I recently found my old cast iron muffin pan hiding in the basement over at the loft. I totally forgot I had it and was very much happy to find it not covered in rust and still looking all nice and basically ready for use. Not even the seasoning and non stickness that I worked hard to produce on it was messed up, which is amazing because I also found another cast iron pan that I left down there and it did not fair as well. It had a little rust and was grimy. Fine by me, I didn%u2019t even want that pan anyway.
And that is basically why I made muffins. Because I wanted to use my muffin pan again.
These muffins. First off, muffins are muffins and are not meant to be a pain in the ass to make. This muffins are not, unless you think pitting cherries is a pain. For that I am sorry, but that is a small price to pay for a tasty ass muffin situation. Secondly, these muffins are well worth the tiny effort it takes to pit cherries because you end up with cherry muffins, and that alone should be enough of a reason. And the fact that they are damn tasty. The mr, who eats everything but never says too much about whatever is going into his mouth, texted me at 630 in the morning while I was at the gym just to tell me how amazing he thought they were%u2026.
Amazing at 630 am. That%u2019a validation.
Now go get yourself some cherries and make some muffins. And it is ok if you don%u2019t have a super sweet cast iron muffin pan. Most don%u2019t. But you are still cool, don%u2019t worry.
To the muffins!
The stuff. In the bowl is flour, rolled oats, baking soda and powder, salt and cinnamon. Also have cherries, brown sugar, almond milk, canola oil, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, and a lemon.
Hardest part of the whole shebang%u2026 pitting the cherries. Not my favorite thing to do, but definitely not the worst.
Do it any way you see fit, but I just cut them in half and kind of wedge the pit out with my thumb.
Once all the pits are removed, chop those sherries up into small pieces.
Then make the batter. Mix the dry together with the sugar and the zest of the lemon. Just make sure there are not huge clumps of the sugar in the mixture. Then add in all the wet and gently mix until combined. And then fold in the cherries.
Fill up well grease muffin pans with the batter then sprinkle a little brown sugar and a few oats on top.
Pop those soon to be muffins into a hot oven.
Remove the muffins from pan and let cool on a wire rack.
Cherry oat muffins. You are good.
-C
makes 11-12 muffins
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup of old fashion rolled oats (plus 2 tablespoons to sprinkle tops with)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar (plus 2 tablespoons to sprinkle tops with)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
A lemon (juice and zest)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup plant based milk
1/3 cup canola oil
Preheat oven to 350
First thing first, remove steams and pits from cherries. Do it any way that you want, but I find just cutting them in half and kind of popping the pit out with my thumb works best for me. Anyway, once the pits are remove, chop cherries up into small pieces.
Place flour, oats, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon, brown sugar, and zest of lemon into a big bowl. Mix together until completely incorporated. Make sure there are not huge clumps of brown sugar, if there are, break them up with your fingers. Add in the milk, oil, vanilla, vinegar, and juice of half a lemon. Gently mix until just incorporated. Now fold in chopped cherries.
Evenly scoop the batter into a well greased muffin tin. (There is enough batter for12 normal sized muffins.) Sprinkle the tops with the extra brown sugar and oats then pop the pan Ito the oven. Bake for 28-32 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are a nice golden brown and a taster poked into one of the muffins comes out clean.
When fully baked, remove muffins from oven and pop them out of the pan. Let cool on a wire rack but feel free to eat one or two warm.
Store any extra in an airtight container on counter for a day or two but in the fridge for about a week. Individual muffins can be wrapped and frozen for a good long will too.
Banana bread never goes out of style. It is a clsasic, everyday, everybody type of food. Have a slice for dessert, maybe drizzled with some chocolate, definitely.%u00a0%u00a0How about for a grab and go breakfast, sure sure.. A chunk slathered in peanut butter for snack time or anytime, well %u00a0isn’t that’s why you make it?%u00a0 And who doesn’t always have a banana bowl in the kitchen? A banana bowl that is always full of bananas because the banana just always makes it’s way home. They seem to pile up, even when I don’t mean for them to. And I know I am not the only one. I see it all the time. A fruit bowl in the kitchen with a least a couple of really really ripe bananas, waiting for that moment when you know there is no freaking way anyone in their right mind would eat those banana because gross. That’s when you have it, the perfect banana for some banana bread, or in this case, banana muffins. %u00a0
Here I went muffin style because I had already made a loaf of banana bread earlier in the week and because I wanted to send half of the muffins to the boys at the front desk at the gym. (They give me coffee, I give them muffins) And also, muffins cook a lot faster then bread so if you are a little low on time, muffins are the way to go. But if you would rather bread, you can make it bread. Bananas are there for you and are not fussy.%u00a0
The stuff. Ripe bananas, poppy seeds, brown sugar, oil, and apple cider vinegar. Also have flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and a little salt in the bowl.%u00a0
Mash the bananas in a bowl, like really mash them up until it turns to a sugar banana slop.%u00a0Then add in the oil and the vinegar and mix together.
