Summer Scrumptious

I am spending July and August in the Hamptons. I know, I know I am one lucky duck! It's only been a week and I've already had the chance to do a ton of cooking, experimenting and baking. The freshest and most ripe summer produce that you could image is out here and it only inspires me to try new things in the kitchen. Although I cannot take you out here with me, I can share with you my culinary successes. You too can taste a little piece of summer wherever you may be. These muffins are easy to make. I used spelt flour, which is easier to digest than white or wheat. I also used a vegan butter in this recipe and I do use an egg. Feel free to experiment with your choice of flours, milks or egg substitute to suite your needs. 

EQUIPMENT: muffin pan (12 regular sized or 24 mini-muffins)

Blueberry Mini-Muffins

For the muffins:

1 3/4 cups spelt flour

1/2 cup organic sugar

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1 large egg (or flax goop, or egg substitute)

1/2 cup almond milk (or whole milk)

5 Tbsp Earth Balance (or unsalted butter), melted

1 1/2 cup blueberries

For the topping:

1/2 cup rolled oats

large pinch brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp Earth Balance (or unsalted butter)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin pans with canola oil or use muffin cups.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl, then whisk in the zest. Whisk the egg in another bowl, then whisk in the milk and the butter. Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Fold in the blueberries with a rubber spatula. Divide among the the muffin cups.

For the topping, stir together the oats, sugar and cinnamon. Using your fingers, pinch the mixture until tiny crumbles form. Sprinkle over the batter in muffin tins. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool on rack. Remove from molds and serve warm or at room temperature.

Berry Breakfast

Always inspired by Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks blog, I am finally diving in and giving a crack at her recipes. I wanted something healthy, satisfying and slightly sweet this morning. I scanned the shelves of my fridge for ideas: left-over quinoa (something that I have been making a lot of lately. A great replacement for brown rice or pasta- sauteed with different varieties of vegetables or served alongside a fillet salmon with fresh herbs). Fresh raspberries also caught my eye and I immediately thought of a recipe that I had come across just the other day- Warm and Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa. Heidi's take on a recipe from Dr. John La Puma's recent release - Chef MD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine, a book that she highly recommends written by a someone who is both a doctor and chef. I made it with similar ingredients that I had around the house and it was the perfect start to my Sunday morning. After this trial, I am sure to add this book to my collection.

Warm and Nutty Breakfast Quinoa

I used a red quinoa here and raspberries, instead of blackberries. My quinoa was already made with water, so I never incorporated the milk. Also, a few of Heidi's notes and tips from the book: blueberries may also replace the blackberries, dark honey may replace the agave nectar, and walnuts may replace the pecans. I also added a few hazelnuts to mine. I thought it was a wonderful addition.

Ingredients

1 cup organic 1% low-fat milk, or soy milk
1 cup water
1 cup organic quinoa
2 cups fresh blackberries
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted*
4 teaspoons organic agave nectar

Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in berries and cinnamon; transfer to four bowls and top with pecans. Drizzle 1 teaspoon agave nectar over each serving. *While the quinoa cooks, toast the pecans in a small skillet on medium heat for about 3 minutes.

Serves 4.

Starbucks Up and At Em' Again

Much to my surprise, Starbucks has done it again...found a way to keep me as a secret customer. I am incredibly more fond of the neighborhood coffee joints. I used to avoid Starbucks at all costs and even go out of my way to get my morning joe from the smaller individually owned places (or trucks for that matter). They started to win me over at the start of this summer with their healthier breakfast sandwiches and posted calories. They have now added more to their menu. I noticed the other morning on my break from teaching Physique 57 classes their Power Protein Plate on display that only contained 330 calories. This included a hard boiled egg, a mini whole grain bagel, fruit, cheese and peanut butter. If I hadn't already eaten that would have definitely been my choice for the day to snack on. The only turn-off was the presentation. You have to ignore the "airplane-style" packaging with a squeezable tube of peanut butter, along with the fact that the bagel is cold and untoasted. Another addition is their Perfect Oatmeal ranking in at 140 calories with side options of dried fruit, medly of mixed nuts (additional 100 calories each), and/or brown sugar (additional 50 calories). The Chewy Fruit & Nut Bar looked the most appealing with big seeds and oats and chunks of dried fuit (250 calories, 4 grams of fiber, 5 grams of protein). Others that I might not try include an Apple Bran Muffin and their Berry Stella (a star-shaped muffin-like creation made with dried oats and berries).

I wish that I could say I've tried and tasted all of these new products and they are actually flavorless and entirely not worth the trip nor the double-crossing that I have started to commit, betraying my small coffee joints... Maybe this idea could in fact be reality. Only time can tell. Perhaps I find myself at a Starbucks on another work break next week. Perhaps I give in. Perhaps I taste?

To be continued...