Lemon Muffins for School

Where have we been???  I know, I know, we've been so AWOL and there are a million excuses but none that are really convincing.  I mean, we're still cooking and still eating but let it be known, life has changed a whole lot.

My kids are grown and just when I thought I was done, I have a new role.  Psychgrad and "R" now have 2 children - E and K.  E is now 4 and just started JK.  Hard to believe.  K will be 2 this month.  I guess I'm kind of freaking out a little.  I never really imagined myself as a grandmother but here I am in my new role.  The interesting thing is that I quite like it - truly the best club in the world to be in.

The whole JK thing seems to have taken Psychgrad and R for a bit of a rethinking of their menu planning.  All of a sudden E isn't getting meals in daycare anymore and now the bento box lunch kit has to include lunch, mid day and after school snacks.

R jumped in with creating interesting, fun and healthy lunches and snacks.  I'm loving that he made  these delicious  Martha Stewart lemon mini muffins.  Here's how;

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling (optional)
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest plus 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with baking cups. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, zest, juice, and milk. Whisk in butter. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients, until just combined. 
2. Divide batter evenly between muffin cups, adding a scant 1/4 cup to each. Sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Bake until tops spring back when lightly touched, about 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in pan, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. 
   
   
   
   
   
   You'll notice how grown up E has become showing off her choice of nail polish as she models her Mini Lemon Muffins.
   
   
   So now, the big question.  What interesting things are you doing for your kids for lunches?  We're looking for great recommendations on quick, easy, healthy and most of all KID FRIENDLY!!  Your help with this will ensure parental mental stability and will make the grandmother look like a hero!!!
   
   
   
   

Lemon Cranberry Muffins

Why am I craving lemons?  It was a total mystery to me but I went a couple of days wishing I had something with lemon in it. After doing some reading about lemon cravings and quickly ruled out pregnancy I read that it's not uncommon for people who have difficulty sleeping and/or not enough magnesium to have this craving.  Interesting, no?  I've always had to take magnesium supplements so maybe there's something to it.

I stood in front of the open fridge and just took a mental inventory of what was there and I had some lemons and also some fresh cranberries.  Hmmm... now what?  I found a recipe for Lemon Cranberry Muffins.

I can't believe this was the first time I'd ever made this variety of muffin.  It's easy (my favourite), you do it all by hand and it takes 5 minutes to put together.  That's a good recipe!

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup (I used more) fresh cranberries
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
1 egg
1/4 cup oil

Preheat oven to 400 F

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together

In a separate bowl mix sugar with lemon zest mixing well to incorporate zest to sugar, add to flour mixture

In a measuring cup pour in milk and lemon juice; allow to sit for a few minutes (it'll look like buttermilk)

Add egg and oil and whisk all together  

Make a well in the dry ingredients, add liquid and stir only until blended, add cranberries

If you have large muffin tins, spray one tray of six with non stick and scoop even amount to each one. The smaller muffin tins (12/tray) will work also, just adjust baking time accordingly.

Bake large muffins for 23 minutes (depending on your oven); mine were done in 20 minutes 

NOTE:  These muffins are so good and I'd compare them to any good lemon cranberry muffins anywhere! They're not dry, cake like with a twist of tang.

Very Berry Muffins

Before having a child that eats solids, I had this image of raising a kid with a sophisticated palate, who wasn't fussy and ate only fresh, healthy, home cooked foods.  Now, I'm seeing that this may not be realistic.  E can be pretty fussy.  Basically, she likes fruit (if in season = sweet) and carbs.  Great.  I have yet to see her really take to eating meat and her favourite vegetable are mushrooms (which aren't even vegetables).  She seems to have some sort of innate sense that she really wants any junk food we happen to be eating.  Maybe it's the crinkle of the bag, but she's persistent like The Terminator when we have chips.  Now, the word "cookie" has become synonymous with "I want some!" #parentingfail

So, I want to try to find baked recipes that are healthier so that she'll at least consume something on her fussier days.  This recipe comes from Weelicious, a site that is tailored to feeding your kids at various ages.  

Very Berry Muffins

1/2 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup old fashioned oats

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 large egg, whisked

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk

1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil (we substituted apple sauce)

2 cups frozen berries

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Place the first 6 ingredients in a bowl and combine.