Dump in the dry and the poppy seeds and mix it all up until combined but then stop. Don’t over mix the batter or else you will get tuff muffins.%u00a0
Scoop into well greased muffin pans and pop them into the preheated oven to bake.%u00a0
Done! And in only took like 20 minutes appose to an hour if I made banana bread.%u00a0
And here is when you grab a coffee, a muffin, and have yourself a moment.
Stay good.
-C
makes 12-14 muffins
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder%u00a0
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon%u00a0
1/4 cup poppy seeds
2/3 cups packed %u00a0brown sugar
1/2 cup neutral flavored oil
4 really ripe bananas (they need to be really ripe of the mixture will be to dry)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar%u00a0
Preheat oven to 350
In a large bowl,%u00a0mash the bananas with the sugar until the mixture turns wet and sloppy, but there are still a few little chunks of banana.%u00a0%u00a0Mix in the oil and vinegar. In a separate bowl mix the %u00a0flour, cinnamon , baking powder and soda, salt, and poppy seeds together. Dump the dry into the wet and mix until all is combined but then stop. Don’t over mix batter.%u00a0
Scoop mixture into well greased muffin tins and place into oven once it has preheated.%u00a0Bake the muffins for about 20- 22 minutes or until nicely browned and a tester stuck into the middle of one comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let sit in tin for a few minutes until it cools down. Remove the muffins from the tin and let completely cool on a wire rack.%u00a0
Eat whenever and how many you want, store the rest in an air tight container for a couple of days or wrap a few and %u00a0freeze.%u00a0
I still can’t believe that we bought a new house,%u00a0 not even a week ago. %u00a0Like whoa holy crap!
And with any fantastic and great house that the mr and I would buy, this place needs a fair amount of work (a few walls down, a small addition to the upstairs, and new kitchen and bathrooms to start) But other then the small details of that, this place is a freaking gem. I am more then excited to get to it and start removing, ripping and tearing out the crap to unearth and enhance the beautiful old house to it’s glory! Oh man is it going to be a long, fun filled, couple of months ahead of us!
So the day after we closed, we had a bunch of our family and friends come over to check out the place. Me being me, I needed to test out the new kitchen before we completely gut it and like any good hostess, I just had to make sure I had some snacky , good smelling, bakes treat for all the folks coming in and out of the place. So I made muffins. My initial thought was cookies, but I really didn%u2019t want to have to hover over the stove and plus, I had a bunch of sweet potatoes and cranberries that needed using up (sound familiar, this is the muffin for you)
And bonus, the house filled up wit the sweet smell of baking. (That was my plan) and the muffins, they were a hit!
The kitchen!!! Isn%u2019t it %u00a0so freaking ugly cute fantastic? Check those windows out.%u00a0
So back to the muffins.%u00a0I was being practical and premixed up some of the stuff %u00a0and brought it over to the house.%u00a0
The stuff. A bowl of all purpose and whole wheat flour along with some salt, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and ginger. And a bowl of wet which has a a bakes sweet potato, oil, and brown sugar. And a cup of almond millk with a bit of vinegar mixed in and a jar of mostly %u00a0chopped up fresh cranberries
Mix the crap out of the wet until the mixture is mostly smooth. I used a plan old baked sweet potato %u00a0for this but feel free to use any left over seer potato %u00a0casserole you have laying around for this, just adjust spices if there are a bunch already in the potato.
Dump the wet mixture into the (already mixed up) dry mixture and mix along with the vinegar-%u00a0almond milk until everything is just combined (don’t over mix the batter!).
Grab cranberries and fold them into batter. Also can totally use up any cranberry situation you might have left over (maybe not the canned jello kind})
Batter into greased muffin tins and into the preheated oven they go.
