Recipe for Fun Friday - Alexandra's Carrot Muffins (Murder Most Fowl)

So, muffins: a convenient breakfast/snack, cake masquerading as breakfast, or the ugly stepsister of cupcakes? Personally, I absolutely love muffins and quick breads. I'm not really a fan of frosting, so cupcakes are pretty meh to me. Pretty to look at, but not a lot of substance. The only frosting I like is cream cheese frosting, which I love so much I could eat it with a spoon (which I have, leaning over the sink with shame).

Carrot cake has always been one of my favorite cakes, heavily spiced and topped with thick layers of cream cheese frosting. And since there's carrots in there, I can always pretend that it's actually healthy! Luckily, I don't have to do that with these muffins. Since these are meant to be breakfast, there's no cream cheese frosting (sadly), they are absolutely packed with carrots and very lightly sweetened with honey and not sugar.

These are fast and easy to put together, with a wonderful, moist texture. They make a quick grab-and-go breakfast, which I like to enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea on the front steps while my dogs romp in the yard before work.

Despite how tasty these are, there are two changes for the next time I make these muffins: a tiny bit more sweetness (either by increasing the honey to 1/2 cup or adding raisins) and a lot more spices (probably 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp cloves).

Enjoy!

Alexandra's Carrot Muffins
Mia's Note: I prefer using coconut oil in my baking, since it's tasty and healthy. Also, I never keep buttermilk around, preferring to mix a bit of vinegar with regular milk. Works like a charm. Lastly, I use Ultragrain All-Purpose Flour, which packs in the nutrition of whole grain flours while working like a regular all-purpose flour. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Makes one dozen. Use as many locally produced ingredients as possible.

Ingredients
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup safflower or canola oil (See Note)
1/4 cup buttermilk (See Note)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (See Note)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 cups grated carrots (about 4 medium)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

Beat eggs light, and then mix in honey, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla In a large measuring cup, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda, salt, and spices. Add dry ingredients, carrots, and nuts to the egg mixture, and mix lightly with a fork until just combined.

Bake in greased muffin pan for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown on top (mine only took 15 minutes).

Recipe for Fun Friday - Zucchini Goodness!

For a site that bills itself as a Book/Baking blog, there has been a dearth of recipes lately. Not because I haven't been baking, but mostly because I was posting so many reviews. I posted one yesterday and another will be up either tomorrow or Sunday, but I decided to skip the review that was originally going to be posted here, simply because I gave up on the book. I tried and tried to finish it, but it just felt like a waste of time when I have so many other books in my TBR pile worthy of my attention. 

I used to feel super guilty about not finishing a book, and would usually push myself to finish, even if I didn't enjoy it. Now I have so much to do/read/write/etc that I've started to just cut my losses and move on.

Ah well, at the very least, that leaves time and space for me to post some yummy recipes! I probably should've posted these recipes in the heart of summer, when zucchini was cheap and plentiful, but I'm always a tad bit late to the party. Although the weather's getting cooler and Fall produce is starting to appear at the farmer's market, there's still plenty of zucchini to go around.

First up is a recipe from Laura Childs's Tea Shop Mystery series: Zucchini Quiche, featured in Devonshire Scream. It's fast, tasty, and easily adaptable. I love quiche, but I never make it because I hate making pastry. Love eating it, don't enjoy making it. This recipe circumvents all that with the simple addition of Bisquick mix in the batter. Sounds strange, but I love it!

The cast of characters

Nom Nom Nom

Zucchini Quiche 

1 cup onions, chopped

1 cup Bisquick

4 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup cheese, grated (recipe calls for Parmesan; I've used Parmesan, cheddar, dill havarti...all delicious)

1/4 tsp salt

3 to 3 1/2 cups grated zucchini

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all ingredients except zucchini in a bowl. Add zucchini last and stir gently. Pour into a buttered pie pan (recipe calls for 9 inch, I use a 10 inch). Bake about 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown. Yields 4 servings.

