Apple Ginger Muffins

Winter lingers on, mornings are late and evenings are early, and only something hearty and comforting will lift my soul.  Warmly baked apples spiked with cinnamon and a whack of ginger, nestled into sweet muffins are the answer.  Whole wheat, bran and walnuts ensure they’re way more healthy than commercial muffins, and avocado oil makes them even better.

This recipe makes two dozen cheerful muffins, takes about thirty minutes to eating time, and cooks at 425 F.

Slice thinly then chop.

2 large ambrosia apples

1 cup walnuts

4 to 6 pieces candied ginger

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 ½ cups bran

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground dried ginger 

1 egg

2 cups yogurt

2 tablespoons avocado oil

½ cup molasses

Preheat oven to 425 F and line muffin tins with paper cups.  (I’ve recently found that parchment paper cups work better than plain.  Muffins easily slide away from the parchment so you’re not obliged to scrape your teeth against paper, frantic to consume every last crumb.)

Quarter and core the apples, then thinly slice, then chop into pieces.  Chop walnuts.  Set apples and walnuts aside.  You can use commercial candied ginger, or make your own.  Home made candied ginger is the bomb!  Place candied ginger into blender and reduce to small bits, mostly powder.  You need about three tablespoons worth, once powdered.  Set aside.

My bowl was a little too small eventually.

In a large bowl, combine flour, bran, salt, soda, cinnamon, powdered ginger and powdered candied ginger.  Mix well with a large slotted spoon.  Add apples and walnuts and combine again. 

In a smaller bowl, beat egg.  Add yogurt.  Pour oil into a half cup measure, then add to egg and yogurt.  Pour molasses into the measure and it will smoothly pour into the egg mix.  Combine well.

Adapted from 1971 "New York Times Natural Foods Cookbook"

Stir the wet mix into the dry as briefly as possible.  Spoon into muffin cups.  Bake approximately fifteen to twenty minutes, till they smell great and are no longer shiny or wet looking. 

Cool a few minutes, then place on racks to cool.  You can eat these while they’re still warm.  If you’ve used parchment cups, you can enjoy them more easily, but if you used plain paper, they will glue themselves to the paper till they’ve completely cooled.  I am regretting my cheapskate ways this morning…

These muffins are healthy and delicious.  If you adore ginger like I do, you could double the ginger amounts, and be even happier! 

I've never had too much ginger, have you?

Parchment would have made eating these easier!

Almond Masala Stew

Are you frantically hungry and wanting something delicious in a big hurry?  Within fifteen minutes you can be munching on this vegan delight, or perhaps vegetarian, if you add a little butter or cream. Spicy, filling and healthy, it will warm you completely on a cold winter’s day.

The only hitch is that the basis of the stew is my Emergency Masala Tomato Sauce, which you really should have in large quantities in your freezer.  Failing that, I suppose you could make a facsimile with a jarred tomato sauce that you doctor up by frying onions and  garam masala, then dumping in the sauce to heat through.  But don't get me started on factory foods...

You can serve this with rice, but start beforehand, because this almond recipe will be done before the rice is cooked.

½ cup almonds

2 cups emergency masala tomato sauce (frozen is ok)

1 bunch of spinach leaves (or a box of frozen) (optional)

1 small splash of water, if needed

1 tablespoon whipping cream or butter (so optional!)

Toasting almonds takes just a couple of minutes.

Toss the almonds into a blender and buzz for about thirty seconds.  A combination of powder and bits will provide the right taste and texture.

Put a non-stick sauce pan on medium high heat.  Add the almonds.  (I later use that almond powder left in the blender for warm almond and cardamom milk, but that’s another recipe.) Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir the almonds around for a couple of minutes to ensure they get toasty and golden, then add the sauce. 

If the sauce is frozen, keep the heat high, and stir and flip over occasionally to help thaw.  You may want to add a couple of spoons of water if there’s a danger of the almonds burning if the sauce isn’t melting fast enough.  If you’re using frozen spinach, add it while tomato is still frozen.

Keep the tomato sauce boiling till it’s reduced and somewhat thick.  If fresh spinach is desired, add it late in the process to keep it green. Spinach takes less than five minutes to heat through and soften up slightly.  If you’re going to indulge in cream or butter, add just before serving, giving it just time to warm through.

Fifteen minutes later and you’ll be experiencing heaven.  This makes a great breakfast, lunch or light supper.  If you haven’t started a batch of Emergency Masala Tomato Sauce, do it now!  Recipe for butter chicken will be coming along soon, and you’ll need it for that too! 

Another time I omitted the spinach but served it with kerela, curd and a chapatti. Another delicious lunch for me!

Ginger, Date and Walnut Whole Grain Muffins

The frosty winter is upon us, and so we crave sweet carbs.  One way to slow down your carb consumption is to make the goodie textured, so textured you are obliged to chew for a while.  Adding protein also helps.  Also the more complex and warming the flavours, the better they satisfy.

These muffins are sweet, gooey, spicy, salty(ish) and very grainy, and filled with protein. Everything you want when you’re experiencing those cravings.

This recipe makes two dozen, and is ready to eat in about one and a half hours, including cooling time. Preheat your oven to 425 Fahrenheit.

1 cup pitted dates

3/4 cup water

30 or so scrapes of peeled ginger ( potato peeler will do)

1 tablespoon white sugar

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 ½ cups porridge oats (contain oats, flaxseed, wheat germ and oat germ) You can use plain oats if you want less chewiness.

¾ teaspoon coarse salt

2 tablespoons jaggery powder (raw Indian sugar or brown sugar)

1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon powder

1 heaping teaspoon dried ginger powder (more if you love heat)

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 and 7/8th cups plain yogurt (nearly 2 cups)

1 egg

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or ghee, which is clarified butter available on Indian grocery shelves)

½ cup molasses

Ginger is translucent and sticky when ready.

Combine dates, water and strips of ginger in a pot and set on medium high.  The idea here is to soften the dates and let the water evaporate till about a quarter of a cup is left.  Meanwhile, get to work on the muffin batter.

In a medium size bowl, combine dry ingredients with a fork.  Add walnuts and combine.  Set aside.

In a second medium size bowl, add the yogurt.  You want almost two cups worth, but not quite. Remove the dates from the pot, and gently pull apart.  Set aside.  Add sugar to the ginger and water, and set to boil. 

Make more candied ginger and go hog wild, unlike me!

When the syrup from the ginger pieces has reduced to about a tablespoon, add it to the yogurt to bring the measure up to two cups. Plop those date pieces into the batter.  Coming across these gooey lovelies makes eating these delightful.

Stir the date pieces and syrup into the yogurt, then stir the egg into the yogurt.  You can use vegetable oil or ghee, but I used ghee.  (The devil made me do it.) Pour oil or ghee into a measuring cup, coating halfway up the sides of the cup, then add that to the yogurt.  Pour the molasses into that cup then into the yogurt.  (An oily cup releases the molasses easily.)  Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture.  Gently stir till ingredients are combined.

Recipe adapted from my 1971 New York Times cookbook.

Spoon the batter into paper lined muffin tins.  Place a strip of candied ginger on top of each muffin.  Some lucky muffins get more than one, but don’t go hog wild if you’re thinking of calories. 

Bake about twenty minutes, or till a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool off a bit on racks and enjoy while still warm.

These are nowhere near as sweet or greasy as store-bought muffins, but they are lovely indeed. Fragrant, chewy, sweet in spots, oh my.  Please try them and let me know how they turned out!

Breakfast never tasted so good.