Recipe of the Week: Sourdough Adventure: Cornbread Muffins

Continuing the sourdough adventure - cornbread is one of my favorite muffins to have at lunch or dinner although it is a great leftover for breakfast as well. This recipe makes about 24 muffins. 

1 1/2 cups mature whole wheat sourdough starter

1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal

1 cup milk

2 eggs

2 tablespoons of sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Assemble all ingredients and utensils. Allow all ingredients to come to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray.

In a large bowl combine starter, cornmeal and milk.

Beat eggs with sugar. Add to batter and stir. Note: Add warm water if the batter is too thick. Starters vary significantly in thickness.

Combine salt and baking soda into the butter. Fold into the batter.

Fill each tin 2/3 full.

Bake until golden brown on top. Serve hot.

The original sourdough adventure post (click on the green text to go to the post) includes a link to how to initiate your own sourdough starter. That original post also includes a recipe for sourdough pancakes and it is still the recipe I am using the most - almost every week.

Recipe of the Week: Blueberries

The blueberry season is beginning in North America. There are lots of ways to enjoy them but my favorite is just straight from the refrigerator - rinsed - savored one at a time.

It’s hard to pick a second-favorite. Competitors would be: 

• Blueberries and melty vanilla ice cream
• Frozen blueberries blended with milk and an apple (smoothie)
• Blueberry muffins
• Blueberry and watermelon or cantaloupe (fruit salad) 

Enjoy the fruits of early summer!

Recipe: Sourdough Adventure: Honey Pecan Cardamom Muffins

Take a break for cinnamon and enjoy the flavor of cardamom for a change. 

1 egg

1 1/2 cup mature sourdough starter

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 cup pecans

Preheat oven to 350 and spray pans with cooking spray to prevent sticking.

Combine wet ingredients in a large bowl.

Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix gently until all is moistened.

Spoon into muffin tins.

Cook until toothpick comes out clean.

Note 1: The density of sourdough starter varies. You may need to add some water if the batter is too thick.

Note 2: Try some different seasonings and nuts. I used maple syrup (instead of honey), peanuts (instead of pecans), cinnamon rather than cardamom and very fine bread crumbs (instead of the flour)....Yummy!

Previous Sourdough Adventure posts:  

• Pancakes
• Sally Lunn
• Spice Muffins
• Italian Spice Bread

Recipe of the Week: Sourdough Adventure: Spice Muffins

Muffins are simple, quick way to utilize sourdough starter. They are like pancakes in that they use the reaction from the combination of the acid in the starter and the base from soda to make moist, cake-like muffins. Here’s my favorite recipe:

Combine in a large measuring cup: 

• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1/4 cup tea or water
• 2 cups whole wheat sourdough starter
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup molasses or honey (something sweet)
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla 

Combine in a large bowl: 

• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• Dash cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray pans with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine wet ingredients and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Combine dry ingredients.

Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients.

Spoon into muffin pans.

Cook until a toothpick comes out clean.

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There are lots of ways to use this recipe and make very different tasting muffins. Here are few ideas...I encourage you to experiment and make your own unique muffins! 

• Use honey or apple juice concentrate for the sweetener.
• Add raisins or nuts.
• Use orange or lemon peel as an additional spice.
• Add butterscotch morsels for a dessert muffin 

Recipe of the Week: Sweet Potato Cake Muffins

This recipe is derived originally from a carrot cake recipe. I used grated sweet potato in place of the carrots. I also substituted honey and apple juice concentrate for the sugar. This recipe does well with whole wheat flour because is it very moist and the other ingredients are hearty flavors that are not overwhelmed by the whole wheat.

1 1/3 cups olive oil

1 cup honey

1 cup apple juice concentrate

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 eggs

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (rounded)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 cups grated sweet potatoes (less than 1 pound)

1 cup raisins

1 small can crushed pineapple, drained

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray muffin tins (makes 24+ muffins).

In large bowl, combine together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add the grated sweet potato and raisins; stir to coat them with the flour mixture.

Whisk olive oil, honey, apple juice concentrate, vanilla, and eggs together in a small bowl or large measuring cup. Add to the flour mixture and stir until combined.

Scoop the batter into muffin cups until each is 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack. I made regular muffins, muffin tops, and a couple of mini-Bundt muffins.

