Cranberry and Lime Muffins

After I made my Lemon Cranberry Muffins for this month's Secret Recipe Club reveal, I started thinking they'd be good with lime, too.  So I had to try it!

Cranberry and Lime Muffins
Adapted from The Pajama Chef

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 2/3 cup sugar (half brown)
• 2 large eggs
• zest and juice from one lime
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1-1/2 cups frozen cranberries (or fresh)
• 1/2 cup coconut
• coarse sea salt

Directions:

1. Line muffin tin with paper liners or grease with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, beat together yogurt, sugar, and eggs. Then add lime zest, lime juice, and vanilla extract. Lastly, stir in oil.
3. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Gently fold into wet ingredients and stir until just moistened. Batter will be lumpy.  Add cranberries and coconut and stir until combined.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°.  Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups and sprinkle tops lightly with coarse sea salt.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. If not using liners, allow to cool a few minutes before removing from pan cooling on a wire rack 

Enjoy! Makes 12 muffins.

Yep, cranberry and lime are awesome together. I also love the addition of the coconut, which was a last minute thought.  It adds just a touch of chewiness that I think is perfect.

I also love how the whole cranberries pop and explode in these muffins as they bake, leaving little pockets of cranberry goodness.

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Lemon Cranberry Muffins

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  This month I got to choose from Sarah's blog The Pajama Chef.

Sarah lives in Indiana with her husband Ben (they just recently celebrated their 4th anniversary) and two kitties.  She loves reading, getting good deals, peanut butter,  and pajamas - as the name of her blog suggests.  She'd wear pajamas all day every day if she could.  Sarah has a lot of great looking recipes on her blog, making it very difficult to choose again this month.

I started browsing Sarah's recipes, and I thought maybe these Mexican Hot Chocolate Breakfast Bars or these Peanut Butter Pretzel Granola Bars or these Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars. This Crockpot Saucy Italian Chicken looks awesome, and I am definitely going to try Sarah's recipe for Cornmeal Pizza Dough - maybe this will, at last, be the perfect pizza crust.  Sarah seems to think so.

But, when I came across this recipe, I knew I'd found the one for SRC.  Two of my favorite flavors in one muffin!  There was no way I could NOT make these muffins.

Lemon Cranberry Muffins
Adapted from The Pajama Chef

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp. lemon zest - or more
• juice from one lemon - about 3 T.
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 cups frozen cranberries (or fresh)
• coarse sea salt

Directions:

1. Line muffin tin with paper liners or grease with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, beat together yogurt, sugar, and eggs. Then add lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Lastly, stir in oil.
3. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Gently fold into wet ingredients and stir until just moistened. Batter will be lumpy.  Add cranberries and stir until combined.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°.  Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups and sprinkle tops lightly with coarse sea salt.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. If not using liners, allow to cool a few minutes before removing from pan cooling on a wire rack 

Enjoy! Makes 12 muffins.

Oh, Yum!! These are so good! Lots of cranberries in a lemony muffin.  These just might be my new favorite muffin.

Sarah decreased the sugar in these muffins from 1 cup to 2/3 cup because she used vanilla yogurt.  I used plain yogurt, because that's what I had, but chose to keep the sugar at 2/3 cup because I really like tart flavors.  I also added the juice from my lemon for extra lemon flavor - and because I was having a hard time getting much lemon zest (Sarah's recipe calls for 1-1/2 T zest)   I also decreased the oil from 1/2 cup to 1/3 cup and added a sprinkling of coarse sea salt to the tops of the muffins.  I think it adds the perfect touch.

Next, I'm trying these with lime instead of lemon - because lime and cranberry are awesome together, too.

Rhubarb Apple Crisp

It's Spring, which means Rhubarb!  If you're lucky enough to know somebody who has some - and even luckier to have someone willing to go cut it for you.  Oh, I would definitely go cut my own rhubarb because I love it, but my friend Peggy lives closer to our friend Alice than I do, so she gets me some when she gets hers.  I use it in muffins, rhubarb bread, this Rhubarb Pudding Cake that I adore, and pretty much anything else I can think of.  And I freeze lots of it so I can have rhubarb throughout the year.