More kitchen. Check out that dish washer, its pretty awesome. I am not going to keep it, but I don’t want to trash it, its too freaking cool. So anyone want a dishwasher? (still work)%u00a0%u00a0The fridge is new, but we are going to move it to storage and use it in one of our apartments eventually and get a new fringe.%u00a0 The counters and the cabinets are getting donated and the fake brick background is staying. (HAHA) F no.. That%u2019s coming down like today and unfortunately the super cute flower wallpaper has to come down with it. (I kinda wanted to keep it.. oh well)
%u00a0And the little window.. so my favorite part. I have never had me a nice kitchen window before.%u00a0
The othe side of kitchen, where this amazing stove lives.%u00a0 The stove works, but it%u2019s a little rough. The door is slightly coming off and broiler pan is broken, but other then that, it works fine.%u00a0I have even though I might try to fix it up and keep it. (the mr is not into that) We will see, but I think we are going to get a new one. (and donate this one).%u00a0
So kitchen tour is done Back to the muffins.
%u00a0Once they are all nice and golden brown and a tester comes out clean, these babies are done! Take out of oven and remove from pan and let cool on a rack.
The perfect snack for any occasion%u00a0
Happy (hopefully relaxing) weekend!
-C
makes 12-14
1 cup sweet potato puree
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup oil
1cup almond (or whatever) milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup fresh chopped cranberries%u00a0
Note.. use any left over sweet potato stuff or cranberry sauces that you might have left over.. just adjust seasonings to taste.
Preheat oven to 350
Start by measuring out your almond %u00a0milk and adding in the tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Set aside.%u00a0In a large bowl whisk together the flours, baking soda and powder, the salt and the cinmoan and ginger. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, sweet potato, and the oil until well combined. Dump the wet into the dry and mix together along with the almond milk unit just combined (don’t over mix!)%u00a0Dump in chopped cranberries and fold them in.%u00a0
Grease a muffin pan and scoop equal amonts of batter into the tin and place into oven. Bake until golden brown and a tester comes clean from a muffin middle.%u00a0
Remove from oven and let cool on a rack
Eat.
First day of Spring!! Well kind of I guess. I think it actually starts at like 6:20 tonight, when the temperature is going to dip back done to 10.(Spring my ass) I don’t know about you people out there but here in Vermont, we are really hanging on to winter. I have to keep telling myself%u2026″ It will be warmer soon and you’ll be looking forward to this weather in a few months.. so stop bitching!” %u00a0I give myself good pep talks.
Anyway, last week at the farm share pick up, there was a nice little surprise. We got a few pounds of some sweet locally grown and milled whole wheat flour. There was a little sign with the information about the wheat and where it came from, but in my haste of gathering all of my other veggies, I failed to take notes and forgot the name of the farm that it came from. But I do know that my farm traded some celeriac for the wheat. %u00a0I was really excited because I am really into the idea of using locally grown grains and I don’t know, it just made me really happy, especially because it was a trade. %u00a0Food framing and local sharing is stuff that makes me happy.
I wanted to make something to kind of showcase the hearty, nutty flavor of the wheat and I also wanted to make something that my mister would eat for breakfast. Well what better way to do that then with muffins!%u00a0Banana coconut whole wheat%u00a0(that just happen to be vegan) Hearty, fruity, and smells like the word lovely and the color yellow.%u00a0A few to eat and a few to share. Hanging at home, running away or %u00a0getting ready for a day of spring cleaning%u2026.This is a great weekend to make muffins!%u00a0
The stuff%u2026 Light, nutty local whole wheat flour, ripe oh ripe bananas and coconut flakes are the stars in this muffin%u2026 But we need the other stuff too. Brown sugar, vanilla, coconut oil and a chia egg. %u00a0Baking powder, baking soda, and last but not least, salt.
%u00a0Yup, that sounds about right%u00a0 %u00a0The salt, baking soda, and baking powder are whisked together. The banana and all the rest of the stuff are mixed up%u2026 Then mix the wet mixture into the dry. Stir until combined and then add in the coconut flakes,Scoop mixture %u00a0into 12 lined muffin cups%u2026 A scoop like mine works very nicely. Don’t have one, well I recommend you get yourself one. Until then, use a spoon. Something I always do when baking any muffin is sprinkle the tops of each muffin with a bit of %u00a0sugar or brown sugar. It melts and caramelizes and adds a sweet little crunch to the tops.%u00a0
Now stick the muffins into the oven.%u00a0Remove from oven when they look like this, nice and golden brown. Also good idea to check with a tester stuck into the middle. When it comes out clean, they are done.12 happy little muffins cooling on a rack, waiting to be eaten with you mouth.%u00a0
Doesn’t the sight of pretty food make you happy, like sing a song happy?%u00a0Muffins, whoa yah!! %u00a0Friday yah yah!! %u00a0Spring%u2026What, Yah!! %u00a0Yah%u2026Yah Yah!!!