Recipe of the Week: Pinto Beans

Years ago I cooked pinto beans with chunks of ham - but now I cook with no seasoning at all because of the variety of ways I want to use them; I safe the seasoning for right before I eat them. My technique for cooking beans (that reduces their tendency to be the ‘musical fruit’) is: 

• Sort the beans removing any small dirt clods or rocks.
• Rinse.
• Soak overnight - or longer - in enough water to cover the beans + about 2 inches.
• Drain.
• Place in a big pot and cover with water + 2 inches.
• Bring to boil on high heat.
• Skim any foam that forms from the pot.
• Simmer covered until beans are very soft. The amount of time it takes depends on how dry the beans are. I recently had a pot that took almost twice the amount of time I had expected. Make sure there is enough water to keep the beans covered while they cook.
• Drain the liquid from the beans.
• Freeze beans that you will not use in the next few days in containers sized for the way you will be using the beans. 

Be creative on how you use the cooked beans to add a nutritional boost to just about any meal. Remember that since no seasoning was added while they were cooking - they will meld with just about anything you put with them. Alone they are quite bland. Here are some ideas to get you started...there are lots of recipes you can find with a simple search if you need more details.

Soups

• Stir fry onion, peppers, and celery while stock/bullion + carrots are boiling (to soften the carrots). Add a teaspoon of your favorite no-salt seasoning, beans, onion/peppers, and tomatoes. Top with parsley.
• Heat V8 or other veggie drink, beans, frozen or fresh peas, corn, and broccoli. Season to taste.

Salads

• Combine tuna, beans, and your favorite creamy dressing or mayonnaise.
• Combine beans, frozen green beans and peas and your favorite vinaigrette.
• Combine lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, beans, a sprinkle of orange zest and your favorite salad dressing.
• Combine beans, an apple, raisins, celery and a sweet dressing (for example - olive oil and orange marmalade or mayonnaise and honey)

Refried beans (a great Southwestern/Mexican side dish)

Muffins (see my recipe below…but there are others to be found on the web)

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Pinto Bean Oat Muffins

1 cup pinto beans (cooked)

3/4 cup milk

1 egg

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup oats (process to a rough flour in a food processor/grinder)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Preparation Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Put everything a food processor and pulse process until everything is blended/moistened.
• Take out blade and use a spatula to fold in the raisins.
• Spoon into muffin cups prepared with cooking spray, about 3/4 full.
• Bake until golden brown.

(This recipe was modified from one found on Yummly.)