3. Combine the egg, vanilla extract, milk and oil in a separate bowl.

4. Slowly combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

5. Gently mix the frozen berries into the batter, do not over mix or the berries will bleed.

6. Pour batter into greased or muffin lined regular sized tins.

7. Bake for 20-22 minutes.

8. Allow muffins to cool for 5 minutes then remove to a cooling rack.

9. Serve.

Verdict: They're pretty good. We just had frozen strawberries on hand.  Next time I might go for more variety.  

Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins

Last week we took a trip to visit Giz in Toronto.  I spent a couple of days cooking and baking to fill up her freezer.  I made a vegetarian version of taco soup, chicken soup, a ground chicken bolognese and banana oatmeal muffins.  I also wanted to use up some of the rhubarb I had pulled from my garden and transported with me.  R found this delicious recipe!

Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins

The Vintage Mom

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

1/4 cup applesauce

1 cup chopped fresh strawberries

1/2 cup chopped fresh rhubarb

Topping

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Make crumb topping by combining all topping ingredients and stirring with a fork. Set aside.

3. Whisk together buttermilk, egg, vanilla, and applesauce in a large bowl. Set aside.

4. Mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

5. Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

6. Fold in strawberries and rhubarb.

7. Put into muffin tin.

8. Top with a light layer of crumb topping.

9. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until lightly browned on the top

Verdict - These muffins were a hit!  I'd make them again without a doubt.  In fact, I'm hoping to get enough rhubarb out of my garden to make them for my freezer back at home.  I was quite generous with the fruit quantities.  Next time, I'll be more conservative since it made the middle of the muffin slightly mushier than I'd like.  I'd also definitely recommend halving the streusel quantities.  I put a generous amount on top of the muffins and was still left with a lot left over (see picture, below). 

Eating Light Virtual Supper Club Celebrates Peanut Butter in November

Ahhh Sweet November and it's peanut butter month in the hood.  A versatile ingredient and a staple in a vegan diet (unless of course you have a nut allergy), peanut butter can be an appetizer, a main and/or a dessert.    Somehow I gravitate to the dessert portion of the meal and this month is no different.  A lighter version of the peanut butter and jelly muffin was my pick this month and I discovered that this muffin was a choice that will most definitely make repeat performances in the Equal Opportunity Kitchen.  All I can say is Yum Yum!

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour (about 3 1/2 ounces)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

• 1/4 cup egg substitute (2 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Cooking spray
• 1/4 cup strawberry jam 

Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, sugars, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk and next 4 ingredients (through vanilla); add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Fill each cup half full with batter. Spoon 1 teaspoon jam into each cup. Spoon remaining batter on top to cover jam. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool on a wire rack.

Raspberry Banana Muffins

Apparently I'm supposed to be relaxing...but I just can't bare the thought of missing out on local, seasonal produce.  Already, the main strawberry season is over! I'm thinking I need to take advantage of everbearing strawberry farms, like this one:

 

Longo's is a grocery chain in Toronto. Does anyone know where I can buy everbearing strawberries in Ottawa? I have a dismal track record with growing them in my backyard. But, I am happy to report that IT'S RASPBERRY SEASON!

I had intentions of going raspberry picking last weekend, but I had to come to terms with reality that picking in 40 degree weather (about 105 F) is just not realistic when you're 9 months pregnant. So, R kindly went to the Byward market and picked up a flat of raspberries. Of course, it wasn't completely altruistic, seeing as raspberries are one of his favourite fruits. He quickly put in a request for raspberry jam.

After making the jam, I still had at least half a flat of raspberries, so I searched around for a muffin recipe to add to our collection in the freezer. I've been on a freezing food kick lately (in preparation for having less time to cook once the baby arrives).

R was skeptical that I'd be able to fit anything else in the freezer. I told him -- when there's a will, there's a way! Now, I just need to work on his will to find things in the freezer.

I found this recipe at Daily Unadventures in Cooking.

Raspberry Banana Muffins 
(makes 12)

Ingredients

1/4 cup soft butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 banana, mashed
2 cups all purpose flour (or 1 cup all purpose, and 3/4 cups whole wheat)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 cups raspberries

Preheat oven to 350F.

Using an electric mixer or a wooden spoon and a bunch of elbow grease, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg, vanilla and banana and beat until well combined.

Stir together flour, salt and baking powder in a small bowl. Add milk and stir until just combined. Fold in raspberries. Line a muffin tin with muffin papers and divide the mixture amongst the tins. Bake for 25 minutes.