Terrible I know, but at least you were spared hearing my actual voice.%u00a0
Have a great weekend. Do lots of springy stuff!
-C
2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
4 Ripe bananas
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/3 cup melted Coconut Oil
1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds + 3 Tablespoons warm water
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
Preheat oven to 350
In a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons warm water to the chia seeds and let sit for at least 5 minutes (10 is better) In a large bowl, peel and mash the bananas until they turn into a kind of chunky soupy puree. %u00a0Add in brown sugar, chia seed mixture, vanilla extract, and the melted coconut oil (make sure it’s melted or it won’t incorporate into the mixture) Mix together. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix the wet mixture with the dry until combined then mix in the coconut flakes.%u00a0
Line a 12 cup muffin tin and fill each cup about 3/4 the way up with batter. Sprinkle each muffin with brown sugar and place in oven on center rack. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops 0f the muffins are golden brown and a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.%u00a0
Remove muffins from tin and let cool.
Serve as is or maybe with a smudge of coconut butter, or anything you want really.
No need for fork, just use you mouth.
So the mister wants to know%u2026″Why would anyone ever buy those crappy english muffins from the store when they could be eating these?”
Good question%u2026And we will all answer%u2026.”Never again! Because I now make the sickest E.M.s around.!”(E.M.s is the cool short way to say english muffins and now that you are going to make your own%u2026.man, your so cool!)
These E.M.s are perfect. Easy to make, not overly fussy, and you end up with a super yummy, extremely versatile, individually portion super sweet little disk of bread. And the best part is..nooks and crannies! I think that is why I decided to make these E.M.s, %u00a0so Nick and I can talk the about nooks and crannies%u2026(Sometimes we need light conversation)
%u00a0
We start with flour and salt whisked together in a bowl. The honey, yeast and warm water are getting on proofing in a jar. An egg waiting to be cracked, some milk, and 2 tablespoons of butter. All this good stuff equals%u2026nooks and crannies!
Oh you like my nifty dough whisk%u2026.me too, I use it all the time. Maybe I should have a dough whisk give away %u00a0%u2026%u2026maybe%u2026..
Everything all mixed together, dumped onto a floured surface and kneaded for 10 minutes by hand%u2026..If you have a stand mixer, you can use it if you want, but you are missing out on the fun of doing it by hand%u2026.
When the dough has been sufficiently kneaded, gather dough into a nice ball, coat with a little oil and place back into bowl. Cover with a towel and stick in a warm place to rise for about an hour or until it has doubled in size.
When dough has doubled, punch down and plop out onto floured surface.%u00a0Dust the bottom of a griddle or in my case, two cast iron pans, with corn meal. Divide dough into 8-10 equal balls and smash into 2 inch thick disks.%u00a0
Place on griddle or pans and sprinkle more corn meal on top of each E.M. Cover and let rise for another 15 minute.%u00a0
Now the E.M.s %u00a0have rested, turn the griddle (or pans) on to low heat. Once your griddle (or pans) gets hot, continue to cook that side for another 7-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip and cook other side for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Once browned, check for doneness with a thermometer. The inside should reach 200 degrees.( if you don’t have a thermometer, fork split one open and check%u2026. you are going to eat it anyway) If the outside cooked faster then the inside, no worries, just pop them into the oven at 350 for 8-10 minutes. I had to pop mine into the oven for to cook completely.
%u00a0Remove form griddle, let cool a bit, and %u2026%u2026Fresh, fluffy fat, fantastic%u2026.Everything and more that a real english muffin should be. Split open with a fork and%u2026%u2026. the nooks and crannies! So spot on. %u00a0Serve with anything your heart desires%u2026I served these with whipped honey butter%u2026. and eat the only kind of E.M. you will ever again eat. Grocery store english muffins be damned!
Enjoy and Happy Tuesday!
-C
English Muffins
Ingredients
2 1/2 %u00a0cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon butter at room temperature
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
cornmeal for pan
Combine warm water, honey and yeast in a bowl to active..about 5-10 minutes or until yeast is foamy.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Mix in butter(I use my fingers) When yeast mixture is done proofing, whisk together mixture with the egg and milk. Add wet %u00a0to dry and mix until just incorporated%u00a0%u00a0Dump out onto floured surface and knead dough for 8 minutes, adding a bit of flour whenever dough starts to get too sticky. %u00a0Roll into a ball, coat with oil and place back into bowl and cover with a towel. Let rise for 60 minutes or until sought has doubled in size.
