Sprouted Blueberry Muffins

I reserve my sprouted flour for when I don’t have time to soak, or the recipe doesn’t turn out as well when soaked.  Sometimes my evenings get hectic and I have to think quick in the morning.  A lot of times that means soaked granola, which I try to always keep on hand.  If I don’t, my husband will default to Raisin Bran L.  Smoothies are another fast and fun option. But if I am up before the kids, muffins are a nice treat for all of us.  I love them loaded with plump blueberries!

You will find that this is plenty sweet, the sweetener can easily be cut back to your liking.  You can make cinnamon sugar with powdered sucanat mixed with cinnamon.  I bake in muffin papers because my muffin tins have a non stick coating that I don’t want baking into my food.  Also beware that many are made of aluminum, so the paper barrier is good insurance.  If you are in the market for muffin tins, seek out ones that are safe to bake in to save yourself from having to keep a stock of the special papers.

This recipe can easily be soaked by combining the flour and kefir the night before and mixing the same way.  The bake time listed here is for standard muffins, generally add 5 minutes for large muffins and subtract 5 minutes for mini muffins.  If you only have frozen berries, toss them in a little flour before lightly mixing in to keep the color from running in the batter and disperse more evenly instead of all ending up at the bottom.

1 egg

1/4 cup powdered sucanat or brown sugar

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

½  banana

2/3 cup kefir or buttermilk

3 tablespoons coconut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups sprouted flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup blueberries

cinnamon sugar

Place ingredients from egg to salt in blender, blend well.  Place flour, soda and baking powder on top and pulse until combined.  Drop in blueberries and give a little swirl with a spoon. Pour into muffin papers and sprinkle tops with cinnamon sugar.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. 

links; tuesday twister, Whole Foods for the Holiday's

Purslane Pizza {on Paper Plates}

It's just how some weeks go...short on time, short on energy, short on clean dished and short on groceries.  Still, no complaints with this standby crust, simple sauce and weeds from the garden.

I will be back next week with some fabulous recipes and a giveaway.  That's right, GIVEAWAY!  My first ever, so be sure to stay tuned, it is a good one.

Smoked Salmon Avocado Salad with Garlic-Lime Dressing

I have learned to love smoked salmon the last couple years, especially with eggs.  It is expensive, so it is a good thing that la little goes a long way.

This salad is my new favorite; I ordered a similar one at a small lunch spot called “J’Box” in California.  It is a great combination of salty fish, sweet tomatoes and sour, creamy dressing.  I threw in a good bid of purslane because it is so abundant in my garden right now, but could easily be replaced with baby spinach, or omitted

For all leafy salads make sure to dry the lettuce thoroughly and toss the dressing with the greens only, then add the rest.  This makes it easier to get even servings instead of ending up with all the heavy stuff at the bottom of the bowl.  And always dress a salad when possible.  Dressing drizzled on after it is on the plate is so uneven and diminishes the quality of the salad.  If you are traveling with the salad keep the toppings in a separate container than the greens.  Dress no more than 30 minutes prior to serving.  Softer lettuces like green leaf should be no more than 10 minutes as they wilt faster.  If you are feeding a crowd and want to be able to save the left over salad, dress only a portion at a time and refresh with more salad, dressing and toppings as needed.

1 large head of romaine or 6 cups of mixed greens

1 cup purslane (optional)

¼ lb smoked salmon sliced or flaked

1 large avocado, diced

20 small grape tomatoes, halved

½ inch slice of red onion, sliced very thin.

Dressing

1/3 cup homemade mayonnaise

juice and zest from 1 lime

1 garlic clove, pressed

¼ teaspoon salt

Combine ingredients for dressing and toss well with lettuce and purslane.  Top with salmon, avocado, tomatoes and onion, lightly toss and serve.

Links: Whole Foods for the Holiday's, Tuesday Twister, Meatless Monday, Monday Mania, Wholesome Whole Foods and Homemaker Monday

Garden Journal 2010 {Purslane}

Haven’t heard of it?  I am not surprised.  I have never seen it in a store.  A friend of mine found it growing in her yard and said that she used to buy it in Mexico.  I read up on it some, but it wasn’t; until I read Michael Pollan’s “In Defense of Food” that I became really interested in growing it myself.  Who wouldn’t want something that tastes good, is super healthy and grows easily?

I did some of my favorite shopping in the whole world at Pinetree Garden Seeds and came across purslane seeds.  I grew it in my herb bed, which has just crummy AZ soil that my basil and rosemary thrive in.  It grows super quickly, is hardy and stands up to the terrible heat without a problem, which is saying a lot.  The flavor reminds me of baby spinach, and both the leaves and stems are edible, though the thicker, more mature stems are not as appealing.  I have learned that there is also ornamental purslane that has really pretty flowers, but does not taste as good, so make sure to buy from the vegetable section at the nursery rather than the flower section.  I got “red grunner” 95 cents for 200 seeds.

So I have been experimenting with the super food/weed in salads, stir fry’s and snacks.  I have even just had it plain with a veggie dip.  Tonight we are trying it on pizza and in a few months in soups.  The leaves are pretty tiny, I strip them from the bottom stems and pull of the top where they cluster.  In the picture I just put a dab of roasted red pepper hummus on a cracker and pressed it in a bowl of purslane.

This post was shared on The Nourishing Gourmet.