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That was our savory selection, next up is sweet. This recipe is from Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swensen series. I've said it a million times, but even though it's a flawed series with some flawed recipes, I do love using it as a template for some fun and creative recipes. 

These zucchini cookies are super tasty but need some work; their texture is rather cake-y, which is cool if you like that kind of thing, but I prefer chewy cookies. The original recipe didn't have you wring out the zucchini, and I'm sure all that excess moisture contributed to the texture. I also added a bit more flavoring, since her recipes are usually kind of bland. Also, this is gonna sound crazy, but I didn't care for the chocolate chips. I'm a big chocoholic, but I felt like with all the other flavors going on, the chocolate was unnecessary. Other than that, these cookies were great. They were like individual portions of zucchini bread, and I LOVE zucchini bread. Let me know if draining the zucchini works for you, or if you have any tips on how to make a cookie less cake-y.

Not pretty, but very tasty

Rose's Zucchini Cookies

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup softened butter (2 sticks, 8 ounces, 1/2 pound)

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs (beaten)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon (not in the original, but great addition)

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (peeling optional)

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

4 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Measure out the sugars into a large bowl. Add the softened butter and beat until the mixture is nice and fluffy.

Mix in the baking soda and make sure it's evenly distributed. Add the beaten eggs to the bowl, as well as the vanilla extract, and mix everything thoroughly.

Wring out the shredded zucchini to release as much liquid as possible. Measure out 1 1/2 cups zucchini, packed really well. Add it to the bowl and stir it in. 

Add the nuts and chocolate chips, if you're using them, and mix well.

Add the flour in one cup increments, stirring after each addition. When all the flour has been added stirred in, the resulting dough will be quite stiff (I mix everything up in my KitchenAid since it's way too thick to do by hand). 

I always refrigerate my dough for at least an hour (usually overnight), but the original recipe doesn't seem to think that's necessary. I like to let the flavors develop and the dough just sets better, since this is an especially soft dough.

Scoop the dough onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake in a 350 F oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. 

Cool the cookies on the cookie sheet for two minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: She says 8 dozen, I got 4 dozen. She must make really tiny cookies.

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Well, that's all for today! If you try either of these recipes, let me know how it goes. And if you have a favorite zucchini recipe, please share it in the comments. Enjoy your weekend!

Thirsty Thursdays and Hungry Hearts #6 - The Crepes of Wrath by Sarah Fox

Hosted by Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

Thirsty Thursdays & Hungry Hearts is a weekly meme where I share super tasty quotes from my weekly reads.

This week's selection is from The Crepes of Wrath by Sarah Fox. 

Marley McKinney is having a hell of a week. Soon after her cousin Jimmy, owner of The Flip Side Pancake House, is murdered, she arrives at the pancake house to get some work done and is interrupted by a late-night intruder. She escapes to a nearby friend's home and returns with the police. Her intruder was obviously looking for something, as the office is completely trashed when they check the premises.

She now has the tiresome and emotionally exhausting task of sorting through the office debris. But to get through this, she needs a good meal...

I perked up a bit after sipping strong tea while getting ready to open The Flip Side for its Sunday morning customers, but the tangled mystery occupying my mind didn’t release its grip on my thoughts. When the brunch crowd thinned out, I escaped to the office and resumed the task of cleaning up the mess of papers the intruder had left behind. 

Although I made good progress with sorting through the jumble and returning piles of documents to the filing cabinet, I still didn’t find any clues pointing to the reason for the search of the office. After more than an hour of working away in the back room, Leigh appeared at the open door, bearing a plate of asparagus mushroom crêpes. 

“Ivan sent these along with orders to eat up,” she said as she set the plate on the desk. “He thinks you look like you need some good fuel today.” 

“He said that?” I sank into the desk chair and the delicious aroma of the savory crêpes wafted up to meet my nose. 

“Actually, all he said was ‘make sure she eats them,’ but I’ve learned to read between his sparse lines over the years.” 

“Eating them won’t be a problem.” I’d already picked up the knife and fork Leigh had brought with the plate. “How are things out there? Do you need my help?” 

