Apple Sour Cream Muffins

Our third group of B&B guests have come and gone.  They were here to celebrate the graduation of a cousin from Liberty University.  We are a bit far from Liberty, about an hour away, but finding a room in Lynchburg at graduation is probably difficult.  We were happy to host them, no matter how they found us.

I made muffins for breakfast the second morning.  My plan was to make blueberry muffins from an Ina Garten recipe.  Naturally, Kroger didn't have any blueberries.  I bought some apples instead.  I didn't take the sour cream off the list that I was to use for the blueberry muffins, so I had to find an apple muffin recipe that used sour cream.  You can't waste food, after all.  I used a bit of Ina's recipe and some off the Blue Jean Gourmet site.  The muffins were good and will go in my B&B repertoire.

Apple Sour Cream Muffins

1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 stick melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups peeled and diced apples, I used Granny Smith


Streusel topping:

2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons butter, a bit soft
1 Tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg


Preheat oven to 375°.  Spray or line a muffin tin.  My last batch of muffins stuck to the top of the tin, so I used liners this time and they were a lot easier to remove.  This recipe made 15 muffins.

Melt the butter and set aside to cool a bit.

 

 

Place the flour, baking powder, spices, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.   ( Hint! When you are measuring out the spices and the flour, place the smaller amounts for the topping in a small bowl and save for later.)   Whisk everything together and set aside.

 

Place the brown sugar with the flour and spices you saved in a small bowl.  Add the slightly soft butter and mix well.  I used a fork and later finished it with my very clean fingers.

 

Whisk the eggs and brown sugar.  Add the slightly cooled butter and the vanilla and mix in.  Stir in the sour cream.

 

Fold in the flour mixture.  Don't over mix.  Just mix until everything is moist.  Then fold in the peeled and diced apples.  I used 1 1/2  large apples to make 1 1/2 cups of diced apples.

 

Use a large scoop to fill the muffin liners.  Then use your fingers to drop bits of the streusel topping on top of each muffin. Keep a damp rag handy.  This is messy.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean..  Cool before moving to a wire rack.  They are best served warm.  And a bit of butter is always nice.  Place them in a covered container and if not finished the first day, place that in the refrigerator.

 

I was so busy serving the guest, that I neglected to get a finished picture.  But I did get one of the guests eating the muffins and they seem to be enjoying them.  I just took this one a day later and it is still good and will be my lunch!

Banana Crunch Muffins

I have been experimenting with muffins lately.  I have a few scone recipes that I like, but I needed some other sort of breakfast pastry to serve for our B&B guests and I can't practice on them, can I?  I found one that looked good and was an Ina Garten recipe.  Her recipes are some of my favorites.  One of these days I'll make her croissant bread pudding again...and add a whiskey sauce.  Delicious!

I made a few changes and came up with my version of Ina's ...

 


Banana Crunch Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 pound, or 1 stick of butter, softened or melted, depending on the method you prefer
1 egg
3/8 cup of milk  I KNOW, so just use a 1/8 measure three times, that's what I did.
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 very ripe bananas, about 1 cup
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup granola, plus a bit more/ divided use

1 Tablespoon raw sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

 

Heat the oven to 350°.  Spray a 12 hole muffin tin with Pam.  Spray the top, too in case you overfill a muffin hole.  It may rise up and stick to the top of the pan.  Do not ask how I know this.  You may also use paper liners.  Set aside. 

 

Mix the raw sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.

Use a fork to mash the bananas in a small bowl.  Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt into a medium bowl.

 

Place the butter in a stand mixer and beat until fluffy.  Add the sugars, egg, vanilla and milk and continue to beat until mixed.  Add the smashed bananas, mix.

(In the interest of full disclosure, Ina Garten called for the butter to be melted, and I did that.  If you do that, you must be careful when you add the egg or you will cook it.  I like the method of fluffing up the butter and will do that the next time I make these and so I wrote that in my recipe.  You may wish to follow Ina Garten's version.  Melt the butter, let it cool and add the sugars, milk, egg and vanilla..)

Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture about 1/2 at a time.  Don't over mix.  Just get the dry ingredients moist.

 

Remove the bowl from the stand and stir in the walnuts and the granola.

Use a large ice cream size scoop.  It is the perfect size to fill the muffin tin.  Don't overfill the scoop or you won't get a dozen and the top may stick.  Unless you were smart and sprayed the top of the pan. (I didn't and one muffin top came off in my hand and I was forced to eat it.)

 

Use a small spoon or your very clean fingers to sprinkle the cinnamon and raw sugar mixture over the top of the batter.  Then sprinkle a teaspoon or so of the granola on top of the cinnamon sugar mix.  These are the crunch portions of this muffin.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool.  I had to loosen mine GENTLY with a fork to get them out of the tin.  I may use paper liners next time!

 

The next day these were no longer crunchy.  The moisture from the bananas softened the top.  I put them in my toaster oven for about 4 minutes on 350° and they were back to being crunchy and just warm enough to melt a wee pat of butter.  These are good enough to serve paying guests!

Orange Marmalade

    

I have some jars left over from my summer jam making.  I wanted to do something with them.  But what could I "put up" that was in season?  Oranges are in season!  So I decided to try to make some marmalade.  Love the Internet.  Both Ina Garten and Alton Brown (from the Food Network) posted recipes!  They are two of my favorites on the Food Network.  I had to go to the store.  I don't keep oranges and lemons in quantity at home. And it takes two days. We had a snow day coming and it sounded like a perfect snowy day activity.

Orange Marmalade

4  seedless oranges (I used 5 because my ends got smooshed and I couldn't use them, so buy a few extra)
2 lemons
8 cups sugar
8 cups water

You may think 8 cups of sugar is a lot.  Get over it.  If you use less it won't set up and you will be mad.  Just give most of the marmalade away and you won't end up eating all eight cups.

   

Wash the oranges and lemons and take off the fruit stickers.  Discard them where certain people, who shall be nameless, can't see them and be nauseated  If you have a mandoline, this would be a good place to use them.

Cut them in half crosswise and remove the seeds.   Cut them in thin slices.  The smallest that I could go was 1/4 inch.  It helped to kind of zig zag the fruit across the blade  As I said,  the ends got smooshed and lumpy and I just tossed them and used an extra orange.

   

Place the sliced fruit and their juices in a large stainless steel pot.  Add 8 cups of water and bring to a boil.

Remove from the heat and add the sugar.  Stir until it dissolves.  Cover the pot and let it sit there all night at room temperature.  Go take a bath.  Take a cup of tea in with you.  That was exhausting and you need some R&R.  Lock the door and don't let anyone bother you.  You're making marmalade.

   

In the morning, after breakfast and at least two cups of coffee, turn the mixture back on and bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat to simmer and let it cook uncovered for two hours.  If someone asks you to help, remind them that you are cooking, here.  Look busy by stirring once in a while.  Get out enough Mason jars for about 10 cups.  Wash them and put them in a pot of simmering water, lids and all.  You want them hot and very clean for the canning...Jarring???

Now you want to bring the mixture up to a low boil, about medium heat.  My orange peels were hanging in there pretty good.  I have eaten a lot of marmalade in my life and it didn't have complete circles of orange peels.  Alton had told me to cut them, but Ina didn't.  I was worried about losing too much juice on the cutting board, so I didn't cut the slices.  Now what?

   

I took my kitchen scissors, washed them and started cutting. Right in the pan.  Then stir a bit and cut some more.  Your hand may get a bit hot, so take a break.  If it is boiling too hard to keep your hand in there, it is too hot anyway!  If you see any seeds you missed, this is a good time to scoop them out.  If there is any foam on the top, skim that off while you are in there.

