Blueberry Muffins with Quinoa and Flax

Blueberry muffins are pretty much a classic. In any good bakery you can find a berry muffin, most of the time it's blueberry. I know when I worked at Moguls in Whistler the blueberry muffin was our biggest seller. I'd make at least 2 batches of 24 every morning and by noon they were almost gone. It's quite a good breakfast, especially on the way up the ski hill!



There's no more ski hills in my life now, but I still love my blueberry muffins! The basic of this recipe is my go-to muffin recipe, easily adaptable, and it's low fat and packed with protein. It's from the "Healthy Oven" baking book, by Sarah Philips.
Here's what you'll need:

1 1/2 cup whole wheat PASTRY flour, or all-purpose.
3/4 cup quinoa flakes
1/3 cup ground flax sseds
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1 1/2 TBSP canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup frozen blueberries

Set your oven at 350F and set the rack in the middle. Spray a muffin pan with canola oil.
In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients and set aside.
In another bowl, mix all the wet ingredients and whisk until frothy, about 2 minutes.
Make a well in the dry mix, add the wet and stri until just combined. Add the blueberries and mix lightly. Carefull not to overmix otherwise your muffins will be a bit tough.
Bake fo 22-25 minutes, until a kinfe inserted in the middle comes out clean.
*My oven is a bit "difficult", it doesn't brown things easily, so for the last 2 minutes I turned on the broiler. But if you do this DON'T WALK AWAY!!
Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, unmold and cool completely on a rack.



Have a great day!

Quinoa Buns with Sunflower Seeds

This week I decided to switch the usual "loaf" into cute little buns. Well, they turned out kinda big but still really nice. They came out super soft and they are very filling. It would've been a nice loaf too but I felt like doing something different. I used quinoa flakes for a protein boost and a nice nutty taste. And then of course the sunflower seeds are always awesome in bread. Nice and crunchy bite...

You'll need:

3 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup quinoa flakes
2 tsp instant yeast
1 scant tsp salt
2 TBSP melted butter
2 TBSP honey
1-1 1/2 cup warm water, at 120-140F.
1/2 cups sunflower seeds

Mix the flour, flakes, yeast and salt in a big bowl, make a well in the centre and set aside.
Heat up 1 1/4 cups of water, add the butter and honey and bring to 120F. Keep 1/4 cup plain water on the side in case you need to add more. *That way all the butter and honey will end up in the bread!!
Pour the liquid in the flour mixture and stir gently with a fork, slowly incorporating the water in the flour. When it starts to come together you can get there with your hands and knead a bit in the bowl, then transfer to a floured CLEAN surface and knead for 8-10 minutes until it's all soft, adding flour or water as needed. Add the sunflower sedds about half-way through the process.
When the dough is all nice and smooth put it in an oiled bowl, cover and let it rise for about 45 minutes in a warm place (top of a stove turned on at 400 for a few minutes, for example...). The dough should double in size.

Before:


After:


After it's risen, punch it down gently and transfer to the same work surface, floured, and shape the buns(or the loaf if you choose to do a loaf..).
Cut the dough into small pieces, about the size of baseball, and arrange on an oiled baking sheet.



Cover with cling wrap and let rise again, until doubled again, for about 30 minutes. Now they should be the size of a softball.
When they've doubled in size, score the top with a sharp knife and brush with butter. I added more sunflower seed on top but they didn't really stick after. But still it looks nice...



Bake at 375 for 20-22 minutes, until it sounds hollow when tapped, or when a thermometer read 170F. Turn off the oven and leave them in there for about 5 minutes. Cool on that same baking sheet, placed on a rack.



Sooooooo soft!!!!!




They are headed to Yeastspotting!!

Mediterenean Quinoa Salad

Here's a fresh, simple, healthy and delicious salad, perfect for a hot summer day!
(No need to say more...just enjoy!)



For 2 approximately servings:
1/2-3/4 cooked quinoa
1 zucchini
3-4 mini peppers
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half or whole if really small
1 cup green peas
2-3 green onions
1/4 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
Salt&Pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4-1/3 cup olive oil, or more

Cut the zucchinis in whatever shape you feel like(rounds, half-moons, or quaters, you decide!).
Chop the peppers into small pieces, as well as the green onions.
Cut the tomatoes, and sprinkle with salt so they release their juices and flavor!
If you use frozen peas, thaw them nicely in the micro-wave...(did I mention this salad is sooooo easy??!)
Mix all the veggies together, add the quinoa, basil, lemon juice and oil, salt and pepper to taste and that's it...



Add a nice crusty bread on the side if you wish and bon appetit!

Lentil "Chili" with Quinoa.

I've been kind of on a quinoa kick lately. I love these little grains! On the nutritious point of view it's one of the healthiest, very high in protein and fiber. And it tastes really good, almost nutty and buttery kinda flavor. Plus, it's gluten-free so since I always try to eat at least one gluten-free meal a day quinoa is a good option.
I also always try to eat at least one meat-free meal a day. I used to be totally vegetarian, but I really like chicken and fish so I went back. But I don't HAVE to have meat at every meal. I don't crave red meat all that often. Lentils is one of my main sources of protein. I have at least 3 bags of different types of lentils in the pantry and I used them in a lot of stuff. Soups, stews, stir frys... They're so easy to cook and you don't have to soak them like beans and chick peas. And those little things are so high in fiber also and protein and iron, and they have no fat. Love that!
Ok so this meal was totally done in a freestyle fashion:
(I should mention this is enough for 2 people)

I cooked the quinoa in water with a pinch of salt and a couple sprigs of thyme. To cook quinoa it's 1 part grains 2 parts liquid. Let the liquid boil, throw the quinoa in, turn down the heat and simmer, covered, until cooked. Easy as pie.
Meanwhile, I chopped one medium onion, one green chili pepper, one clove garlic and sauteed them in oil for 5 minutes with salt and pepper. Then I added 1/4 cup red lentils, 1 small can tomato sauce, 1/2 small can tomato juice to start, if you see you need more by all means...(I thought 1/2 can was enough though), cumin, cinnamon, red chili flakes and molasses to cut the acidity of the tomato!!. I then let it simmer until the lentils were cooked. If you see you need more liquid add a bit of water, or more tomato juice(unless, like me, you drank the rest of the can...). Check seasonning and pour over quinoa. Shredded cheese to tame the heat a bit and Oh My was that ever nice!



