Oatmeal Muffins

I think I might have mentioned before on here how much I love muffins. They are probably one of my top favorite baked goods. That along with your basic chewy brownie and a good layer cake. OH and Holiday yeast breads- love those too. I don’t do the whole super sugary dessert thing. I mean I do… but I have preferences. I like my baked goods, less sweet and very moist. And if there is a nice bit of texture thrown in with some nuts or dried fruit, I am happy with that too.

These Oatmeal Muffins were exactly what I look for in a baked good. They weren’t too sweet and they had such great depth of flavor. And despite all the oats involved they didn’t lose any moisture or have a gummy texture! But these were a Cooks Illustrated concoction so I am not surprised.

These aren’t the simplest muffin however. Instead of just stirring in the oats it requires you to make a toasted oat flour. Don’t worry! It’s not nearly as difficult as it might sound. As long as you have a sauté pan and a food processor (and a good attention span), you can easily do it! Just melt some butter in the pan, stir in the oats, and keep an eye on them for about 7 minutes until they start to smell like popcorn (which the really do) and just start to turn golden brown. After that you simply process them into a powder. DONE. See? You can do it- I have faith : )

Plus, I believe that the toasted oat flour really makes all the difference with this muffin. Both flavor and texture wise. It’s essential to this muffin’s greatness. And I assure you, this muffin is great.

Author: Cooks Illustrated

Topping:
½ cup (1½ ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats
⅓ cup (1⅔ ounces) all-purpose flour
⅓ cup pecans, chopped fine
⅓ cup packed (2⅓ ounces) light brown sugar
1¼ tsp ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp salt
4 Tb unsalted butter, melted
Muffins:
2 Tb unsalted butter, plus 6Tb, melted
2 cups (6 ounces) old-fashioned rolled oats
1¾ cups (8¾ ounces) all-purpose flour
1½ tsp salt
¾ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1⅓ cups packed (9⅓ ounces) light brown sugar
1¾ cups milk
2 large eggs, beaten, at room temperature

For the Topping: Combine oats, flour, pecans, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in medium bowl. Drizzle melted butter over mixture and stir to thoroughly combine; set aside.
For the Muffins: Prepare a 12-cup muffins tin. Melt 2 Tb butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add oats and cook, stirring frequently, until oats turn golden brown and smell of cooking popcorn, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer oats to food processor and process until fine meal, about 30 seconds. Add flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to oats and pulse until combined, about 3 pulses.
Stir 6 Tb melted butter and sugar together in large bowl until smooth. Add milk and eggs and whisk until smooth. Using whisk, gently fold half of oat mixture into wet ingredients, tapping whisk against side of bowl to release clumps. Add remaining oat mixture and continue to fold with whisk until no streaks of flour remain. Set aside batter for 20 minutes to thicken. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375°F.
Using ice cream scoop or large spoon, divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (about ½ cup batter per cup; cups will be filled to rim). Evenly sprinkle topping over muffins (about 2 Tb per muffin). Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 18 to 25 minutes, rotating muffin tin halfway through baking.
Let muffins cool in muffin tin on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from muffin tin and serve.

Tagged as:
breakfast,
muffins,
nuts,
oatmeal,
pecans,
quick bread

Chicken Sausage Noodle Soup

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When I am at home alone for lunch, I usually make something quick and easy – like a sandwich or smoothie. What I love even more is LEFTOVERS! I made this chicken sausage noodle soup the other week for Chinet®, and had some leftover for my lunch the next day. Talk about the perfect lazy lunch! The chicken sausage and tortellini in this soup make it more flavorful and filling than traditional chicken noodle soup. If you are going to use it for leftovers, I suggest only adding enough of the chicken sausage meatballs and tortellini you will use for one meal at a time, otherwise they both get soggy. Just toss them in when you reheat the soup Also, make sure to scale the recipe to your desired size – the original below makes a lot!

Today a long, peaceful weekend camping under bright stars and redwoods in Big Sur suddenly crashed into a face-paced Monday with a lot of chores to do! We drove down Highway 1 to Big Sur, and stopped in Carmel on the way back for a day walking around town, checking out the local bakeries, beach, and dinner. It was such a great weekend and relaxing break from the fast-paced city life, and studying for my exams coming up (eeeeek).