“Business is steady but not too busy at the moment. I can take care of it.” 

“Thanks, Leigh,” I said as she left the office. 

As she disappeared around the corner, I took my first bite of the asparagus mushroom crêpes and savored it before chewing and swallowing. Ivan really did have a gift. His dishes were never anything but scrumptious, and somehow he’d known exactly what I needed. By the time I’d cleaned the plate, I’d gained some much-needed energy. After delivering my plate and cutlery to the kitchen and thanking Ivan for the delicious meal, I donned my apron and joined Leigh out front.

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I love crepes. I love mushrooms. And asparagus is my favorite vegetable. I think I know what I'm making for lunch on Sunday...

Do you guys prefer sweet or savory crepes?

(Save Our Cozies!) Recipe: Hannah Swensen's Butterscotch Bonanza Bars

Another Hannah Swensen/Joanne Fluke recipe to share, this time for the Save Our Cozies Readathon. I had posted a picture of these luscious bars about a week ago, promising to share the recipe someday. That time is now! These are so, so easy to make, customizable, and quite delicious. My friends, co-workers, and students are all big fans of this recipe.

Hannah divided the contents of her bowl into three batches. She added the butterscotch chips to Bertie's batch and spread the batter in the bottom of a nine-inch by thirteen-inch pan she'd lined with heavy duty foil. Since she'd tripled the recipe, Hannah mixed semi-sweet chocolate chips into the second batch and white chocolate chips into the third. Personally, she preferred these yummy cookie bars plain. The butterscotch flavor from the ingredients was absolutely delicious all by itself. But several of their customers were crazy about white chocolate chips, and she knew they'd be delighted with the combination of white chocolate and butterscotch. There were also those who wouldn't dream of ordering anything without dark chocolate, and the third batch she'd made was bound to please them.

Butterscotch Bonanza Bars with white chocolate and walnuts

 I've made all three versions, sometimes with pecans, other times with walnuts, and all variations are delicious. I'm particular to the regular butterscotch with walnuts though.

Hannah Swensen's Butterscotch Bonanza Bars
1/2 cup salted butter
2 cups light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
2 cups butterscotch/semi-sweet//white chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 9 x 13-inch pan. Set it aside.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat on the stovetop, or put it in a microwave-safe mixing bowl and heat it for 1 minute in the microwave on HIGH.

Add the brown sugar to the mixing bowl with the melted butter and stir it in well. 

Mix in the baking powder and the salt. Make sure they're thoroughly incorporated.

Stir in the vanilla extract.

Mix in the beaten eggs.

Add the flour by half-cup increments, stirring in each increment before adding the next.

Stir in the nuts, if you decided to use them.

Stir in the optional chips.

Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth out the top with a rubber spatula.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes.

When the bars are done, take them out of the oven and let them cool completely.

Use a sharp knife to cut into small pieces (they're quite rich).

Recipe for Fun Friday #2 - Bruno's Truffle (Oil) Omelette

"All I can say is that we don't yet have any firm evidence, and so no obvious suspect," Bruno told them as he broke the dozen eggs, lit the grill for the steaks and threw a stick of unsalted butter into the frying pan. He began to slice the truffles very thin.
...
"He wasn't there this week. He forged a note from his dad saying he was sick," said Bruno, tossing the whipped eggs into the sizzling butter and the fresh garlic. As the base of the omelette began to cook, he threw in the sliced truffle and twirled the pan.
...
They fell into a silence, all eyes on Bruno as he lifted and tilted the heavy iron pan, gave two strategic pushes with his wood spoon and tossed the herbs into the runny mix before folding the giant omelette over onto itself. Without a word, they all trooped to the table and sat. The Baron poured the wine and Bruno served the perfect omelette, the earthy scent of the truffle just beginning to percolate as he divided this opening course onto six plates.

Thursday's Farmer's Market Bounty - Tuscan kale, flat-leaf parsley, peaches, cherries, truffle oil, and mango balsamic vinegar

Truffle oil omelette and demi-baguette

Seriously, how good does that sound? Yesterday, I posted the beginning of this scene with all the men pooling their weekly contributions. This a continuation of the scene, where Bruno cooks their repast, all while being grilled about a possible suspect to the brutal murder that had just occurred. 