Once the first rise is done, deflate dough and divide into 8 equal pieces(10 for a slightly smaller muffin). %u00a0Smoosh each ball into a flat disk, about 2 inches thick) and place on a cold cornmeal dusted cast iron griddle. (I used 2 cast iron pans) Sprinkle tops of muffins with more corn meal and let dough rest for another 15 minted. %u00a0Turn burners on low heat. Let griddle get hot and continue to cook the muffins for another 10 minutes or until golden brown. Flip and cook opposite side until gold brown and remove from griddle. To make sure the muffins are cooked completely, stick an instant%u00a0read thermometer into the center%u2026it should read 200 degrees. (if you don’t have a thermometer, split one open%u2026 the tester E.M.) %u00a0If the E.M.s%u00a0are not completely cook, just stick in the oven on 350 for 5-10 minutes or until cooked throughout.
Remove and let cool. %u00a0To serve, split open with a fork and give a light toast. Spread with butter, jam, peanuts butter, anything you want%u2026maybe %u00a0make E.M pizzas!%u00a0
THE LOVELY CRAZY
January 8, 2020 by maximios • Blog
I recently found my old cast iron muffin pan hiding in the basement over at the loft. I totally forgot I had it and was very much happy to find it not covered in rust and still looking all nice and basically ready for use. Not even the seasoning and non stickness that I worked hard to produce on it was messed up, which is amazing because I also found another cast iron pan that I left down there and it did not fair as well. It had a little rust and was grimy. Fine by me, I didn%u2019t even want that pan anyway.
And that is basically why I made muffins. Because I wanted to use my muffin pan again.
These muffins. First off, muffins are muffins and are not meant to be a pain in the ass to make. This muffins are not, unless you think pitting cherries is a pain. For that I am sorry, but that is a small price to pay for a tasty ass muffin situation. Secondly, these muffins are well worth the tiny effort it takes to pit cherries because you end up with cherry muffins, and that alone should be enough of a reason. And the fact that they are damn tasty. The mr, who eats everything but never says too much about whatever is going into his mouth, texted me at 630 in the morning while I was at the gym just to tell me how amazing he thought they were%u2026.
Amazing at 630 am. That%u2019a validation.
Now go get yourself some cherries and make some muffins. And it is ok if you don%u2019t have a super sweet cast iron muffin pan. Most don%u2019t. But you are still cool, don%u2019t worry.
To the muffins!
The stuff. In the bowl is flour, rolled oats, baking soda and powder, salt and cinnamon. Also have cherries, brown sugar, almond milk, canola oil, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, and a lemon.
Hardest part of the whole shebang%u2026 pitting the cherries. Not my favorite thing to do, but definitely not the worst.
Do it any way you see fit, but I just cut them in half and kind of wedge the pit out with my thumb.
Once all the pits are removed, chop those sherries up into small pieces.
Then make the batter. Mix the dry together with the sugar and the zest of the lemon. Just make sure there are not huge clumps of the sugar in the mixture. Then add in all the wet and gently mix until combined. And then fold in the cherries.
Fill up well grease muffin pans with the batter then sprinkle a little brown sugar and a few oats on top.
Pop those soon to be muffins into a hot oven.
Remove the muffins from pan and let cool on a wire rack.
Cherry oat muffins. You are good.
-C
makes 11-12 muffins
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup of old fashion rolled oats (plus 2 tablespoons to sprinkle tops with)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar (plus 2 tablespoons to sprinkle tops with)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
A lemon (juice and zest)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup plant based milk
1/3 cup canola oil
Preheat oven to 350
First thing first, remove steams and pits from cherries. Do it any way that you want, but I find just cutting them in half and kind of popping the pit out with my thumb works best for me. Anyway, once the pits are remove, chop cherries up into small pieces.
Place flour, oats, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon, brown sugar, and zest of lemon into a big bowl. Mix together until completely incorporated. Make sure there are not huge clumps of brown sugar, if there are, break them up with your fingers. Add in the milk, oil, vanilla, vinegar, and juice of half a lemon. Gently mix until just incorporated. Now fold in chopped cherries.
Evenly scoop the batter into a well greased muffin tin. (There is enough batter for12 normal sized muffins.) Sprinkle the tops with the extra brown sugar and oats then pop the pan Ito the oven. Bake for 28-32 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are a nice golden brown and a taster poked into one of the muffins comes out clean.
When fully baked, remove muffins from oven and pop them out of the pan. Let cool on a wire rack but feel free to eat one or two warm.