Cook the marmalade until your candy thermometer shows 220.  Thank you, Tara!  If you don't trust the thermometer, put a dollop on a plate and put it in the refrigerator to cool.   If it is a bit loose ( it is jam, after all), but not liquid it is done.  If it is too runny, cook a bit longer.  Too hard, add some water.

   

I have a funnel for filling Mason jars.  It makes it so much easier and cleaner to fill them.  I scooped up the hot marmalade with a one cup plastic measuring cup.  It even has a lip to make pouring easier.  Wipe the rims with a wet paper towel and seal tightly.  I heard them all pop sealed within about 20 minutes.

Store in a cool place for up to a year.

   

I wrote all that before our power went out due to the heavy snowfall.  I couldn't toast anything to put the marmalade on.  I needed a final picture and I wanted to taste it before I posted it.  What if it was terrible and you made some and hated me?  Then I couldn't load it.  I'm starting to not like snowy days so much.

    

The end result is, I had it two ways on a toasted bagel. One with butter and marmalade and one with cream cheese with marmalade.  Both were quite tasty and worth the wait.  It was also good with scrambled eggs and grapefruit!

   

 

 

Creamy Arugula Soup with Goat Cheese

 

   

 

Circumstances have conspired to keep me from doing too much work around here.  And that is my excuse for watching Giada in the afternoon when I should have been productive.  Actually Giada De Laurentiis and Ina Garten are two of my favorites on the Food Network, but we usually indulge in the

evening. I like to watch Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, too, but we watch it at night and it makes me



soo hungry...and jealous of those communities that host such wonderful eateries.

Anyway, I saw Giada making soup. I like to make soup.  It looked quick and easy. I like quick and easy.  So I went shopping and I made it.  I made a few changes, but nothing big.  It was good, but Lee liked it better than I did.

Creamy Arugula Soup with Goat Cheese

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
3/4 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup chopped assorted lettuces (butter, red leaf, green leaf)
2 cups arugula or spinach
1/4 cup cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

I didn't buy the shallots.  At our store you can only buy them in bunches and I can usually substitute onions, so I did this time with 1/2 of a big onion.  Sorry Giada.

   

I chopped them up and added them to the olive oil warming in my Dutch Oven.  While they cooked until tender, I peeled and diced 2 russet potatoes.  They only sold big bags of Yukon Gold potatoes and I didn't want to have a bunch of potatoes to eat...low carbs, remember.  Someone made a comment that the lettuce made the soup a bit watery and thin, so I thought russets would thicken it a bit and I used two big potatoes.  Sorry Giada.

   

After the onions are softened, add the stock ( I used broth, sorry Giada ) and the potatoes.  Bring it to a boil and reduce the soup to a simmer.  Cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

   

Add the chopped lettuces and arugula to the pot.  They will wilt and cook down in just a few minutes. 

  

Transfer the potatoes and wilted lettuces to a blender.  In fact, bring the blender jar to the Dutch oven, so you don't drip or spill. You may want to do this in batches if the jar is more than half full.  You don't want to blow the top off.   Use a measuring cup to add some liquid in the jar and then blend away until smooth.  Add the cream and seasonings and blend again.  Pour back into the Dutch Oven.

Serve with a 1/2 inch slice of goat cheese.  We also used some rustic brown bread and olive oil for dipping.

   

Now I know I did a lot of things to this soup that Giada (notice how I say this like we are buddies) wouldn't have, and didn't, do.  So when I say that this isn't my favorite soup in the world, it is totally not  Giada's fault.  Maybe I'm just not an arugula fan.  And we do live in Southwest Virginia and some ingredients are a wee big harder to come by and I made adjustments.  Still, it was very pretty and thick and creamy.  I had to add a bit more salt and the goat cheese really added some creamy tanginess.  So don't leave that out.  Use your spoon to get a chunk of cheese in each creamy bite.  In fact, next time I may add two hunks in each bowl as the cheese added some bite to a rather bland soup.