Verdict: The muffins turned out really well.  Of course, the raspberries fall apart as soon as you mix them in, but with some light mixing, I was able to save larger chunks of raspberries.  The tartness of the raspberries really comes through when you're eating the muffins.  I didn't find there to be much of a banana taste. But, I'm used to a banana recipe that includes 4 bananas in 12 muffins.  So, it's really comparable.  I also like how there isn't a tonne of sugar in the recipe.

Strawberry Muffins

My wanderings on Pinterest brought me over to a new to me blogger who goes by the name of  No Fear Entertaining.  She talked about strawberry muffins and how good they were and of course I needed no further prompting.  She described them as good, very very good and I totally agree with her.  They're moist and light and so welcome with a cup of tea.

preheat oven to 375°

Ingredients

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt  (I used Greek yogurt)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/4 cups coarsely chopped fresh or frozen unsweetened strawberries

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine the first four ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt, butter and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in strawberries.
• Fill muffin cups coated with cooking spray or lined with paper liners two-thirds full. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.

I actually doubled the recipe and made a batch of regular sized muffins and some larger muffins.  I think I like them better in the larger size (for obvious reasons).  

Blueberry Meyer Lemon Muffins

Bonanza this week at the supermarket. Both meyer lemons and blueberries were on sale. While shopping I remembered seeing an interesting looking lower fat muffin recipe so I picked up both ingredients, checked back in my saved file and found them again at Heather's Dish .

First time trying a recipe I generally stick to the recipe as written and I did just that. Muffins are generally pretty simple and the results usually predictable. For some reason that I'm still trying to figure out, mine didn't really resemble Heather's.

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup yogurt
1 egg
4 Tbsp canola oil
zest of 2 Meyer lemons
1/4 cup juice from Meyer lemons
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a muffin pan or line with muffin cups. In a large bowl combine the sugar, sour cream, yogurt, egg, oil, and lemon juice. Add the dry ingredients and gently stir till just combined. Fold in the zest and the blueberries.


Scoop into a standard muffin pan, about 1/4 cup of batter per muffin cup.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.


The taste is really good and I didn't feel at all guilty having 1 or 2. The texture seemed heavier than I expected so I'm convinced I missed something along the way.

Strawberry Jam & Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins

Nothing like a good power outage to realize how so much of life revolves around electricity. Some crazy wind gusts swiftly took power to much of ottawa and collapsed the main stage at Bluesfest. Hopefully the person (people) injured from the stage collapsing is (are) okay*.



Here's a video of "I Want You to Want Me" by Cheap Trick, who was playing the mainstage just before it collapsed.



* Mixed reports about the number injured -- I've heard anywhere from one to five.
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Now back to the intended post....

Growing up, I was a bit of a tattle. But, in my defence, Actorboy (my brother) did a lot to deserve being told on. One, perhaps less incriminating behaviour, was copying. You know - the ever so annoying - repeat everything I say. It would annoy me to no end when my parents would say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Puhlease!!! Let me imitate you for a while and we'll see how flattered you are.

Now, I am older and wiser, so I am okay with imitation. EXCEPT when it comes to my mother scooping my upcoming blog post!

What started out as an innocent phone conversation, during which time I was making strawberry jam, turned into Giz running to the market for strawberries to make her own jam and then post it later that day.

So, let's just pretend that you didn't see this post.

A few weeks ago, R and I went with a couple of friends to pick strawberries at Shouldice Farm. Between making jam, muffins, lunches and freezing, all 16 litres are now accounted for.


I asked Kat from A Good Appetite if she had any good recipes for strawberry jam and she came through with this one:

Strawberry Vanilla Jam

8 c (approx) strawberries (5 c after hulled and crushed)

4 T lemon juice

1 package powdered pectin

1 vanilla bean

7 c sugar

Sanitize 8 - 9 one cup jars in simmering water for about 20 minutes.


Also sanitize lids in a small saucepan.


Crush Strawberries (I used a potato masher after slicing up the strawberries into smaller chunks).


Put crushed strawberries, lemon juice and pectin in a large stockpot or dutch oven. Stir to dissolve pectin. Split the vanilla bean in half.


Scrape seeds into the pot. Add the pods and stir.


Bring to a boil. Pour the sugar in all at once. Turn heat to high and bring to a rolling boil, stirring often. Once it reaches a boil that can't be stirred down, boil for one minute stirring continuously. Remove from heat. Skim off foam.