This would be a really nice pasta sauce too!

for a little info on quinoa:
Quinoa

Cheddar-Jalapeno Bread with a Quinoa Twist

I've been thinking about making this bread for a few days now. Now that I understand the process and the necessary ingredients and how they work, you can expect a lot of bread on this website!!



This is totally my own recipe. I kinda went into it blindly, and hoped it would work. And boy did it work! I'm eating a slice as I type this and I can't believe how good it turned out. I actually got the idea from a bakery I used to work at in Lake Louise, we used to get cheddar and jalapeno bagels. I looooved them! With cream cheese, wow. And jam? Even better. Or both...And of course just by itself, toasted with butter. This bread doesn't taste the same of course(bread and bagels are totally different in texture!). I put some quinoa in it and that comes out really subtle but obvious when you know it's there. The jalapeno is not too spicy at all, I only put in one just to be safe, but when I make this bread again I'll use 2. The cheddar taste also is veeeeery subtle. I used mild marble cheddar so next time I'll get a stronger cheese. But trust me, it's awesome like this too! The texture is very soft, the oil in the cheese did it's job!!



So here's the "formula":

4 cups bread flour(3 white, 1 whole wheat)
1/2 cup quinoa flakes(available at health food stores)
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 TBSP canola oil
1 1/2 cups warm water, at 120F
1 cup cheddar cheese(*little trick: toss in about a teaspoon of flour in the cheese so it doesn't clump together...)
1 jalapeno, finely chopped.

Mix the flour, quinoa, yeast salt and sugar in a big bowl.
Heat up the water at 120F, add oil and pour in the flour mixture while stirring with a fork. If it seems too dry add more water, if it's too wet add flour. When it starts to form a ball transfer to a floured surface and knead until it starts getting smooth. Add the cheese and the jalapeno, and knead more until it's all incorporated. When it's nice and smooth with the consistency of an earlobe put the dough ball in a greased bowl, cover and let rise until double. This one only took 45 minutes.
*A good way to speed things up: turn on the oven and put the bowl on it. My stove top gets kinda hot, that helps the rising process!

When it's risen enough punch it down gently, turn into a floured work surface and knead again for no more than a minute and very gently, all the while shaping it into a short and thinck kinda log. Now you can either put it on an oiled baking sheet and bake it as a rustic-looking loaf, or do the pan thing, like I did. In an oil-sprayed 9x5 loaf pan. Loosely cover with plastic and let rise again until doubled, it took this one 30 minutes(again, on the hot stove top...). Before sending it to the oven brush with eggwhite or milk, or butter, or nothing...I did eggwhites. It's just a fantasy, really, not essential. It changes the look and texture of the crust.
Bake it at 375 for 30-35 minutes, when it's done it'll sound hollow when tapped and thermometer will read 180F. Let it cool on a rack.
As you can see my pretty baby here got really big!(and lopsided because my floors are not quite even...)



Sandwiches this week are gonna rock!

I will submit this to yeastspotting for next week!

Fruit&nut quinoa muffins.

Ok. So since I just made muffins this morning, and I make these muffins once a week I think it's fitting that it would be the first recipe I share here. I got it from Sarah Philips' book called "Healthy Oven", which is one of my favorite cookbooks because all the recipes in there are low in fat and healthier than "regular" baking. Now here I made a few changes in some secondary ingredients, since I eat these usually before going to swim practice I always add nuts for extra protein.
You'll need:


Dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup oats or flakes of some sort(today I used quinoa flakes, but they could be oatmeal, barley, kamut or millet flakes, or a mix of whatever's in the pantry)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

Wet ingredients:
3/4 cup UNSWEETENED applesauce
1 egg
1/2 cup maple syrup, or honey
1 1/2 TBSP canola oil
1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup nuts(walnuts, pecans, sliced almonds, hazelnuts, the possibilities are endless!!)
1/2 dried fruit(raisins, craisins, dried apricots, or a mix of dried fruit...again...so many possibilites!!)

-Set the oven at 350, place the rack in the middle of the oven.
-Oil spray muffin molds.
-Mix all dry ingredients, set aside.
-Mix all wet ingredients until slightly frothy.
-Pour wet in dry, add nuts and fruits, mix gently with a rubber spatula, but do not overmix it otherwise the muffins will be tough and dry.
-Scoop in muffin mold, a little above the rim. Using an ice cream scoop here is the best, it'll give you nice and round muffin tops.
-Bake for 20-22 minutes.
-When they're done, put the tray on a cooling rack for 10 minutes or so, then unmold carefully.

*DO NOT open the oven door once they're in. Wait until 20 minutes, check with the knife test and if they need more time go 2 minutes at a time.
**Also, I usually put the muffin tray on a baking sheet. For my oven I find it works best. And if there's any spills it won't make a mess..!

So that's it! Super easy, super tasty, versatile and healthy.
Enjoy.