Store any extra in an airtight container on counter for a day or two but in the fridge for about a week. Individual muffins can be wrapped and frozen for a good long will too.
Banana bread never goes out of style. It is a clsasic, everyday, everybody type of food. Have a slice for dessert, maybe drizzled with some chocolate, definitely.%u00a0%u00a0How about for a grab and go breakfast, sure sure.. A chunk slathered in peanut butter for snack time or anytime, well %u00a0isn’t that’s why you make it?%u00a0 And who doesn’t always have a banana bowl in the kitchen? A banana bowl that is always full of bananas because the banana just always makes it’s way home. They seem to pile up, even when I don’t mean for them to. And I know I am not the only one. I see it all the time. A fruit bowl in the kitchen with a least a couple of really really ripe bananas, waiting for that moment when you know there is no freaking way anyone in their right mind would eat those banana because gross. That’s when you have it, the perfect banana for some banana bread, or in this case, banana muffins. %u00a0
Here I went muffin style because I had already made a loaf of banana bread earlier in the week and because I wanted to send half of the muffins to the boys at the front desk at the gym. (They give me coffee, I give them muffins) And also, muffins cook a lot faster then bread so if you are a little low on time, muffins are the way to go. But if you would rather bread, you can make it bread. Bananas are there for you and are not fussy.%u00a0
The stuff. Ripe bananas, poppy seeds, brown sugar, oil, and apple cider vinegar. Also have flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and a little salt in the bowl.%u00a0
Mash the bananas in a bowl, like really mash them up until it turns to a sugar banana slop.%u00a0Then add in the oil and the vinegar and mix together.
Dump in the dry and the poppy seeds and mix it all up until combined but then stop. Don’t over mix the batter or else you will get tuff muffins.%u00a0
Scoop into well greased muffin pans and pop them into the preheated oven to bake.%u00a0
Done! And in only took like 20 minutes appose to an hour if I made banana bread.%u00a0
And here is when you grab a coffee, a muffin, and have yourself a moment.
Stay good.
-C
makes 12-14 muffins
Preheat oven to 350
In a large bowl,%u00a0mash the bananas with the sugar until the mixture turns wet and sloppy, but there are still a few little chunks of banana.%u00a0%u00a0Mix in the oil and vinegar. In a separate bowl mix the %u00a0flour, cinnamon , baking powder and soda, salt, and poppy seeds together. Dump the dry into the wet and mix until all is combined but then stop. Don’t over mix batter.%u00a0
Scoop mixture into well greased muffin tins and place into oven once it has preheated.%u00a0Bake the muffins for about 20- 22 minutes or until nicely browned and a tester stuck into the middle of one comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let sit in tin for a few minutes until it cools down. Remove the muffins from the tin and let completely cool on a wire rack.%u00a0
Eat whenever and how many you want, store the rest in an air tight container for a couple of days or wrap a few and %u00a0freeze.%u00a0
I still can’t believe that we bought a new house,%u00a0 not even a week ago. %u00a0Like whoa holy crap!
And with any fantastic and great house that the mr and I would buy, this place needs a fair amount of work (a few walls down, a small addition to the upstairs, and new kitchen and bathrooms to start) But other then the small details of that, this place is a freaking gem. I am more then excited to get to it and start removing, ripping and tearing out the crap to unearth and enhance the beautiful old house to it’s glory! Oh man is it going to be a long, fun filled, couple of months ahead of us!
So the day after we closed, we had a bunch of our family and friends come over to check out the place. Me being me, I needed to test out the new kitchen before we completely gut it and like any good hostess, I just had to make sure I had some snacky , good smelling, bakes treat for all the folks coming in and out of the place. So I made muffins. My initial thought was cookies, but I really didn%u2019t want to have to hover over the stove and plus, I had a bunch of sweet potatoes and cranberries that needed using up (sound familiar, this is the muffin for you)
And bonus, the house filled up wit the sweet smell of baking. (That was my plan) and the muffins, they were a hit!
The kitchen!!! Isn%u2019t it %u00a0so freaking ugly cute fantastic? Check those windows out.%u00a0
So back to the muffins.%u00a0I was being practical and premixed up some of the stuff %u00a0and brought it over to the house.%u00a0
The stuff. A bowl of all purpose and whole wheat flour along with some salt, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and ginger. And a bowl of wet which has a a bakes sweet potato, oil, and brown sugar. And a cup of almond millk with a bit of vinegar mixed in and a jar of mostly %u00a0chopped up fresh cranberries
Mix the crap out of the wet until the mixture is mostly smooth. I used a plan old baked sweet potato %u00a0for this but feel free to use any left over seer potato %u00a0casserole you have laying around for this, just adjust spices if there are a bunch already in the potato.
