Apricot Oatmeal Muffins

Jun 4, 2012 by lovelypantry

Guess what today is? Its Muffin Monday! Yes! I’m joining a fellow foodie, An from Baker Street on her quest to make Monday mornings enjoyable. I believe a good muffin can certainly do that! Today I’m sharing with you today a lovely  muffin, made with Apricots and Oats. Perfect with a cup of coffee or for me, espresso.

We all need ideas for breakfast on the run, or just something as a wholesome snack. This particular muffin recipe challenged me to use dried apricots which, up until now, I had not used before. The jam is awesome though! I made some very slight changes to the recipe, which was taken from Taste Of Home. I’m sure  that any dried/fresh fruit could be substituted but I really wanted to try using apricots.

While I was making the batter for the muffins, my son asked me why I was making muffins with porridge in it (referring to the oats). It’s so funny the questions and conversation that come up  in the kitchen. I love every minute of it! They were able to taste the apricots as I diced them up. They had a weird reaction at first, because apricots are slightly tart in flavour. But soon enough, I had to slow down because I really wanted to have some left to put into the muffin! Good times! Anyway, as I mentioned, I made a few subtle changes. I increased the sugar to 3/4 cup since that is my comfort quantity for muffins. I also used Almond Milk instead of regular milk.

 

 

 

 

Pour the hot water into the bowl and mix. I covered the bowl and left it to combine while I moved on to the next step.

 

 

Bring out the Turbinado Sugar! Its crunch time! Yes, I sprinkled some raw sugar over the muffin batter. Perhaps this is becoming my signature move when it comes to muffin making. I bought some fresh apricots to eat and also I wanted to decorate the muffins with them. I ended up slicing them and then ever so slightly brushing them with some melted butter after placing a slice on each muffin cup filled with batter.

 

 

These muffins came out GREAT! They were fluffy and the apricots gave it a slight tart kick with each delicious bite!

 

 

These muffins are nice to look at but even better to eat. Don’t feel too guilty about having more than one! I sure didn’t!!!

 

 

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

Cheers, An! Here’s to more Muffin Mondays to come!

Happy Monday everyone!

~Lyn

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Baked Provençal Tomatoes

May 11, 2012 by lovelypantry

As my appreciation for Tomatoes evolves, I like when I see recipes that dress them up a bit. So far, I quite like the seasoned breadcrumb mix on top – as seen in one of my favourite creations, Polenta with Parmesan and Parsley, Mozzarella and Tomato. Today’s recipe is a classic French dish that I adapted very slightly from Laura Calder’s version. This is an easy and beautiful side dish that goes wonderfully well any meat, I think. Chicken, Fish, Lamb, Beef…its a great side or even an appetizer if presented a certain way.

I could totally see myself going on a culinary expedition to France to learn about the food and culture. That’s one of the reasons I like watching French Food at home. Laura not only shares regional recipes, she also shares a little bit of history and culture that surrounds a certain dish or style of cooking. I’ve seen so many adaptations of this dish. Herbs de Provence has been used in the breadcrumb mix, as well as parmesan. But I liked the simplicity as well as flexibility of this version. I’m sure I’ll be making it with Parmesan or Gruyère at some point. Cheese is my friend.

 

 

 

Dressed up nicely as a salad or appetizer. Its great on its own.

 

Its classic, its beautiful, its healthy and most of all… its FANCY looking!

 

 

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother’s Day to my very special and wonderful Mom and all the amazing Mothers out there.

~Lyn

 

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Baked Butternut Squash & Asparagus Risotto #SundaySupper

Apr 29, 2012 by lovelypantry

Today’s post is contributing to the #SundaySupper movement on Twitter. Every Sunday, food bloggers share themed recipes and tips to encourage family dining. The recipes are fabulous and any inspiration that you need for your Sunday family meal is always a tweet away. I’m very glad to have joined up with such a warm and welcoming group! Today’s theme is budget friendly meals.

My cookbook collection could easily get out of hand. And I’m not even worried. I love to see bookshelves lined with books from end to end. Over the years, I’ve been buying cookbooks, food related books as well as photography books. This passion is here to stay. If ever I doubt my true love, all I need to do is look at my collection. What I love about books in general, is that a particular book may seem new to you if you haven’t read it or seen it in a while. I have cookbooks that I haven’t even looked through properly. That thought alone excites me! I’m surrounded by inspiration.

Risotto is a great meal that can be made with simple, budget friendly ingredients. Perfect for a Sunday Supper. I was browsing through some or my treasures and my search led me to a cookbook that it would seem I had not looked in. The photographs were superb and I wished my photographs looked just like them or similar. So anyway, the original recipe used pumpkin and sage – I didn’t have those items but if you’ve been reading my blog for a minute, you’ll know that I use what I have if I cannot do any better at the moment. I had a Butternut Squash and fresh Asparagus. Done deal, in my head.