Ladle into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headroom.



Cap and add neckband. Put jars in boiling water and boil for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit in hot water for 5 minutes. Remove from pot and let cool undisturbed overnight. Reprocess or refrigerate any jars that don't properly seal.

Makes 8 - 9 cups.

Here's 1/4 of the frozen strawberries. We use them throughout the year for smoothies.


I also made some strawberry oatmeal muffins, using this recipe.

Strawberry Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup light olive oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 pint chopped fresh strawberries
Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups.
In a large bowl, mix flour (used 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 all purpose), oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, milk, olive oil (used apple sauce) and sugar. Mix in strawberries. Stir strawberry mixture into oat mixture just until evenly moist. Spoon into prepared muffin cups.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.


We took the muffins to a picnic at Mooney's Bay.

Banana Oat Muffins

R claims that he's not a foodie. In fact, he tries to convince me that he's just as happy with kraft dinner as a gourmet supper. I think it's all just a big front to avoid doing the dishes or encourage the use of fewer dishes (note to self: never buy a house without a dishwasher ever again).

What non-foodie goes to La Bottega or Nicastro's on a weekly basis to buy ingredients for his lunch? He meticulously crafts these sandwiches as part of his night time ritual. First, slice the bread in half (either rosemary buns or small baguettes...I think they're called saroli).


Then, a layer of genoa salami...next capocollo. The meat is topped with havarti cheese with caraway seeds. All of this is topped by pickled eggplant and mustard.

Here is R's sandwich mid-way through:


Sounds pretty extravagant? Personally, I think he's trying to recreate Dirienzo's sandwiches. For those you who aren't from the Ottawa area, Dirienzo's is the name of an Italian corner store that serves amazing sandwiches (think lineups outside of the door at lunch time) for a very reasonable price. Here are some pictures from Dirienzo's:





It doesn't stop there. What "I'm not a foodie" lunch is complete without its very own homemade baked good? Yes. That's right. We have a stash of home baked good for R to choose from for lunch. When the supply of muffins (frozen after being baked) gets low, R scours the internet for recipes.


Last time the freezer stash was low, we had a bunch of carrots to use up after my friend the rabbit found a way to eat through the fencing around my garden (next year, metal fencing).


So, he went with Martha Stewart's Carrot Cupcakes (minus the icing). Sorry -- no pictures of the finished product. They were good, though I'd cut back on the sugar next time.


This time, we have an abundance of overripe bananas (I regularly throw overripe bananas straight into the freezer -- good tip to avoid fruit flies). R spent a good 30 minutes comparing recipes for banana, oatmeal and raisin muffins, and decided to go with this one.

Banana Oat Muffins


1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed bananas
Directions

Combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt.
In a large bowl, beat the egg lightly. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla. Add the mashed banana, and combine thoroughly. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper bake cups, and divide the batter among them.

Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 18 to 20 minutes.

Verdict: Easy to make, but just okay in the flavour department.

Apple, Oatmeal and Raisin Muffins

Oh the pressure! I'm in charge while Giz is in San Francisco for the Foodbuzz Blogger Festival.


I, on the other hand, am stuck in Ottawa in what "feels like" -5 Celcius, at home with a cold (because going to work with a cold might get me excommunicated in times of H1N1 panic) with next to nothing in my cupboards (I shouldn't complain about this last one, since that was the goal). Ok...pity party over.

Now, I'm just trying to use up whatever is left in my cupboards. So, here we go with another apple post.

This time I made Apple, Oatmeal and Raisin muffins with a recipe on Cooks.com.


Apple, Oatmeal and Raisin Muffins

1 egg
3/4 c. milk
1 c. raisins
1 apple, chopped
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 c. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 c. sugar
1 c. oatmeal

Beat egg. Stir in remaining ingredients, mixing until just moistened. Pour into greased muffin tin and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.


I was pretty skeptical about this recipe once I started it. Everything in me said "don't just beat the egg and then add everything else in". So, I separated the dry ingrediants from the wet ones. In the end, it turned out decently. Maybe a bit on the mushy side because of the apples (doesn't seem to have lingered once cooled). It tastes like a healthy muffin, which is code for "it's not very sweet". But with only 1/3 a cup of sugar, that's to be expected. In hindsight, I should have gone with Hopie's recipe for apple muffins.