As usual, it's all Patrick's fault! - Muffins

The other evening Patrick appeared with a big grin on his face and presented me with a surprise 'present' at tea time.

It was a HUGE muffin.  He said that he had popped in the supermarket to get some milk and just happened to see them.  It was a  blueberry muffin.  It looked rather peculiar to me, but bless him, I couldn't say.  It was a greyish bluish colour and pale - and looked like it had been cooked in a microwave, and didn't have the least bit of a 'tan'.  It tasted O.K. though - but a bit cloying.  He said that he thought he'd read somewhere that blueberries were really good for you - and as I had been working hard, he thought I deserved it!

Today, I sat down for a few minutes when I came in from the garden before lunch - and thought of muffins and remembered that whilst on a tour of  New Zealand a number of years ago, I bought some little cookery books as souvenirs and one of them was a book called More Marvellous Muffins!  We stayed on farms in remote places, and a few of the farmers wives recommended it to me.  

So this is how I came to be cooking muffins just before lunch.  I looked at the recipes to find one that I could do with things from my store cupboard - and here it is.

Apple, Oat, & Raisin Muffins

2 cups wholemeal flour

half a cup of oatbran

half a teaspoon of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)

2 tsp baking powder

half a teaspoon of salt

2 tsp cinnamon

half a cup of brown sugar

1 cup of sultanas or raisins

half a cup of pumpkin or sunflower seeds

half a cup of yoghurt - any sort - even fruity

quarter of a cup of canolo oil - I used rapeseed as it is the best for your cholesterol levels

1 large egg - I used three of the smallest bantam eggs

1 cup of apple sauce (I used a chopped up eating apple with the peel on)

Method

Mix all the list of dry ingredients together so that all the flavours etc are combined

In a another bowl whisk all the 'wet' ingredients together.  (I used a blender)

Fold in to the dry mix and if needed add a little milk, or fruit juice if it is a little dry.

Pile the mixture into lightly oiled muffin tin/s (this is enough for 12) and bake on 200c (180c fan oven) for 12 - 15 minutes

I only have the big size muffin pans so only made six but they are huge - as you can see above, photographed on a dinner plate.

These were lovely and light, and full of texture.  The combination of the apples, juicy raisins, crunchy seeds, and cinnamon flavours was delicious.  Reminded me of Christmas and just perfect for a cold day.  What I particularly liked about this recipe was that the muffins had 'body' and were not all 'cloying' like the supermarket blueberry muffin which stuck to the roof of your mouth - and I am sure these are much healthier.  I glazed them with a mix of brown sugar and lemon juice whilst they were still hot and it was a lovely crunchy zingy topping.