Dump the wet mixture into the (already mixed up) dry mixture and mix along with the vinegar-%u00a0almond milk until everything is just combined (don’t over mix the batter!).
Grab cranberries and fold them into batter. Also can totally use up any cranberry situation you might have left over (maybe not the canned jello kind})
Batter into greased muffin tins and into the preheated oven they go.
More kitchen. Check out that dish washer, its pretty awesome. I am not going to keep it, but I don’t want to trash it, its too freaking cool. So anyone want a dishwasher? (still work)%u00a0%u00a0The fridge is new, but we are going to move it to storage and use it in one of our apartments eventually and get a new fringe.%u00a0 The counters and the cabinets are getting donated and the fake brick background is staying. (HAHA) F no.. That%u2019s coming down like today and unfortunately the super cute flower wallpaper has to come down with it. (I kinda wanted to keep it.. oh well)
%u00a0And the little window.. so my favorite part. I have never had me a nice kitchen window before.%u00a0
The othe side of kitchen, where this amazing stove lives.%u00a0 The stove works, but it%u2019s a little rough. The door is slightly coming off and broiler pan is broken, but other then that, it works fine.%u00a0I have even though I might try to fix it up and keep it. (the mr is not into that) We will see, but I think we are going to get a new one. (and donate this one).%u00a0
So kitchen tour is done Back to the muffins.
%u00a0Once they are all nice and golden brown and a tester comes out clean, these babies are done! Take out of oven and remove from pan and let cool on a rack.
The perfect snack for any occasion%u00a0
Happy (hopefully relaxing) weekend!
-C
makes 12-14
Note.. use any left over sweet potato stuff or cranberry sauces that you might have left over.. just adjust seasonings to taste.
Preheat oven to 350
Start by measuring out your almond %u00a0milk and adding in the tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Set aside.%u00a0In a large bowl whisk together the flours, baking soda and powder, the salt and the cinmoan and ginger. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, sweet potato, and the oil until well combined. Dump the wet into the dry and mix together along with the almond milk unit just combined (don’t over mix!)%u00a0Dump in chopped cranberries and fold them in.%u00a0
Grease a muffin pan and scoop equal amonts of batter into the tin and place into oven. Bake until golden brown and a tester comes clean from a muffin middle.%u00a0
Remove from oven and let cool on a rack
Eat.
First day of Spring!! Well kind of I guess. I think it actually starts at like 6:20 tonight, when the temperature is going to dip back done to 10.(Spring my ass) I don’t know about you people out there but here in Vermont, we are really hanging on to winter. I have to keep telling myself%u2026″ It will be warmer soon and you’ll be looking forward to this weather in a few months.. so stop bitching!” %u00a0I give myself good pep talks.
Anyway, last week at the farm share pick up, there was a nice little surprise. We got a few pounds of some sweet locally grown and milled whole wheat flour. There was a little sign with the information about the wheat and where it came from, but in my haste of gathering all of my other veggies, I failed to take notes and forgot the name of the farm that it came from. But I do know that my farm traded some celeriac for the wheat. %u00a0I was really excited because I am really into the idea of using locally grown grains and I don’t know, it just made me really happy, especially because it was a trade. %u00a0Food framing and local sharing is stuff that makes me happy.
I wanted to make something to kind of showcase the hearty, nutty flavor of the wheat and I also wanted to make something that my mister would eat for breakfast. Well what better way to do that then with muffins!%u00a0Banana coconut whole wheat%u00a0(that just happen to be vegan) Hearty, fruity, and smells like the word lovely and the color yellow.%u00a0A few to eat and a few to share. Hanging at home, running away or %u00a0getting ready for a day of spring cleaning%u2026.This is a great weekend to make muffins!%u00a0
The stuff%u2026 Light, nutty local whole wheat flour, ripe oh ripe bananas and coconut flakes are the stars in this muffin%u2026 But we need the other stuff too. Brown sugar, vanilla, coconut oil and a chia egg. %u00a0Baking powder, baking soda, and last but not least, salt.
