Nancy's Simple Poppy Seed Muffins

We started making these simple muffins when we lived in New Zealand. They were very popular, especially with the the almond extract.

1 egg

½ c. milk

¼ c. oil

1 ½ c. flour

½ c. sugar

2 t. baking powder

½ t. salt

1 t. almond extract

1.5 t. vanilla extract

2-3 T poppy seeds

Optional: slivered almonds to put on top of muffins before baking

Beat the egg, then add milk and oil.

Blend in dry ingredients and stir til just moistened.

Batter will be slightly lumpy.

A little sprinkle of sugar on top of the muffins before baking will make a nice muffin-top.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Amazing Fat-Free Banana Ice-Cream

A number of different chefs have done something like this, but here's my take.

Take 2 overripe bananas per serving and peel them and cut them into slices that are 1/2 inch wide. Freeze them in a flat layer until they are solid, a good 6 hours at least. Right before serving, puree the bananas in the food processor (not more than 6 or so at a time). If the bananas are having a tough time pureeing, you can add some milk to help it get going. Top it however you like, I especially like a quick mix of honey and peanut butter and some chocolate. Hard freeze any leftovers and they will stay good.

Tomato Candy aka Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Wow, we haven't posted for a while! There have been lots of transitions in the family over the past few months, but no lack of delicious, local cooking. Here's a simple recipe that takes advantage of the abundance of tomatoes still in season. I used Juliet tomatoes, which are like small Roma tomatoes. The recipe is inspired by Orangette's recipe for Slow-Roasted Tomatoes with Sea Salt and Ground Coriander and Food & Wine's recipe for Honey-Tomato Bruschetta.

2 pints ripe tomatoes (roma, juliet, cherry, or grape tomatoes would all work well)
~2 T Olive oil
Sea salt
Ground coriander

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wash the tomatoes, and halve them lengthwise. Toss the tomatoes in a bowl with the olive oil. Place them, skin side down, on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle them with sea salt and ground coriander—about a pinch of each for every four to six tomato halves.

Bake the tomatoes until they shrink to about 1/3 of their original size but are still soft and juicy, 4 to 6 hours. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature. Place them in an airtight container, and store them in the refrigerator. Delicious on their own, with pasta, on bruschetta (see Food & Wine recipe), on a simple pizza, or anything else you can imagine!

Quick Cucumber Pickles

Lots of cucumbers from our garden this year! This recipe is adapted from Deborah Madison's "Local Flavors"

• 2/3 cup any mixture of white wine and/or apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• ½ t. salt
• 1 red onion, sliced thin
• 2 cucumbers (peeled only if the skins are tough), sliced thin
• 1 t. mixed whole peppercorns
• 2 T olive oil

Mix the vinegar, sugar, salt, olive oil, peppercorns in a glass or ceramic bowl.

Add cucumbers and onions and toss well.

Cover & refrigerate.

Pickles are best if they can sit for a day, but don’t let them sit longer than 5 days.

Sugar Snap Pea, Cucumber, and Sesame Salad

The sugar snap peas in my garden are ready to eat and enjoy! I adapted this recipe from GOURMET June 2001.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 -1 lb sugar snap peas, trimmed

1 English cucumber

a few chopped scallions

¼ cup sesame seeds, toasted

1-2 T seasoned rice vinegar

1-2 t cider vinegar

2-4t soy sauce

drizzle of sesame oil

salt and pepper (or hot sauce)

Directions

PEAS: Trim peas & remove “threads”. Cook in a saucepan of boiling salted water just until they turn a brighter shade of green, about 30 – 60 seconds. Drain in a colander and put in bowl with cold water with ice to stop the cooking.

CUCUMBER: Slice cucumber lengthwise 2 times (4 long quarters). Cut into ¼ inch thick slices. I don’t remove the seeds, but some prefer seeds removed.

Toss peas, cucumber, scallions with vinegars and season with salt and pepper.

Add sesame seeds right before serving to keep them crisp.

Refrigerate until serving.

Mango and Avocado Salad

When Champagne Mangoes are available, I buy them by the case and eat them any way I can. Mangoes and avocados go beautifully together in this salad, especially if neither is too mushy.

Though this recipe is supposed to serve 4, I ate the entire salad for my dinner.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 mangoes, cubed
• 2 avocados, cubed
• 1/2 small red onion or a few scallions, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• OPTIONAL: chopped cucumber, crumbled feta cheese, chopped sweet red pepper
  

Directions: Mix everything together, eat, and enjoy!

Sweet Potato Muffins

Using white, O'Henry sweet potatoes I made this recipe, adapted from 2 other recipes. Orange sweet potatoes or pumpkin would also work.
Yield: 12 muffins + mini cake

1 C white flour
1 C whole wheat flour
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t each nutmeg & cloves
1 1/4 C brown sugar
1/4 C canola oil
1/4 C plain yogurt (I used Greek non-fat strained yogurt)
2 eggs
1/2 C milk
2 t vanilla
1 1/2 C cooked sweet potatoes, mashed

Preheat oven to 350. Stir together sugar, oil, yogurt, eggs, milk, vanilla, & sweet potato. Add dry ingredients and taste for spices and salt. Divide into greased muffin tins and bake for 15-25 minutes, or until done.