Pumpkin & Feta Muffins

Now that our garden is literally overflowing with pumpkins, we're taking advantage of the bounty and trying to use as many as we can. Pumpkin is making its way into lots of things lately: bread, more bread, tarts (like this one), gnocchi, on dinner plates simply roasted with butter and salt, and now in these tasty little muffins.

I've had my eye on these guys for a while. I quite enjoy savory baked goods and these muffins do not disappoint. You'll notice a few interesting ingredients but I assure you that they are wonderful complimenting flavors. The squash lends a hint of sweetness, the feta a bit of salt and creaminess; the mustard is not overpowering, but rather hints in the background, as does the black pepper and Parmesan. Really, these muffins are a great way to use up a little more of that wonderful winter squash. I can imagine they'd make a perfect addition to a Thanksgiving meal, too! I hope you enjoy...

Notes: The first time I made these muffins I could tell the had a lot going for them... Unique, savory, wonderful flavor combinations, yada yada. BUT the only thing was that they were quite dry. Interestingly enough, the original recipe doesn't call for a speck of oil. Not one drop. I'm not sure why this is, but on my second batch I decided olive oil was definitely making its way into the mix. Cha-ching! That was all these little muffins needed. The olive oil adds the perfect amount of moisture and compliments the other earthy/savory flavors perfectly. I also increased the amount of pumpkin from 2 cups to 3, because pumpkin is delicious. Two more things: As noted in the recipe below, butternut squash may be used in place of the pumpkin. And, as usual, feel free to use exclusively all-purpose flour in place of the whole-wheat pastry, if you prefer.

Adapted from Martha Goes Green, as seen on 101 Cookbooks

Pumpkin & Feta Muffins

3 cups cubed pumpkin (or butternut squash), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

1 1/4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (or spelt flour)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
1/2 cup sunflower seeds kernels
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2/3 cup crumbled feta
1 large handful spinach, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley (or cilantro)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Generously grease a 12-hole muffin pan with olive oil and set aside. (I always have a little bit of batter left after filling the 12 muffin holes, so you can choose to also grease 2 additional muffin holes in another pan, or grease a little loaf pan. I do the latter.)

Place the cubed squash on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil and add a few sprinkles of salt and pepper. Toss to evenly coat the squash and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, olive oil, and mustard. Stir in the sunflower seed kernels, Parmesan, and 3/4 of the feta. Add 3/4 of the roasted squash cubes, then gently fold in the spinach and parsley.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and gently fold just until the batter comes together; be careful not to over mix. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan(s), filling each muffin hole 3/4 full. Top each muffin with a bit of the remaining squash and feta. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops and sides of the muffins are golden, and the muffins have set up completely. Let the muffins cool for a few minutes in the pan, then turn them out onto a cooling rack.

Yield: 12-14 muffins

Spiced Honey Pumpkin Bread

Mission: To create a pumpkin bread that is just-my-kind-of-perfect pumpkin bread. 

Requirements as follows: 

- obviously pumpkin-y

- whole grain

- naturally and lightly sweetened

- plenty of spice (especially cinnamon)

- very moist

- a strong, tender crumb

- crunchy top crust

Mission: Accomplished. Yessssssss.

Notes: This is a really great base recipe for pumpkin bread. You can certainly bake the batter in muffin tins or even double the recipe to bake in a bundt pan. I've included a three options for slightly different variations; one simply sprinkles a little sugar and some pumpkin seeds on top, another adds a cinnamon-oat streusel topping, and the last is a bittersweet chocolate chunk version. As for the sweetener, honey or maple syrup will do just fine. My reason for using honey (other than the excellent flavor and moisture it adds to the bread) is the fact that we have gallons of the stuff thanks to our busy bees out back. And as for the flour, I found a little white flour gave just enough structure to the bread. A substitution of spelt flour or even white flour may be replaced for the whole-wheat pastry flour.