Today I was thinking Rhubarb Apple Crisp, so I went looking for recipes - as if I don't already have plenty of my own recipes - like that pudding cake that I'm now wishing I'd remembered and made.  But anyway, I found this one for Apple-Rhubarb Crisp that looked pretty good, so I started there.  But I wanted a different topping, because my friend Peggy, who cuts the rhubarb, doesn't eat wheat, and I wanted to avoid using flour.  That's when I found the Apple Cranberry Crisp recipe in my favorite cookbook ever - The Best of Mennonite Fellowship Meals - and I had a note right there in the cookbook that the recipe is also good with rhubarb and apples, as well as a modified topping recipe - without flour.  So I used the basic idea of the recipe I'd looked up - because I liked the idea of the juice mixed in with the fruit - with the topping I had written in the cookbook.

Rhubarb Apple Crisp
adapted from About.com Southern Food and The Best of Mennonite Fellowship Meals

Ingredients:

• 4 cups chopped rhubarb (fresh or frozen)
• 3 medium apples, cored and diced
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 T. pineapple orange juice (or orange juice)
• 6 T. butter, melted
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup whole oats
• 1/3 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

ready to bake

Directions:

1. Mix rhubarb, apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and juice.  Place in 2-qt baking dish.  (or mix directly in the baking dish)
2. Mix topping ingredients - melted butter, brown sugar, oats, and pecans - until crumbly, and spread evenly over fruit.
3. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until fruit is tender and bubbly and topping is browned.
4. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Yum!

Tex-Mex Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  This month I got to choose a recipe from Beth's blog It's Good To Be The Cook.  Beth lives outside Philadelphia, loves her family, her wonderful (and cute) boyfriend Dave, and her dog Stella.  Her posts are so much fun to read.  They're not just about the food - though the food is definitely front and center with recipes and loads of mouth-watering pictures.

So I started looking at the recipes - Oh, Beth!  So many great recipes.  How am I supposed to choose?  I love all the spicy stuff and that there's spinach in practically everything.  OK, maybe not everything, but a lot.  It looks like she's almost as obsessed with fresh spinach as I am.  I love it in practically everything!  Also, she has all her clipped and saved recipes organized in a binder - something I've thought about/wanted to do for ages, and never got around to it.  Yep, I still have boxes of magazine and newspaper clippings, recipes I wanted to try but may never find again.  I'm kinda jealous of her organizational skills.

Anyway, I started looking through the recipes, and I wanted to try the Buffalo Chicken Soup, the Black & White Bean Quesadillas w/ Avocado Ranch Dip, the Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Baked Potato, the Chicken and Bean Burritos, and several more, but I finally decided on these Tex-Mex Stuffed Sweet Potatoes. And it was a very good decision.  These things are yummy!!!

Tex-Mex Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
slightly adapted from It's Good to Be the Cook

Ingredients:

• 2 Sweet Potatoes
• 2 T Olive Oil
• 1/2 Onion, chopped
• 1 T Garlic, minced
• 1 Jalapeno, chopped (seeded for less heat)

  

  just some Spinach

• 4 or 5 mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup frozen Corn, thawed
• 1 T Cumin
• 1 T Chili Powder
• a bunch of fresh Spinach (sorry, I didn't measure)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 can Black Beans, drained and rinsed (1-1/2 cups home-cooked)
• 1 T Cream Cheese
• 1/2 cup Plain Yogurt
• 1 cup (or less) Cheddar or Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese
• Parsley Flakes & Paprika for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Wash potatoes and pierce a few holes or slices in the top. Pat dry and place on foil or a baking sheet in the oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes, checking at the 1 hour mark. They will be cooked when they can be easily pierced with a fork.  Set aside while you prepare the filling.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium high. Add the onions and saute for 3 minutes then add the garlic, jalapeno and mushrooms and saute another 3 minutes or so. Now, add the corn and saute for another 3 minutes and then stir in the seasonings. Let that saute for a bout a minute and then add the spinach and saute until it’s just cooked and wilted. Season with the salt and pepper. Turn heat to low.
3. Add cream cheese to skillet and stir until it is melted.  Stir in the yogurt and beans.
4. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise, scoop out most of the potato with a spoon, and add it to the skillet.  Stir to combine, and taste and add seasoning if necessary.
5. Evenly spoon the filling back into the sweet potato boats and top with shredded cheese.
6. Turn the oven to broil and slide the potatoes back in until the cheese is just lightly browned and bubbly, about 3 minutes.
7. Garnish with a shake of Paprika and Parsley and serve immediately!

