The Daily Breakfast at Linderhof . .

The Daily Breakfast at Linderhof

is eaten in the breakfast room

It is -- after all -- the

breakfast room!

But the daily breakfast is not a breakfast of

biscuits and gravy

omelets

frittatas

bacon and eggs

Those, mostly, are weekend breakfasts

Our daily breakfast is quite standard fare

However, I believe in setting a nice table

With tablecloth and napkins

Often coffee (or tea) in a ceramic pot

And often a little surprise

Like these chocolate chocolate chip zucchini raspberry muffins

They make the mundane cereal and berries and juice

more special.

Blue and white is our "daily dish"

And we mix them and mix them often

Husband Jim likes a deeper bowl for his cereal

(Spode Blue Room)

while I like a shallower one

(Spode Camilla)

My coffee cup is Spode Blue Italian

Husband's coffee cup is with him on the porch --

He hasn't come in for breakfast yet!

Milk for the cereal in a Wedgwood blue creamer

Coffee served Johnson Brothers Indies

(my only blue transfer ware coffee pot)

Flowers are in a old blue and white milk pitcher

The napkins are homespun

And the tablecloth is lace

Mother taught me that if you do something,

do it nicely.

She often used tablecloths and always real napkins

whenever we ate.

I follow suit.

It's not all that much more work

And it makes even a juice and cereal breakfast

seem more special.

The muffins are awesome.

If you like chocolate,

If you like raspberries

And they've got zucchini in them as well

So they cover the basic three food groups

(vegetable, fruit, chocolate)

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP ZUCCHINI RASPBERRY MUFFINS

1 2/3 c. flour

1/3 c. plus 1 T. cocoa powder, sifted

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

2 large eggs

2/3 c. sugar

2/3 c. brown sugar

1 T. instant espresso dissolved in 1 T. water

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1/3 c. sour cream

1 cup finely grated zucchini 

3/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips

4 oz. fresh raspberries

Powdered sugar for dusting

Heat the oven to 350.    Butter and flour or use muffin cup liners in a 12 cup muffin tin.   

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the eggs and both sugars together on medium speed until smooth, lightened and somewhat increased in volume, about 1 minute.    Add the reconstituted espresso, the vanilla, oil, and sour cream and mix again for 1 minute.     With the mixer running on a very low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet, beating just until combined and stopping to scrape down the sides of the mixer when necessary.     Add the zucchini and mix until just combined.     Stir in the chocolate chips and raspberries.    Spoon the batter into the muffin cups.

Bake until the muffins are fully risen in the middle and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.    Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.    Dust lightly with powdered sugar (only if serving right away).   

It's Thursday and I'm sharing my breakfast table with Susan at Between Naps On the Porch for Tablescape Thursday