Chicken Sausage Noodle Soup

Save Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total

45 mins

Type: Soup

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

Extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, smashed
2 large carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 bay leaf
4 fresh thyme sprigs
3 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
5 parsley stems, plus ¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
4 black peppercorns
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for garnish

Chicken Sausage Meatballs

1 medium onion, diced
6 links organic chicken-apple sausage meat
1 egg
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 handful fresh parsley leaves
¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 pounds frozen cheese tortellini, store bought
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Set a large stockpot over medium heat.
Add olive oil, half the garlic, carrot, onion, celery, bay leaf and thyme and gently saute until fragrant, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Pour in chicken broth, add parsley stems and black peppercorns; salt to taste.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer while you work on meatballs and tortellini.
For the meatballs, caramelize the diced onion in a saute pan with a little olive oil over medium heat.
Add the sausage, egg, onion, thyme, parsley and cheese to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they all come together.
Season with salt and pepper.
Heat a skillet with a few tablespoons of olive oil until just smoking.
Use a small ice cream scoop to drop meatballs onto skillet.
Cook, turning, until golden brown.
Drop tortellini straight from freezer into soup. Cook until they float.
Once meatballs are browned, add to pot of chicken broth.
Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 or 3 minutes.
Give soup a final seasoning and serve in shallow bowls with a small shower of Parmigiano-Reggiano, olive oil and parsley.

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Recipe by Chinet® – see original recipe here.

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Cardamom and Brandy Poached Figs

I’ve got two fig recipes lined up for this week because this is it, high fig season, and you need to grab them while you can. Green black, brown, it doesn’t matter, they’re all awesome. Figs are delicate creatures and that’s part of their charm. They don’t keep or travel well so stores only carry them right at the height of their short season. Fresh figs aren’t anything like the dried version, and they are a world away from Fig Newtons, which I’m embarrassed to say is the main way I knew them most of my life. The fresh fruit has a lush berry like quality — but probably the biggest draw is its unique and complex texture: a mix of soft chewy flesh, smooth skin, and tiny crunchy seeds. Don’t let them pass you by.

This recipe comes from our friend James. James’ mother is from Turkey and his dad is from southern Russia and he’s full of fascinating recipes from both cultures. He made this fresh healthy dessert for us when he came over the other night to teach me how to make his mothers version of borscht. That’s coming up in a future post but I didn’t want to wait on the figs. If you can’t find them at your regular store, check Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s.

Figs are a traditional dessert all over the Mediterranean, but especially in the Middle East, where they originated. They are so naturally sweet and luscious that they require very little fooling with. James says they’re often served lightly poached like this, along with Turkish Coffee after dinner.

In true Minimal Monday style, this is less a recipe and more a figgy free for all. There are any number of ways you can do this, including ditching the whole poaching idea and just shoving your (clean) finger into the top of the ripe fig to make a cavity for some freshly whipped cream, clotted cream, or creme fraiche, which is exactly what we did for our second helping.

Cardamom and Brandy Poached Figs

What You Will Need

6 – 8 fresh figs (any variety will do as long as they’re ripe)
6 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 Tbsp brandy
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
sprinkling of ground cardamom for garnish

Instructions

With a sharp paring knife, cut off the stem of the figs, and make a cross cut at the top of each, about an inch deep. Gently nudge the figs open a bit with your fingers.
Set the figs in a small saute pan and add the crushed cardamom pods, 1/4 cup water, and 1 Tbsp brandy. (The water should be about 1/4 inch high in the pan) Bring to a simmer and simmer the figs for about 5 minutes, constantly basting the figs with the liquid. Make sure you spoon the poaching liquid down over the open figs. Remove the figs to a shallow bowl or plate.
Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla. The easiest way to do this is to put it all in a clean jar, screw the lid on tightly, and shake vigorously for a couple of minutes. When you hear the ‘sloshing’ noise stop, it’s whipped.
Pry open the figs a bit with your fingers and spoon a dollop of whipped cream into each one. Sprinkle lightly with cardamom.

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