Dark Chocolate-Ginger Pear Muffins

This recipe is adapted from one by Nigella Lawson in her book, Nigella Express. The original is unbeatable, and amazing with (as she recommends), "some sharp, hard cheese, a Cheddar maybe ..."

I was desperately in the mood for some chocolate, however, and thought I would try her original recipe and add coco powder. As it turns out, they were delicious! I also used a can of pears slices that I then cut right into the batter. Normally when I make this (original) recipe, I just cut an un-peeled pear into it. Use whatever you have around.

I also used plain Greek yogurt rather than the sour cream the original recipe calls for. I'm not sure it will matter much either way. Again, it just happens to be what I had around.

Finally, this recipe could really stand up to having some chopped walnuts and/or dark chocolate chips added.

Dark Chocolate-Ginger Pear Muffins

1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbl packed light brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
3 Tbl good quality, dark cocoa powder
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbl honey
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups peeled and chopped pears (around 1/4 inch dice)

Line or grease a 12 cup muffin pan.

Put all of the ingredients but the pears into a mixing bowl (you can do this by hand -- a mixer is really not necessary) and fold everything together with a wooden spoon. Don't overmix! The secret to light and fluffy muffins is to just barely get the ingredients incorporated.

This mixture will be dry, but fold in the pears and they will offer more moisture. This batter is not intended to be very wet. This is another trick to having light, fluffy muffins. We are not making a cake batter.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and then bake for 20-25 minutes. Use a toothpick to make sure they are cooked through -- stick the toothpick into the center of a larger muffin. If the toothpick comes out clean, then they are done; if it does not come out clean, cook another couple of minutes and try again.

Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes then move to a cooling rack. Eat them warm and reserve the rest for a light dessert.

Clatite (Klah-tee-t-suh)

You may know them better as crepes. A friend of ours call them "Bubba's Pancakes" because his grandmother made them and they ate hers with Nutella. Call them what you want and they are delicious regardless.

Clatite (Crepes)

4 eggs
1 Tbl sugar
1 Tbl salt (I always use kosher)
4 cups flour
4 cups milk

Beat the eggs, sugar, and salt together (I use my stand mixer to make this batter), then gently add 1/2 a cup of the milk. Add a cup of flour at a time and 1 1/2 cups of milk. Whisk until well blended. The mixture will be thick so add the remaining milk to the batter until it is very thin.

Heat a non-stick skillet (I use an 8") with some vegetable oil and a dab of butter. Ladle the batter into the skillet and twist the pan so the batter spreads evenly into a thin cake. This will take practice! I usually need to spread the batter out with the back of a spoon or a spreader I use for icing cakes.

Once one side is golden brown, flip and let cook on the other side. Once cooked through, move to a plate and make the next one. The first crepe never turns out right, which is fine -- cook's treat!

This recipe turns out quite a lot of crepes, so it is perfect when you are feeding a crowd! They can be made ahead of time and allowed to sit on the counter until you are ready to use them. You can set out a variety of jellies or jams, a chocolate/hazelnut spread like Nutella, fresh fruit, powdered sugar ... whatever you have around or sounds good. You can also use these as a more elegant way to serve chicken salad for a luncheon -- I'm imagining a bridal shower or a light weekend brunch with friends. My favorite way to eat these, though, is with "rich cream" and syrup-y strawberries as pictured above.

Rich Cream

Cottage cheese, soft ricotta cheese, or softened cream cheese
Vanilla (real and of good quality)
Sugar

The measurements above will depend upon how much cheese you want to flavor. My preference is the soft ricotta -- fresh or store-bought. Flavor the cheese, whichever one you use, to taste. Start small -- a few drops of good vanilla go a long way -- and if you are starting with a cheese like the ricotta you probably won't need much sugar. Cream cheese will require a bit more. Just taste along the way until you find your balance.

Syrup-y Strawberries

Strawberries, hulled and sliced
Sugar

Sprinkle the berries in a bowl with a tablespoon or two of sugar -- it does not need to be a proper measuring spoon here. I use the spoons we eat soup with. Gently turn the berries over in the sugar and let sit on the counter while you work on everything else. Even ten or fifteen minutes will give you sweet strawberries with a bright red syrup. Put them in the refrigerator if you have any leftovers and you can spoon them over some vanilla ice cream later.

Keeping it Simple

I love my tiny charcoal grill. For some reason, using it makes me feel like grilling is no big deal. Tonight I grilled some pork chops from my butcher as well as a couple pieces of chicken from the same butcher. 

Alongside, I made a carrot "slaw" dressed with just a little lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper. I also served sautéed mushrooms and pan-roasted garlicky broccoli. 

