Mmmm Muffins and Other Random Musings

Hello everyone!  Recipe creation and blogging has slowed down lately in favour of a few other projects.   My sewing machine has taken over the kitchen table and the spring-like weather has me itching to tackle various home improvement projects.  I've been reading the blog Zen Habits and continuing with the de-cluttering process.

Last week my daughter asked me to make some corn muffins.  She likes the President's Choice boxed mix that we used to buy.  I insisted that home-made corn muffins would be just as yummy and surely I could figure out a recipe that would taste just as good, if not better, than something from a box.  I'm not sure if I succeeded in her view, but the muffins didn't last long.  I like to eat them cut in half and smothered in Earth Balance.  This recipe could probably use a little tweaking and I had a slight issue with the cornmeal.  I used Bob's Red Mill - medium grind cornmeal and it was a little too crunchy. Next time I'll use a finer milled cornmeal.

Corn Muffins

Cornmeal Muffins

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1/cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl.  Make a well in the centre and add oil, soy milk and maple syrup.  Stir until just combined.  Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups about 3/4 full.  Bake for approximately 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick or knife inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean


Tonight after dinner I was craving a little treat with my tea.  I flipped through my cookbooks and found a recipe for Cocoa and Raspberry Muffins in Vegan Brunch (which is an excellent cookbook by the way).  It was the perfect choice.  The muffins were not too sweet and the raspberry bits added just the right amount of zing and moistness.

Cocoa Raspberry Muffins

And finally, just for fun, here's a photo of our breakfast (the best way to use left-over mashed potatoes).  These are the only animals that will pass my lips!   Giraffes, hippos, pigs and heart-shaped Fadge.  

Fadge Animals