I’m not sure what tickled me more – the idea that I was baking the risotto, or that I wouldn’t have to stir constantly for half an hour. I was totally pleased with the outcome and perhaps… just maybe… I’ll make Risotto like this from now on. This is a fantastic way to have dinner ready in under an hour, no stress on the stirring arm.

 

 

This recipe was inspired by “Fast, Fresh, Simple” by Donna Hay, page 162.

 

 

Fresh spring flavour

 

I was glad to use Butternut Squash in this recipe. It holds up quite well and adds beautiful colour to the meal.

 

 

Asparagus is a really good-looking vegetable. I’m looking forward to experimenting more with it.

 

 

I believe these two paired very well together.

 

 

Add the rice and give it a quick stir to combine before placing the pot into the oven.

 

 

This is what it looks like straight from the oven. There is very little broth left and the vegetables are cooked through.

 

 

Add the butter and gently stir to combine

 

 

Here is the plated Risotto. Add the parmesan cheese before eating.

 

 

Dinner is served!

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed my recipe today. Please check out what the rest of my food blogger friends are bringing to #SundaySupper:

Lane from Supper for a Steal with her Chicken Tortellini Soup Recipe

Sasha from Rambling Notebook  with her Crock Pot Curried Carrot Ginger Soup

Jennie from The Messy Baker Blog with her Recipe for Meatball Subs

Amrita from Beetles Kitchen with her Vegetable Manchurian Recipe

Pam from The Meltaways is bringing her Chicken Enchilada Pasta

Carla from Chocolate Moosey is sharing her Sweet Chili Wings Recipe

Karen from Notes from the Cookie Jar is bringing her Chickpea Masala Sandwiches

An from Baker Street is bringing her Blueberry Lime Bread

Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake is bringing her Creme Brulee French Toast because sometimes Breakfast for Dinner is fun!

 

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Orange and Almond Muffins

Apr 23, 2012 by lovelypantry

Muffins are so simple, and tasty to make. I mean, who doesn’t love a good muffin, right? I pulled out my little muffin recipe book called “100 Muffins from 1 Easy Recipe” and found another nice recipe. The last muffins I made from this book were the Easter Muffins and they were great. These were just as light and just as simple. They could easily be a quick breakfast on the go, or a snack. What I love is that there’s not too much sugar but it has a lovely citrus flavour. Really nice! The kids loved them, but they started to slow down once they hit the middle. I guess there’s no sugar in the middle! They also asked where the frosting was….

 

 

 

 

Even before it is baked, it smells really good!

 

 

I like the coarse grittiness of the Turbinado Sugar. It gives a nice crunch at the end.

 

 

The house smells great right about now!

 

 

I used Navel Oranges for this recipe. I find them to be sweet and very juicy.

 

 

Such a great little muffin. Bake, grab, go!

 

 

Happy Monday my dear friends! Have an awesome week!

~Lyn

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Sweet Potato Bun

Apr 15, 2012 by lovelypantry

I had to share this recipe. It tastes too good to keep to myself. I will also say that this is the last bun recipe I will post until next Easter. Seriously.

However, I will not classify this bun as an Easter Bun even though I found it in The Gleaner’s Easter Cookbook 2012 (Page 26). No, not this bun. This bun can be prepared at any time throughout the year. There are many recipes in the cookbook that I will be trying very soon. I have the best Dad. He mailed me the booklet so that I could have a resource for my posts. He knows how much I like to flip though pages. Isn’t he great? I’m sure you guys remember one of my most favourite things is sending and receiving mail. My dad put a really big smile on my face! Thank you Dad!

The first time I made this bun, and it was a hot mess. I’m not a baker so I had no idea what I did wrong. The batter was thin and after baking it for more than the suggested time, it still came out like a pudding. My husband described the texture of the outside of the bun felt like leather. I was so disappointed because the flavour was quite pleasant but the texture was not good at all. This was my very first baking flop. I decided to look through the ingredients again and compare with all the other bun recipes. I realized that there was probably too much liquid and not enough flour. I made some changes to the original recipe and got it right! Success!!! This is the bun that I will be making next year! I only used raisins and there’s no mixed peel to pick out.

The only way I’ll be making this bun again this year, is if someone specifically asks me to make it or places an order ($$).

 

 

 

 

I was watching the consistency so closely the second time around.

 

 

I like the contrast in colours here.

 

 

In go the raisins. The batter at this point is fairly firm and has a thick consistency. Exactly what I want.

 

 

Ready for the oven!

 

 

Fresh out  the oven, looking good, smelling great and not feeling like leather on the outside 🙂

 

 

Checking for the consistency – looks perfect. And then I realized I had cut my bun before I glazed it.  So anxious!

 

 

Now this is more like it!

 

 

This bun was so nice, I had to double up on the cheese. It was moist and dense, as it should be. I think that’s totally acceptable since I’m not having this bun again until next year.

 

 

I feel great about this bun. Have you had any baking triumphs? I’d love to hear about it.

Have a wonderful Sunday and an awesome week!

~Lyn

 

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