Quote of the Day - 03/27/2012

The fuel of life is new information - novelty - ordered into new structures.  We need to have information coursing through systems, disturbing the peace, imbuing everything it touches with new life. - Margaret J. Wheatley as quoted in Michele Bechtell in The Management Compass (AMA Management Briefing)

~~~~~

It is very easy to get a lot of new information and novelty these days. Our technology has removed many of the barriers to information dissemination so now we find ourselves honing skills to avoid being overwhelmed by the ‘fire hose’ of new information made available every day. The trick is to somehow recognize the misinformation (i.e. recognize information unsupported by data of any kind and/or intentional falsehoods), decide if ‘opinion’ is indeed information too, cull information that is relevant/actionable and then get the highest quality new information ‘ordered into new structures.’ We want the ‘imbuing everything it touches with new life’ not a frenzy of circular motion that produces no discernible outcomes!

The quote is from a management book but applies to our individual lives as well. What positive role does new information/novelty play in your life? Trace a new information/novelty to the change it caused you to make. Realize that learning something may be a step you take to order information so that it can be applied or may simply be a storing away of information is almost raw form.

A recent example for me: I was cooking a big pot of pinto beans to use for homemade refried beans when it occurred to me that maybe beans could be used in other things - like muffins. This is an example of seeking novelty. I did a quick search on the web, found several recipes, picked one, and baked it. I’ll share the results tomorrow!

Recipe of the Week - Chia Seeds

Early this year I read an article about chia seeds and decided to give them a try. I was initially motivated by their impressive nutritional properties. Fiber, oil, protein, vitamins and minerals….chia seeds could easily be viewed as a ‘super-food.’ Incorporating at least 1 tablespoon a day, and sometimes 2, into my diet has been surprisingly easy. They form a gel-like slurry in water and can be easily combined with many other foods. Here are the ways I have used them so far:

• 1 tablespoon of chia seeds in a glass of herbal tea or lemon water (letting it stand for 15 minutes before consuming using a straw to swirl the seeds and slurp). This has become my standard ‘breakfast’ every morning. I thought I might get tired of it but changing the liquid the seeds get hydrated in has provided enough variety.
• Using the last bit of creamy salad dressing in the bottle. I added milk to the bottle and shook it to blend the dregs of dressing and milk before pouring both into a small bowl. I added 1/2 tablespoon chia seeds to thicken the dressing and a few sprinkles of Mrs. Dash. After letting it sit for 10 minutes, I stirred in up and used on a salad.
• Muffins. I always substitute a tablespoon of chia seeds for a tablespoon of flour. It adds nutrition plus makes any muffin less crumbly.
• Stir fry sauce. I like orange juice and zest, fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon chia seeds…with enough herbal tea to make the consistency right as the gel forms (and assuming some liquid will be lost as it is poured over the stir fry in the last segment of cooking).
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds cooked with 1/4 cup oatmeal for breakfast. I liked this combination so much that I used less sugar than with plain oatmeal and needed no butter at all! It works best to let the seeds, oatmeal, and water sit in the pan for 5 minutes or so before beginning to heat (gives the chia seeds time to start hydrating). Round up on the amount of water if you want a creamy consistency!

There are lots of other chia seed recipes available. My favorite site is http://www.chiaseedrecipes.com/

Recipe of the Week: Mincemeat Tea Muffins

1 cup cups whole wheat flour

1 cup oats (pulsed in a food processor)

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)

1 teaspoon lemon peel (optional)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon nutmeg

4 tablespoons buttermilk powder

1 cup tea

½ cup olive oil

1 1/2 cup mincemeat

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients (flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, chia seeds, lemon peel, spices, and buttermilk powder). Whisk tea, olive oil, and mincemeat in a large measuring cup. Pour liquids into dry ingredients. Mix until blended. Fill muffin pans about 2/3 full. Bake in 350 degree F oven until brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

The story behind this recipe: It all started with the jar of mincemeat on the discount table at the grocery store. Evidently they only stock it during the winter holidays so they were get rid of what they had left. I couldn’t resist. The recipe for Mincemeat Tea Cake in an old Christmas oriented cookbook sounded good. I made some changes -

• Whole wheat flour rather than white flour
• Half the flour replaced with oats
• Added chia seeds
• Added lemon peel
• Used buttermilk powder and tea rather than buttermilk
• Added applesauce
• Did not add any sugar (the original recipe called for 1 cup sugar!)
• Muffins instead of a cake

OK - so it is pretty far from the original recipe. They are very good breakfast muffins. Just sweet enough…not too much. I also discovered other uses for mincemeat:

• Cover top of raw shredded sweet potato with mincement…moisten with tea…bake for an hour. Yummy side dish.
• Mix mincemeat with some olive oil and use as a dressing for fruit or cabbage salad. It worked well with apple/raisin/celery salad (I think of this as ‘Not my Mother’s Waldorf’ Salad)
• To make a sauce for stir fry…a little goes a long way. I added extra ginger.

Maybe I should have bought two jars instead of one from that discount table!

Recipe of the Week: Kiwi Coconut Muffins

2 kiwis peeled and pulse processed in a food processor
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)
1 teaspoons powdered egg whites
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup agave nectar or 3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup +2 tablespoons tea or water
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray muffin tins to prevent sticking.

Whisk dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, soda, chia seeds, and coconut) in a large bowl.

In a large measuring cup, whisk agave nectar, tea, oil, vanilla, and egg.

Combine together in large bowl (i.e. add wet ingredients, and kiwi to the dry ingredients) until all ingredients are moistened.

Fill tins 3/4 full.

Bake until the muffins are browned and/or inserted toothpick is clean when removed.

Remove from muffin pans to cool.

Note: Adding 1 tablespoon chia seeds makes for a moister muffin. This addition can be made to just about any muffin recipe - adding a nutritional boost.

Recipe of the Week: Lemony Chia Seed Muffins

1 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons chia seeds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup honey
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and spray muffin tins with non-stick spray.

Combine the flour, chia seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and lemon zest in a large bowl.

In a separate large bowl, combine the oil and honey. Whisk until smooth. Whisk in the milk, lemon juice, vinegar, and lemon extract.

Pour into the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Pour into the prepared muffin tins and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

Notes:

• If you don’t have bread crumbs, use whole wheat flour. I’m making bread crumbs with my food processor rather than throwing stale bread away these days so I always have a container of bread crumbs in the refrigerator. Replacing 1/3 the flour with bread crumbs makes for a slightly chewy muffin.
• The chia seeds will almost totally dissolve as the muffins cook. I had originally thought these would have the look of lemon poppy seed muffins but they don’t. They are very moist with the extra oil from the chia seeds. I enjoyed these muffins without butter or cream cheese. Next time I make them I'll probably reduce the olive oil to 1/4 cup.
• I made my own lemon zest by cutting off the skin of lemon is was going to use for the juice and processing it into small bits in the food processor (see blog on making orange zest).
• I used a fancy form pan to make mini-muffins. They were about two bites each.