To make the mushrooms, simply clean and cut in half 1 1/2 lbs of whatever mushrooms you want to use. I had white button and baby bellas on hand. Heat some olive oil in a pan then add in the cleaned and cut mushrooms. Squeeze half a lemon over top then let cook for a few minutes (stirring occasionally throughout). Add a tablespoon of butter and let cook a few more minutes. You will have a bit of a "sauce". Turn off the heat and add a bit of chopped parsley or cilantro. These, I feel, are best at room temperature. This is an adaptation of the recipe by Mireille Guliano in her book "French Women For All Seasons." I highly recommend it!

Dessert was some homegrown strawberries I picked up from a roadside stand. I served freshly whipped cream and graham crackers alongside. This was a great feast to celebrate the first day of summer. 

Umm, Yeah, It's Been a While

Sorry about that;) Life has been uber-crazy over the last two months. I haven't had the mental capacity to take pictures or do any writing. I'm trying to get back at it though, and while I don't have any pictures I have lots of ideas to share!

Lent is wrapping up right now for many, it is only beginning for Orthodox Christians. We have a far more strict practice than many others too. To follow the Great Fast strictly, we are to be essentially vegan, though we are allowed shellfish. According to the strictest traditions, there are even days we are not supposed to use oil for cooking. However, the strictest version of this practice is generally expected only of monks and nuns.

For the most part, those of us with families will try to go without meat throughout the Great Fast. Well, that is what my family and I have as a goal anyway. What I try to do, as far as shopping and cooking goes, is to avoid purchasing and cooking with meat products. I've included here a sample menu from the last couple of days.

Potato pancakes (platki)
- I can't share this recipe because I didn't get it until I married into my husband's family

Sauerkraut and noodles
- Boil kluski or other egg noodles, drain, and add some sauerkraut. Mix together with some melted butter and serve.

Polish Cucumber Salad
- Salt sliced cucumbers and sliced onions, stir and let sit for at least 10-15 minutes. Drizzle with oil and stir gently. Add some white vinegar (a lot of you are like me), and stir gently again. Chop and add some fresh dill, check the salad's seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with a plate of fresh veggies (radishes and green onions work perfectly) and maybe some brick cheese or rye bread with cream cheese.

Oranges and some dark chocolate make for an absolutely perfect dessert here, and believe me, you don't even miss the meat!

Lemon-Yogurt Muffins

This is from the Williams Sonoma Baking Book that my mother-in-law bought me for Christmas. I adapted it slightly, of course, but I highly recommend either version!

Lemon-Yogurt Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
5 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 tsp pure lemon extract or lemon oil* (optional)

For the Topping

1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans*
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground mace*

* I used sliced almonds instead because I love lemon and almond together. I also added just a hint of almond extract to my muffins instead of the lemon extract. Further, you can opt for cinnamon instead of mace if it is all you have on hand.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with baking cups.

In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. Make a well in the center and add the yogurt, eggs, melted butter, lemon juice, and lemon/almond extract. Fold together just until combined. The batter should be fluffy and lumpy. Spoon the batter in to the muffin cups.

For the topping, mix together the nuts, sugar, and mace/cinammon. Sprinkle each muffin with an equal amount of the topping.

Bake the muffins until golden around the edges and when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Around 15-20 mins. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes then remove the muffins from the pan and let cool again on the wire rack. You can eat these while they are still warm though too:)

Convenience Breakfast

This morning I decided to use up the french toast sticks and sausages someone had given me, but I didn't have enough maple syrup to go around. So, I improvised with something else I had in my freezer -- frozen strawberries. I put them in the microwave for a few minutes to soften them and then blitzed them in my blender with a few normal tablespoons (not my measuring spoons) of powdered sugar.

For myself, I put a dollop of whole milk ricotta on the bottom of a shallow bowl, layered a few french toast sticks on top and drizzled it all with my strawberry sauce and added a side of sausage. It was so perfect!

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

I thought I would share a few of my favorite websites from which I like to purchase things. One is a bakery in Paris that will ship overnight (sort of, barring any discussion of time and such) to the USA. I surprised my husband with this once for his birthday (he is of French heritage) and sent some to my father-in-law once for his birthday and again for a holiday (my father's father, which is where the French heritage comes from).

Yes, it is a little bit of an expense to order from Poilane, but consider how much you might spend on flowers for someone as a birthday gift and then consider that this is fresh bread from Paris. Further, it is a huge loaf of bread, so what I do is cut it into pieces and wrap with foil and saran wrap, then freeze. It has lasted me well over a month and believe me we eat a LOT of bread in this house.

The other place I love to order from is Martin Rossol's in New Britain, CT. The kielbasa is the absolute best, as is everything else the offer. Order some kabanosy and you will eat it all within the first ten minutes of arrival! And don't forget the horseradish -- it is by far the best as well.