by letthegoodin on January 6, 2012
Whole wheat pastry flour is a fool-proof way to bake muffins, batter breads and cookies with whole wheat and without the risk of a dense, dry or gummy final product. When using other whole wheat or whole grain flours, the ingredient ratio/balance can be a little trickier to finesse in order to end up with a desirable texture, but whole wheat pastry flour makes it easy – no modifications necessary (the vast, vast majority of the time) if you’re swapping it for all-purpose unbleached white flour – delicious and nutritious!
WHOLE WHEAT RASPBERRY MUFFINS
WHAT YOU NEED
For the muffins:
- 1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 large egg*
- 1/2 cup coconut milk**
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 tbsp coconut oil, melted*** – plus more (not melted) for greasing
- 1 1/2 cups berries (I went with fresh raspberries this time)
NOTES:
*If halving the recipe, whisk 1 large egg in a small bowl and spoon or pour out half of it for use in the recipe
**For best results, use the full-fat canned version (Thai Kitchen brand is great)
***Use unrefined virgin coconut oil
For the topping:
- 3/4 tsp turbinado sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
WHAT YOU DO
- Preheat oven with middle rack to 375°F
- Grease 12-muffin tray with unmelted coconut oil
- Whisk flour, turbinado, baking powder and salt in a large bowl
- Whisk egg in a separate medium bowl, and then whisk in coconut milk, oil and vanilla
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring and folding with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined (the batter will be thick and dense
- Fold in berries
- Fill each muffin cup equally with the batter
- Stir together the additional turbinado and cinnamon in a small dish until combined, and sprinkle over the top of each muffin
- Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, and then unmold onto a cooling rack.
- Enjoy!
Adapted from Gourmet
by letthegoodin on January 6, 2012
December was a wonderful month and also tends to be pretty synonymous with good food – and 2011 was no exception. In particular were a series of delicious breakfasts, and I wish I’d captured more of them on camera – but here are the ones for which I do have photo evidence, in chronological order:
NYC: Huevos al horno (baked eggs, garbanzo stew, mustard greens, hazelnut romesco) at Tertulia. This was the first time I had garbanzos, one of my absolute favorite foods, in an egg dish – leaving me to wonder what took me so long?!
NYC: “The Farmstand” (poached eggs, pesto, grape tomatoes, brussel sprouts, peas, breadcrumbs, arugula, toast) at Tipsy Parson. Farm-fresh veggies with perfectly poached eggs – this was a simple yet extremely flavorful plate that immediately became a top all-time favorite. Need to recreate at home!
AZ: Homemade whole wheat (and dairy-free) pancakes (I stand by my belief that homemade anything is always the best – especially when it’s made for you while you’re working from home!). With real maple syrup and a cup of hot vanilla-fennel tea on the side, what better way could there be to start the day!
AZ: And finally, homemade whole wheat raspberry muffins (see next post for recipe!)
by letthegoodin on December 9, 2011
Check out “25 Foods You’ll Never Eat Again” (via Buzzfeed) – a list of 25 uber-junk foods that are no longer on store shelves… and, pretty much across the board, for good reason that needs no added explanation.
It’s worth the read for the nostalgia factor. I’d forgotten about many of these products… from wtf-was-Heinz-thinking purple ketchup to Orbitz soda (looked awesome, tasted terrible). I’ll admit though, my sweet tooth and I wouldn’t mind seeing crispy m&ms reappear… hey, the UK still has them!
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by letthegoodin on December 6, 2011
Yesterday, I had a belated “goodbye” lunch with my awesome colleagues from the job I recently left. They are a wonderful group of extremely smart and hilarious, fun women that I am lucky to have worked with and hope to in some capacity again in the future.
And, on to the food (of course) – we went to The Grey Dog, a great little cafe in Chelsea that’s perfect for lunch (check out their menu). I’ve walked by this place a million times, but never went in – and am very happy to have finally been introduced to it (awesome recommendation, Dre!).
Among the 6 of us, we ordered:
Seared Tuna & Avocado Taco (x2)
BLT
Veggie Press (spinach, roasted artichokes, roasted peppers and herbed goat cheese) (x2) – I had mine on olive bread, which was delicious
Root Vegetable Soup (that clearly included beets – look at that color!
The food was all-around solid. I love the bread choices for sandwiches – olive is a favorite of mine and while I see it at bakeries quite often, it isn’t as common as an option in an eatery. The only thing I’d do differently next time is ask if I could have one of their “cute salads” (Grey Dog’s words, not mine) on the side of a sandwich vs. chips – I didn’t realize that’s what came on the side, and could have done without.
Great lunch, great group, great way to start off the week yesterday! Thanks so much again Dre/Steph/Lora/Liz/Jodie 