I obviously can't afford real truffles (on a part-time language teacher's budget? Pshaw), but while cruising around the Daley Plaza Farmer's Market yesterday, I happened across an awesome booth with a wide selection of infused olive oils and gourmet vinegars. The minute I tasted the truffle oil drizzled on a chunk of baguette, I knew I just HAD to buy a bottle. And I knew exactly how I was going to use it...

Bruno doesn't have recipes, the way a culinary cozy would, but the author so lovingly describes the scenes where Bruno is cooking, that I used them as a rough guide to cobble together my own recipe. 

Try it and let me know what you think. And if you've got the budget for real truffles, go ahead and splurge!

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Bruno's Truffle (Oil) Omelette

Notes: Bruno states that he brought flat-leaf parsley from his garden, so that's the herb I used, but you can switch it up as you like. I would recommend chives. As for the butter, he specifies unsalted, but I was too lazy to go to the store and salted was all I had. Also, I always scoff when I see a recipe call for just one clove of garlic, but I LOVE garlic, so keep that in mind. Lastly, truffle oil can be quite strong, so start with the smaller amount at first. Truffle oil is used as a finish, so if you'd like a stronger flavor, you could always drizzle on more.

2 eggs

1 tablespoon butter (see Note above)

1-2 tablespoon(s) finely chopped flat-leaf parsley or other herb (see Note above)

1-2 teaspoon(s) truffle oil

1-2 clove(s) minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

Put the butter and garlic in a non-stick pan and set it over low to medium-low heat. Whip the eggs together in a bowl and you can either salt and pepper them now, or do it directly in the pan. Your choice.

As soon as the butter is melted (don't wait for it to brown!), pour in the eggs and start pulling them toward the center of the pan, gently, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. You don't want to scramble them, but you do want several large curds in the center.

When the top looks almost set, but still a bit runny, pull the pan off the heat (leave the stove on) and sprinkle on the herbs and truffle oil. Put it back on the heat. 

It's time to fold the omelette. You can either choose to fold it in half, or carefully roll it to the edge of the pan. Plate immediately. Sprinkle with more salt, pepper, and/or truffle oil, if desired. 

Serve with a good baguette and simple salad (not pictured because I'm a dummy and forgot to plate it before taking the picture).

Bon appetit! 

Thirsty Thursday and Hungry Hearts #2 - Bruno, Chief of Police

Hosted @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

Food and books are the two greatest loves of my life, so it's natural that I would participate in Thirsty Thursday & Hungry Hearts. This is where I will post food and/or drink quotes from the books I'm reading.

This week's excerpt is from Bruno, Chief of Police. This book is a love letter to the French countryside and its wonderful food, as well as a grisly murder mystery with political overtones. A very enjoyable read. There were so many good food scenes that I had a hard time choosing just one.

This quote is from the scene where Bruno and his tennis club discuss the murder of an old Arab war hero over their usual lunch ritual.

As always after their game, the group of men walked back to the clubhouse. The rain had eased. They showered and then brought in the ingredients of their ceremonial Friday lunch from their cars. Bruno provided eggs from his hens and herbs from his garden. In early Spring, he picked boutons de pissenlit, the tiny green buds of the dandelion, but now it was young garlic and flat-leaf parsley. He also had some of his own truffles, which he had stored in oil since the winter. Michel brought pate and rillettes, made from the pig they had gathered to slaughter in February, in happy defiance of the European Union regulations. Dougal supplied bread and cheese and the bottle of Scotch that they took as an aperitif after their first thirst-quenching beers from the tap at the clubhouse bar. Rollo brought steaks and Xavier the salad and a tarte aux pommes, and the Baron provided the wine, a St. Emilion '98 that was tasted and judged to be at its best. 

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Tell me that doesn't sound amazing. On Friday, I'll be posting a recipe based on this scene. Look forward to it ^_~