I didn't actually pay attention to how long I sauteed the onions, garlic, peppers, etc.  Just added the onion to the skillet, cooked it a bit, then started adding all the other ingredients.  It's basically what looks good to you.  It does look good, doesn't it?  Oh, and I only used 1/2 of the jalapeno because I thought the whole thing would make it too spicy for my husband, but it didn't turn out spicy at all, so I'd suggest sticking with the whole thing.  Or using the pickled ones like Beth did in hers.

Onions, garlic, jalapeno, mushrooms and corn

And then I added the cream cheese - the heat from the skillet melted it very nicely - and the yogurt and beans.  Doesn't this look yummy?  For some reason, I didn't taste it, but it certainly smelled amazing.  I'm thinking this mixture right here would be perfect for something.  I'm not sure what yet - over pasta?  With some pasta mixed in?  Spread over tortilla chips, topped with shredded cheese and baked like nachos?  Yeah, there's something...  I should've tasted it, though, because I forgot to add the salt and pepper like I was supposed to.

Creamy!

My potatoes were so done that I had to be careful not to scoop all of the flesh out of them, leaving nothing but the peel behind.

Sweet potatoes scooped out

I put as much filling as I could into the scooped out potato skins, and I had some left over, so I saved that for later.  It was great warmed up and wrapped in a tortilla and also just scooped up with tortilla chips.  This is good filling!  I added some salt right before I sprinkled the cheese on - because I forgot to taste and add it earlier. 

Ready to go under the broiler

The filling is already hot, so it doesn't take long to melt the cheese under the broiler, and they're ready to eat.

Ready to eat!

These things are really filling.  We had one potato half with some salad, and that was enough!  That means we got to enjoy them for another meal.  I just put them into a Corningware dish and baked them, with the lid on, for 20 to 30 minutes at 350°.  Perfect!  My husband just ate the filling both times and threw the potato skin away.  I ate the skin, and I liked it much better after it was baked.  It kind of crisped up a bit.  I'm thinking that next time I make these I'm going to bake them until the cheese is melted and browned, instead of broiling.  Either that or scoop absolutely all of the potato out of the skins, mix the filling, and put it into some kind of baking dish to broil and melt the cheese.

So many yummy flavors.  I am definitely making these again!  And trying some of those other recipes from Beth's blog.  Be sure to check it out for yourself.

Snickerdoodle Bars

I love Snickerdoodles.  I don't make them very often, but I love them, so when I found this recipe for Snickerdoodle Bars, I knew I had to make them.  And since I needed something to take for a potluck, it was the perfect time to try them.

Snickerdoodle Bars
slightly adapted from The Recipe Critic

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2-1/3 cups flour
• 1-1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Cinnamon Filling:

• 1 T sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 to 2 Tbsp milk
• 1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Spray or grease bottom only of a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. 
2. In large bowl, beat butter on high until creamy. Beat in sugars. Gradually beat eggs and vanilla into sugar mixture until combined.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. On low speed, beat in dry ingredients until combined.
4. Heat the oven to 350°. 
5. Spoon half of the batter into pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle the cinnamon filling mixture on top, and drop the rest of the batter by teaspoons on top of the cinnamon filling mixture. 
6. Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown or until toothpick inserted comes clean. 
7. Let cool for an hour and then drizzle the glaze over the bars.

