Saturday, April 17, 2010

Muffins for grown-ups

















About 15 years ago it dawned on me that I actually hated the milk and cereal I poured into my bowl every morning.
Since breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day, I decided to make a warm breakfast whenever possible.
But some days you need breakfast to go, so I started thinking of that a.m. workhorse, the muffin.
As far as muffins go, my general opinion is that the only thing worth it is the muffin top -- and even then, the bloom has long been off the rose.
Recently I discovered savoury vegetable muffins at my local coffee shop.
They make two kinds: broccoli and cheddar muffins or blue cheese and walnut.
Since I prefer to make most things from scratch, I started an e-search for good savoury muffin recipes.
I really like the look of these Olive and Artichoke Muffins but the recipe calls for cottage cheese, which I rarely stock in my fridge.
I wanted a go-to recipe that I could whip up at a moment's notice, using staples that I always have in my fridge and pantry.
I came across this keeper for Scallion and Goat Cheese Muffins but wanted to alter the recipe to make better use of vegetables I had in the fridge. Also, I didn't happen to have goat cheese on hand, which is unusual, because a day without goat cheese is like a day without olives. Unheard of.
I substituted the 1 cup of grated old cheddar cheese for the goat cheese and I added a cup of grated zucchini just to see if Craig the Zucchini Hater would notice (he didn't).
The variations are endless. You could add grated carrots, for instance.
I whipped up a pan of these golden little numbers and served them warm with a pat of butter and, well, before we knew it Craig and I had demolished the complete dozen.
I'm quite sure olives and artichokes will make an appearance in the next batch but I'm going to have to wait a while, because I can't eat a half a tin of muffins every day now, can I?

Here's my ultimate version to enjoy, in moderation, if you have more willpower than me.

Muffins For Grown-Ups

Makes a dozen muffins.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease a muffin tin.

Sift the following dry ingredients into a mixing bowl:

2 cups flour (I used 1-1/2 cups white flour + 1/2 cup spelt flour)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste

In a separate bowl beat two eggs, add 1 cup of buttermilk (I never have buttermilk so I squeezed a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice into milk ... you could use white vinegar) and 6 tbsp melted butter.

Create a well in the dry ingredients and pour the liquid ingredients into the well.

Add 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup of chopped green onion, 1 cup of zucchini.

Mix ingredients together until they're merged (don't overmix muffin recipes).

Spoon the mixture into muffin tins and top with more cracked black pepper and a smattering of coarse sea salt (you won't regret this final touch).

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Break out the butter!

1 comment:

  1. Savoury muffins are my favourite! I make a mean garlic cabbage muffin - sounds questionable off the bat, I know, but they are sooooooo delicious. They're so good, I won second place with the recipe at the Cabbagetown Cookoff a few years back! I'll have to try this recipe. Also - check out the breakfast muffins at Red Rocket Cafe at Queen East and Greenwood. Savoury corn muffins, either spinach and feta or western depending on the day - and they come with a whole egg inside!

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