfing and surfboards are one of them. While I hope not the chief among other desires and enjoyments but an enjoyment and a desire, for sure. I am Joe. A very average guy with responsibility other priorities of a higher value but who really likes to surf and thus surfboards.

This blog will just be what I do mentally anyway, record my evaluations of the surfboards I ride on the waves God blows my way when my other duties of a higher priority do not call. If you are average and you surf, I'm sure you will relate. Maybe I can pass along something only learned from the inland, duty-bound, wave-starved, quiver-poor, commuting, 30-something guy who still tries to surf as only a part of living life as it was meant to be.