OK, the recipe means use an electric mixer, and I'll probably do that next time.  This time I wasn't paying attention - and my husband was on the phone - so I ended up just mixing the batter up with a wooden spoon.  It turned out fine, but I'll probably try the mixer next time just to see if it makes a difference.  If nothing else, it will save my arm!  The only other thing I changed is that I cut the sugar down just a bit, using 1 cup granulated instead of 1-1/4 cups.  Yes, I know, cookies or bars are supposed to be sweet, but they don't always have to be so sweet.

Anyway, the batter is quite thick, so it takes a bit to spread it in the bottom of the pan and to drop it over the cinnamon filling - but it's worth it!  (and maybe using a mixer will whip it up better and make it easier to spread?  maybe)  These are so yummy.  You get the sweet cookie and cinnamon goodness of Snickerdoodles in a soft bar.  The cinnamon sugar is just in the middle instead of on the outside, and the glaze adds just a little something extra.

I took these to share today, and I think they were a hit.  I did manage to bring a couple home, but they didn't last long.  Guess I'll have to make some more.  Soon.

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Homemade Pita Bread

I found this recipe on Pinterest, and I've been making it quite often.  It's really easy, and the way I make it is even easier than the original recipe because I just throw the ingredients into my breadmaker and let it make the dough. I love these pitas for sandwiches.

They're especially good stuffed with tuna salad, avocado and sprouts, but pretty much anything would be good in them.  I especially like that the dough can be stored in the fridge, and I can have fresh-baked pitas in no time.

Homemade Pita Bread
from the Kitchn

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1-2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 cups unbleached flour
• 2 tsp. yeast

Directions:

1. Add ingredients to breadmaker in order given and use Dough setting to mix and raise the dough.
2. When the dough is ready, deflate it and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and gently flatten each piece into a thick disk. At this point you can roll and bake the pitas as instructed or refrigerate the pita dough until it is needed. You can also bake one or two pitas at a time, saving the rest of the dough in the fridge. The dough will keep refrigerated for about a week, then just bring to room temperature and roll and bake as directed.
3. Sprinkle the pieces you'll be baking with a little flour and then cover them with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap until you're ready to bake them.
4. Using a floured rolling pin, roll one of the pieces into a circle 8-9 inches wide and about a quarter inch thick. Lift and turn the dough frequently as you roll to make sure the dough isn't sticking to your counter. Sprinkle with a little extra flour if its starting to stick. If the dough starts to spring back, set it aside to rest for a few minutes, then continue rolling. Repeat with the other pieces of dough.  
5. While shaping the pitas, heat the oven to 450°. Put your baking stone, cast iron skillet, or large baking sheet into the oven to preheat at the same time.  (I use my cast iron skillet)
6. Once the oven and baking sheet are hot, place the rolled-out pitas directly on the baking stone or baking sheets (as many as will fit), and bake for about 4 minutes. Carry the pita flat on the palm of your hand and then flip it over into the skillet. The pita will start to puff up after a minute or two and is done when it has fully ballooned. 
7. Remove pita from oven and cover with a clean dishtowel while cooking any remaining pitas.

Enjoy!

Pitas can also be cooked on the stovetop in a cast iron skillet, but I don't really like doing that.  My house gets all smoky!  (the one in the picture was baked in the oven - look how it puffed!)  If you want to try cooking yours on the stove, visit the original recipe.

The last time I made pita I used my sourdough starter.  What I love about using the starter is - no packaged yeast!  And it's fun.  I'm not sure if I'll use the starter to make pita from now on or not, but they turned out great.