%u00a0Yup, that sounds about right%u00a0 %u00a0The salt, baking soda, and baking powder are whisked together. The banana and all the rest of the stuff are mixed up%u2026 Then mix the wet mixture into the dry. Stir until combined and then add in the coconut flakes,Scoop mixture %u00a0into 12 lined muffin cups%u2026 A scoop like mine works very nicely. Don’t have one, well I recommend you get yourself one. Until then, use a spoon. Something I always do when baking any muffin is sprinkle the tops of each muffin with a bit of %u00a0sugar or brown sugar. It melts and caramelizes and adds a sweet little crunch to the tops.%u00a0
Now stick the muffins into the oven.%u00a0Remove from oven when they look like this, nice and golden brown. Also good idea to check with a tester stuck into the middle. When it comes out clean, they are done.12 happy little muffins cooling on a rack, waiting to be eaten with you mouth.%u00a0
Doesn’t the sight of pretty food make you happy, like sing a song happy?%u00a0Muffins, whoa yah!! %u00a0Friday yah yah!! %u00a0Spring%u2026What, Yah!! %u00a0Yah%u2026Yah Yah!!!
Terrible I know, but at least you were spared hearing my actual voice.%u00a0
Have a great weekend. Do lots of springy stuff!
-C
Preheat oven to 350
In a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons warm water to the chia seeds and let sit for at least 5 minutes (10 is better) In a large bowl, peel and mash the bananas until they turn into a kind of chunky soupy puree. %u00a0Add in brown sugar, chia seed mixture, vanilla extract, and the melted coconut oil (make sure it’s melted or it won’t incorporate into the mixture) Mix together. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix the wet mixture with the dry until combined then mix in the coconut flakes.%u00a0
Line a 12 cup muffin tin and fill each cup about 3/4 the way up with batter. Sprinkle each muffin with brown sugar and place in oven on center rack. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops 0f the muffins are golden brown and a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.%u00a0
Remove muffins from tin and let cool.
Serve as is or maybe with a smudge of coconut butter, or anything you want really.
No need for fork, just use you mouth.
Good question%u2026And we will all answer%u2026.”Never again! Because I now make the sickest E.M.s around.!”(E.M.s is the cool short way to say english muffins and now that you are going to make your own%u2026.man, your so cool!)
These E.M.s are perfect. Easy to make, not overly fussy, and you end up with a super yummy, extremely versatile, individually portion super sweet little disk of bread. And the best part is..nooks and crannies! I think that is why I decided to make these E.M.s, %u00a0so Nick and I can talk the about nooks and crannies%u2026(Sometimes we need light conversation)
We start with flour and salt whisked together in a bowl. The honey, yeast and warm water are getting on proofing in a jar. An egg waiting to be cracked, some milk, and 2 tablespoons of butter. All this good stuff equals%u2026nooks and crannies!
Oh you like my nifty dough whisk%u2026.me too, I use it all the time. Maybe I should have a dough whisk give away %u00a0%u2026%u2026maybe%u2026..
When the dough has been sufficiently kneaded, gather dough into a nice ball, coat with a little oil and place back into bowl. Cover with a towel and stick in a warm place to rise for about an hour or until it has doubled in size.
Enjoy and Happy Tuesday!
-C
English Muffins
Ingredients
Combine warm water, honey and yeast in a bowl to active..about 5-10 minutes or until yeast is foamy.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Mix in butter(I use my fingers) When yeast mixture is done proofing, whisk together mixture with the egg and milk. Add wet %u00a0to dry and mix until just incorporated%u00a0%u00a0Dump out onto floured surface and knead dough for 8 minutes, adding a bit of flour whenever dough starts to get too sticky. %u00a0Roll into a ball, coat with oil and place back into bowl and cover with a towel. Let rise for 60 minutes or until sought has doubled in size.
Once the first rise is done, deflate dough and divide into 8 equal pieces(10 for a slightly smaller muffin). %u00a0Smoosh each ball into a flat disk, about 2 inches thick) and place on a cold cornmeal dusted cast iron griddle. (I used 2 cast iron pans) Sprinkle tops of muffins with more corn meal and let dough rest for another 15 minted. %u00a0Turn burners on low heat. Let griddle get hot and continue to cook the muffins for another 10 minutes or until golden brown. Flip and cook opposite side until gold brown and remove from griddle. To make sure the muffins are cooked completely, stick an instant%u00a0read thermometer into the center%u2026it should read 200 degrees. (if you don’t have a thermometer, split one open%u2026 the tester E.M.) %u00a0If the E.M.s%u00a0are not completely cook, just stick in the oven on 350 for 5-10 minutes or until cooked throughout.
Remove and let cool. %u00a0To serve, split open with a fork and give a light toast. Spread with butter, jam, peanuts butter, anything you want%u2026maybe %u00a0make E.M pizzas!%u00a0