Blueberry Muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center.

In a separate bowl, combine the egg, milk and oil. Add egg mixture, all at once, to the flour mixture. Stir JUST until moistened. Yes, the batter should be lumpy. (If you try to stir all the lumps out, your muffins will be very tough.) CAREFULLY fold in blueberries and optional lemon peel.

Grease muffin cups, or line with paper bake cups; fill each 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from pans; serve warm with butter.

NOTES:

* Award-winning blueberry muffins — these muffins won a blue ribbon during the years that I was eligible for the Dade County (Miami, Florida) Youth Fair. I think this particular recipe came originally from the "Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook," but I could be wrong.

* The less you stir once you've combined the two mixtures, the better your muffins will be. (To a point, but over-mixing is much more common than under- mixing.) Frozen blueberries work fine, if you can't get hold of fresh berries. I'm sure other kinds of fruit will work fine, too, but I haven't tried them.

: Difficulty: moderate (proper mixing technique required). : Time: 10 minutes preparation, 25 minutes baking. : Precision: measure the ingredients.

: Jean Marie Diaz : Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass., USA

Your Blueberry Muffins is ready. Good luck!