A Flour Sack original

Spiced Honey Pumpkin Bread

1 1/4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (or spelt flour)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons freshly-ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 1/4 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (or melted coconut oil)
1/2 cup honey (or maple syrup)
2 eggs, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 8 1/2 x 5-inch loaf pan with olive oil. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, olive oil, honey, and eggs until well-combined. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and whisk for 10 seconds, just until the flour disappears and the batter is mostly smooth.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with desired toppings (see below) and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.

Let the bread sit in the pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack, then remove bread and finish cooling on the wire rack. Slice the bread once it has cooled for at least 1 hour.

Yield: one loaf

:: Variations ::

Crunchy Pepita Topping
Pour pumpkin bread batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle top with 2 tablespoons pepitas (pumpkin seeds), then 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Bake as directed above.

Cinnamon-Oat Streusel Topping
In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour, 1/4 cup rolled oats, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, and a pinch of sea salt. To the mixture, add 4
tablespoons of chilled unsalted butter that has been cut into cubes. Rub the butter between your
fingers, breaking it into smaller bits. Continue rubbing until the mixture feels coarse like cornmeal, with some larger chunks of streusel as well. Add in 1/4 cup chopped pecans. Pour pumpkin bread batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle top with streusel. Bake as directed above.

Bittersweet Chocolate-Chunk
Fold 6 ounces of coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate into batter after combining flour and pumpkin mixtures. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle top with an additional 2 ounces of coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate, then 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Bake as directed above.

This post shared on The Nourishing Gourmet and Beyond the Peel

Oat Soda Bread

Do you ever crave fresh homemade bread but don't have the time or patience to wait a few hours for yeast to work its magic? I certainly do. And lucky us, I have the solution to our little predicament right here. It's called soda bread. Have you heard of it? Soda bread isn't made with soda - as in soda pop - no, soda bread is made with baking soda as the leavener, and when combined with buttermilk, wonderful things happen, like bread rises.

Soda bread is known for its very short ingredient list, usually going something a little like this: flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. Sometimes people like to add raisins or nuts to their soda bread, but I like to keep mine pretty simple. Here is a wonderful version of soda bread made with oats, which provide just a touch of sweetness and texture.

Delicious, warm, hearty homemade bread in less than an hour? Yep. I speak the truth. Serve this bread warm with a slather of salted butter, or alongside a steaming bowl of soup, even toasted with a shmear of peanut butter... you can imagine the possibilities. I told you I had the solution to our little predicament. And a pretty darn good solution it is, might I say.

Notes: This recipe calls for oat flour. If you are more likely to have some rolled oats on hand, I've included below the recipe how to make your own oat flour with rolled oats. If you already have oat flour in your pantry, go ahead and use it! Also, if you would like, you can use a full 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour, instead of the whole-wheat pastry and all-purpose combo.

Adapted from 101 cookbooks

Millet Muffins

Christmas presents arriving in the mail yesterday are good things. "Um. Isn't it April, Brooke?" Well, yes. Yes it is April. But you see... I got a gift card for Amazon for Christmas. Of course I knew exactly what I would use it for - cookbooks. And of course I knew that one of those cookbooks would be Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day, set to be published in April 2011. See where I'm going with this whole Christmas-in-April thing? Uh-huh.

Well, the book finally (!!!) arrived. I completely love Heidi's first book, Super Natural Cooking, and have made many of the lovely recipes therein. Heidi is the author and creator of one of my very favorite culinary blogs. In fact, her site was the first to inspire me in this wide world of food blogging. Anyway, I absolutely love her style and approach to cooking. She and I have very similar taste and her photos and recipes continually inspire me.

These muffins were the first I made from Heidi's new book. They are the perfectly honey-kissed, lemon-scented, and just a little nutty from the millet. They come together quickly and are a wonderful morning breakfast. Be sure to serve them warm from the oven with plenty of salted butter.

Notes: I made no changes to these muffins. They are beautiful the way they are. I did half the recipe, which worked perfectly and made exactly 6 muffins. They store well in an air-tight container for a couple of days or will freeze well if sealed in a plastic freezer bag.

Adapted from Super Natural Everyday, by Heidi Swanson