by Michelle on June 15, 2013
A couple of months back I baked a batch of muffins. I can’t remember what kind, but Charlie devoured one immediately and then asked for another “momo.” Since then, he asks me every morning for a momo, which have become a part of his breakfast along with milk and yogurt. Since I don’t want him eating store bought muffins—whose ingredients are unknown to me—I have been baking a fresh batch of momos every couple of weeks and storing them in the freezer. It’s a good opportunity to sneak in an extra serving of seasonal fruit or veggies, and now that rhubarb and strawberries are readily available at the farmers market, it was time to combine these two into a baked good.
I found this recipe on the blog The Faux Martha and gave it a shot. Delicious, although I may omit the crumble topping in my next batch. It wasn’t crumbly enough and I barely had enough to cover all 12 muffins. (This may be because in my first attempt I accidentally added 1/4 cup of maple syrup to the crumble when I should have added it to the batter, so I was rushing to fix my mistake.) What I like about this recipe is that you don’t need huge amounts of either fruit. One stalk of rhubarb is plenty and you’ll have berries left over for snacking (another of Charlie’s favorites). Strawberry and rhubarb is an excellent combination of sweet and tart and since my father-in-law is a big fan, we will be having a strawberry rhubarb crisp for dessert at our Father’s Day barbecue. If you are doing a brunch to celebrate the dads in your life, these muffins are a welcome addition!
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Muffins (from The Faux Martha)
Crumble
1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of sea salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Muffins
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 cup rhubarb, diced
1/2 cup strawberries, diced
1 large egg
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tin or bread pan with parchment paper. Make crumble. In a small bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sea salt. Melt butter either by microwave or stove. Mix in maple syrup. Add butter mixture to flour mixture and stir until crumble forms. Set aside.
Make muffins. Melt stick of butter by microwave or stove. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Wash, dry, and dice rhubarb and strawberries in a uniform size. Set aside. To the melted butter, whisk in egg, brown sugar, maple syrup, greek yogurt, and vanilla extract until well combined. Add butter mixture into the flour mixture stirring until just combined. Batter will be thick. Fold in fruit and 3 tablespoons of the crumble. Using a spring release scoop, evenly distribute batter in prepared tin or pan. Top with crumble carefully pressing into batter. Bake mini muffins for 15 minutes, regular muffins for 20 minutes, or bread for about 35 minutes.
Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
by Michelle on June 10, 2013
My favorite farmers market started their summer season on June 2 and I could hardly wait to get there. The promise of locally grown, fresh produce filled my head with possibilities for delicious warm weather meals. One of my first stops at the market is always Blooming Hill Farm—which I have mentioned several times on this blog—where I stock up on lots of varieties of organic greens. I often find produce I’ve never cooked with before which was the case with chicory. I had always thought of chicory as something that New Orleans natives add to their coffee and, while that is true of its root, chicory leaves actually have a broccoli rabe-like flavor and are hearty of enough to withstand the heat of the grill. Not only is it delicious, but it’s a nutritional powerhouse, loaded with vitamins A,C,E, and K. I decided to pair ours with orecchiette pasta and Trader Joe’s Andouille chicken sausage. Btw, have I mentioned how much I LOVE Trader Joe’s pre-cooked chicken sausages? That was a rhetorical question, as I have used them in many recipes on this blog. Seriously, they’re full of flavor, they come in several varieties, and they don’t have any weird ingredients. Oh and they’re like $4 for a package of 4 or 5. If you haven’t tried them, do so on your next TJ’s visit.
But back to the chicory. It’s fantastic, especially alongside a spicy sausage and a heartier pasta such as orecchiette. Look for a head of chicory with long leaves, which will be easier to handle on the grill. This is such a simple meal to prepare you’ll surely add it to your summer dinner rotation!
Orecchiette With Chicory and Andouille Chicken Sausage
1 pound orecchiette pasta
1 head of chicory leaves, halved length wise and washed
4 Andouille sausages (I like the pre-cooked Andouille chicken version from Trader Joe’s. Great on the grill!)
Juice from ½ a lemon
Olive oil
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Carefully halve the head length wise, and gently trim the edges. Wash the leaves, discarding any yellowed ones, and pat dry. Brush the leaves with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. When the grill is hot, turn off one of the burners and cook the chicory over indirect heat, turning once or twice, about 4-5 minutes on each side or until tender. Grill the sausage while the chicory is cooking. Remove everything from the grill, chop the chicory into bite size pieces, slice the sausage diagonally and add to a bowl with the cooked pasta. Toss with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Serve warm with crusty bread.
by Michelle on May 31, 2013
We are big fans of bars in this house. (The kind you eat, not the kind you frequent, though once upon a time, we were fans of those as well.) Our current favorite are the Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt KIND Bars. I’ve had Larabars in the past and enjoyed those too, especially since their ingredients list is very short. And as anyone who regularly eats protein bars can tell you, they can get pretty pricey. So when my friend Chris told me about this recipe for homemade Larabars from the blog Cookie & Kate, I decided to give it a shot. The best part: no baking required, which in this heat, is a definite plus.
These are really tasty! At first I thought mine were a bit crumbly, despite freezing them for longer than the 30 minutes the recipe suggested, but once I refrigerated them overnight they held together much better. I did not wrap mine individually, which might also help them hold. In any case, these bars couldn’t be easier to make (though you will need a food processor.) Chris told me that he also did a walnut raisin version that I am eager to try as well. Make a batch of these this weekend for a snack that will last all week long!
Homemade Larabars (from Cookie & Kate)
1 1/2 cup almonds (or other nuts, raw or roasted but definitely unsalted)
1 generous cup Medjool dates, pitted
1 cup dried apricots (or other dried fruit like cherries, cranberries or dehydrated apples)
A pinch of sea salt
Line an 8- or 9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper or wax paper. In a food processor, pulse the almonds until they are chopped (stop before they start turning into nut butter). Pour them into a bowl.
Process the pitted dates, dried apricots and sea salt until the dried fruits are mashed into a paste. They may try to ball up in the processor, in which case you’ll want to stop and break up the mixture with a spoon before continuing.
Break up the fruit mixture and add the nuts to the food processor. Process until the chopped nuts are incorporated evenly into the fruit mixture. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish, and use your hands to press it into an even layer.
Chill the baking dish in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, then use a sharp knife to cut the fruit-and-nut blend into squares or bars. Wrap each bar tightly for individual servings (see notes). These bars should last for a couple weeks at room temperature, but store them in the refrigerator or freezer for prolonged shelf life.