Sourdough Pita

Ingredients:

• 1 cup starter
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1-2 tsp. olive oil
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups unbleached flour

Directions:

1. Mix starter, 1/2 cup water, and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour.  Let sit several hours or overnight, until bubbly.
2. Mix in salt and oil, then stir in 1 cup flour.  Mix  in as much of the remaining flour as you can, and then turn dough out onto floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to your hands or the work surface.
3.  Add a little oil to the mixing bowl and place dough in bowl, turning to coat it with the oil.  Cover with a cloth or plastic wrap and let rise several hours or until doubled in bulk.
4. When the dough is ready, deflate it (punch it down) and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and gently flatten each piece into a thick disk. At this point you can roll and bake the pitas as instructed or refrigerate the pita dough until it is needed. You can also bake one or two pitas at a time, saving the rest of the dough in the fridge. The dough will keep refrigerated for about a week, then just bring to room temperature and roll and bake as directed..
5. Sprinkle the pieces you'll be baking with a little flour and then cover them with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap until you're ready to bake them.
6. Using a floured rolling pin, roll one of the pieces into a circle 8-9 inches wide and about a quarter inch thick. Lift and turn the dough frequently as you roll to make sure the dough isn't sticking to your counter. Sprinkle with a little extra flour if its starting to stick. If the dough starts to spring back, set it aside to rest for a few minutes, then continue rolling. Repeat with the other pieces of dough.  
7. While shaping the pitas, heat the oven to 450°. Put your baking stone, cast iron skillet, or large baking sheet into the oven to preheat at the same time.  (I use my cast iron skillet)
8. Once the oven and baking sheet are hot, place the rolled-out pitas directly on the baking stone or baking sheets (as many as will fit), and bake for about 4 minutes. Carry the pita flat on the palm of your hand and then flip it over into the skillet. The pita will start to puff up after a minute or two and is done when it has fully ballooned. 
9. Remove pita from oven and cover with a clean dishtowel while cooking any remaining pitas.

or place on wire rack to cool, I guess...

Some additional noted from the kitchn:

Storing the Pitas: Pitas are best when eaten immediately after cooking. Leftover pitas will keep in an airtight bag for several days and can be eaten as they are or warmed in a toaster oven. Baked pitas can also be frozen with wax paper between the layers for up to three months.

Storing the Dough: Once it has risen, the pita dough can be kept refrigerated until it is needed. You can also bake one or two pitas at a time, saving the rest of the dough in the fridge. The dough will keep refrigerated for about a week.

Pitas That Won't Puff: Sometimes you get pitas that won't puff. The problem is usually that the oven or the skillet aren't hot enough. Make sure both are thoroughly pre-heated before cooking. Even pitas that don't puff are still delicious and can be used wraps or torn into pieces for dipping in hummus.

Whole Lotta Fermentation Going On

I started my sourdough starter again on Sunday.  Now it looks like this:

I started Sunday by mixing 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (instead of my usual unbleached white flour) with 1/2 cup water.  I covered it with a cloth and stirred it occasionally.  The next day I added another 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water, and stirred occasionally.  And the next day I did the same thing.  Today I poured out 1 cup of the mixture and added 3/4 cup water and 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour - and stirred occasionally.  It's happy stuff, and it smells good, though not really 'sour' yet, so I'm going to keep working on it.

Also, I'm making sauerkraut for the first time ever.  It looks pretty.  I hope it turns out good, but I'll have to wait a week or two to find out.

Simple Sauerkraut
from Healthilinguist

Ingredients:

• 1 medium cabbage, cored & shredded (save outer leaves)
• 1 T unrefined sea salt

Directions:

1. Toss cabbage & salt together in a large mixing bowl, “massaging” as you toss … squeezing the cabbage and salt together, kneading it thoroughly. This will help break up the cellular structure of the cabbage.
2. Let sit for several minutes so the cabbage becomes limp and begins to release juice.
3. Pack the cabbage a little at a time into jar, crock or fermenter as tightly as you can, pushing down on the cabbage and eliminating air bubbles. The liquid should rise above the cabbage.
4. Continue packing the cabbage until it is completely submerged by the liquid brine.
5. Cover with one of the reserved cabbage leaves and press down so the leaf is also submerged
6. Screw on the lid tightly and allow it to sit at room temperature, undisturbed, for at least seven days. It will bubble and pop and you may want to check on it to release some of the air, ensuring you keep the cabbage submerged when you replace the lid.

Now, I just need patience.