Rhubarb Blueberry Muffins -- Something to Offer While the Bigger Cooking Begins

The interview with the Seattle food writer ran Thursday. The piece was kind and specific. The headline was "A former Amazon engineer is building a Korean meal kit with her birth mother's recipes." The photo — of me at my kitchen counter with a jar of Jisoo's kimchi and one of my printed recipe cards — was used on the feature. The waitlist jumped from 412 to 1,147 by Friday morning. I had to upgrade my email service. I spent Friday afternoon setting up a proper mailing list.

Jisoo saw the article in her Tuesday morning (it was Monday for me). A Korean-American friend of hers in Seoul had translated it and sent it. Jisoo wrote: "You put my name. You put my hands. You put my story. I did not know I wanted to be named. I want to be named. Thank you." I printed that letter. I put it in the archive.

Priya introduced me Tuesday to the founder she had mentioned — a woman named Sarah who had built and sold a plant-based meal kit company. Sarah gave me two hours on the phone. She was generous with details. She told me — the hardest year is year one. The second hardest is year two. She told me — hire a lawyer, a bookkeeper, and an operations person in that order. She told me — do not take VC money unless you have to, and if you have to, take as little as possible. I took notes. I will remember all of it.

James made a decision this week. He said he wants to give notice at Microsoft by the end of January, not the end of Q1. He said, "You need me. I can see it. I have enough runway. The salary is not the point. The point is we are building this together." I said, "Are you sure?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Okay." I cried a little, because I had not realized how much I wanted him to come sooner. He will join February 1. That is twelve weeks from now. That is the best Christmas present I am getting this year, delivered in advance.

Karen had a neutral week. She is dyeing her gray roots again. She told me this with a little rebellion in her voice. She said, "I don't have to look sick." I said, "You do not, Mom. You look beautiful." She has been putting on lipstick most days. She is having a little vanity renaissance. I approve.

Thanksgiving is next week. Kevin and Lisa come up Wednesday. Ming and Wei fly in Thursday morning. The full Thanksgiving, for the first time with James's parents and Karen and David and Kevin and Lisa and me and James all at Karen's house. Jisoo will FaceTime. I will cook. I will cook a lot. I will write about it next week.

The recipe this week is a sample-quantity pajeon. I have been making test batches for the Banchan Labs recipe card — refining the batter ratio, timing the fold, the color of the crust. I have settled on: 1 cup AP flour, 1/4 cup rice flour, 1 egg, 1 cup cold water, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whisk. Fold in 1 bunch scallions cut into three-inch lengths. Fry in a 1/4 cup of oil, crisp on one side. Flip. Crisp the other side. Ten minutes total. Cut with kitchen scissors. Serve with the dipping sauce. This is the pajeon recipe going on Card Six of Box One. You saw it here first.

With Kevin and Lisa arriving Wednesday and the full Thanksgiving table — James’s parents, Karen and David, all of us — only days away, I wanted something I could set out before the serious cooking began, something that made the kitchen smell like I knew what I was doing before I actually started. Rhubarb blueberry muffins have that quality: tart and bright and a little optimistic, which felt right for a week in which the waitlist crossed a thousand and James said February 1st and Jisoo said she wants to be named. I made a test batch Tuesday and ate one standing at the counter re-reading her message. A small, good thing in the middle of a big, good week.

Rhubarb Blueberry Muffins

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 22 min | Total Time: 37 min | Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for topping
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup neutral vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 cup fresh rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Instructions

1. Heat the oven. Preheat to 375°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease well with cooking spray.
2. Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly distributed.
3. Combine wet ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth.
4. Mix the batter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with a spatula until just combined. The batter should look a little lumpy —do not overmix or the muffins will be tough.
5. Fold in the fruit. Gently fold in the blueberries and rhubarb pieces, distributing them evenly without breaking them up.
6. Fill and top. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over the tops.
7. Bake. Bake 20–23 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
8. Cool. Let muffins rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container up to 3 days, or freeze up to 1 month.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 210 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 34g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 195mg