Posts Tagged: muffins
elvis rye muffins
It feels tired to write about life/career/parenting balance, but I’m going to anyway because 1) It’s on my mind all. the. time. and 2) A recent episode of After the Jump altered my perspective on the matter in a wonderful way.
If you’re not already listening to Gracey Bonney’s podcast, I highly recommend it. Her words are energizing, informative, and ideal for any creative or entrepreneur (current or aspiring). For her 100th episode, Grace recounted lessons she’s learned from hosting the podcast, one of which concerns the myth of achieving balance. I strongly relate to her old internal negotiations – If I just eat more greens, or better prioritize exercise, or carve out more time here or there, I’ll get it right. She says: “There is no perfect balance. Life and work are always a series of back and forth adjustments and a constant game of checks and balances.” Aha. A game. Now that’s an angle I can get behind. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes it will still feel a bit like a round of Tetris where the pieces are falling too rapidly and landing in all the wrong places, but if I can get back to that place where I feel like it’s “just a game” then I’ll be okay.
And tomorrow I’ll be a savvier player.
Last week was characterized by more rounds lost than won. Ben was out of town, the weather was the pits, and I stress ate to the max, making me feel crappier and less on my parenting and work game. I muddled through it, but I’m glad to be on the other side and in a place where I can finally share these killer muffins with you.
If the combination of banana, peanut butter, bacon, and rye sounds strange to you, hear me out, because I’ve tested this recipe on plenty and to consistent commendation. They’re a mash-up of the ingredients in an Elvis sandwich (banana, peanut butter, and bacon), and a sandwich my dad introduced me to that layers peanut butter and bacon on rye bread. The addition of rye to the Elvis combo adds a deep, almost spicy undercurrent that grounds the other sweet, nutty, and salty flavors.
But as they say, you don’t have to take my word for it. Give them a try and let me know what you think. In the meantime, I’m going to get back to it, because I’m totally winning this week.
The muffins are best served warm or room temperature IF your home isn’t too cool. The heat in our apartment hasn’t been keeping up with the cold weather, so I popped these in a 200 degree oven for a few minutes before eating the next day. They need no adornment, but a slick of peanut butter makes them a heartier snack. Looking for something a little lighter? Try these strawberry and banana rye muffins.
Elvis Rye Muffins
1 c dark rye flour
1 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 large or 4 small overripe bananas
1/2 c peanut butter
1/4 c honey
1/4 c plain yogurt
2 eggs
1/2 lb bacon, fried and crumbled
2 tbsp caraway seeds
In a medium bowl, whisk together the rye flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Grease or line a muffin tin. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
In a large bowl, mash the bananas using a fork or potato masher until mostly smooth (it’s okay if a few small chunks remain). Whisk in, one at a time, the peanut butter, honey, yogurt, and eggs until each is just incorporated. Stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated, then fold in the crumbled bacon.
Add 1/4 c batter to each muffin cup and sprinkle with caraway seeds. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
Makes about 16 muffins
strawberry + banana rye muffins
I’m a three square meals a day kind of gal, but pregnancy has compelled me to take up regular snacking (even in the middle of the night…ugghhh that’s the worst). I’ve found it necessary to keep ready-to-eat items on hand, like these strawberry-banana rye muffins. More interesting than your typical muffin, they combine rich, dark rye flour with sweet banana and jammy cooked strawberries. I particularly love them hot out of the oven with a smear of almond butter.
Head on over to Hellobee to get the recipe for strawberry-banana rye muffins. One commenter already made and love them, and I think you will too.
spent grain muffins + how to make spent grain flour
Despite being married to a homebrewer, I’m not a fan of beer. I just can’t get past the bitter aftertaste. Because so many people in my life love it though, it’s on my mental list of future goals (sometime post-pregnancy, in this case) to try to develop a test for this beloved beverage. In the meantime, I will just enjoy the Grapenuts-like scent of the brewing process and scheme to make use of its most plentiful byproduct – spent grain.
Here’s the thing about most of the recipes using spent grain that I can find: They don’t use nearly enough of it. A cup here, a cup there, and I still have a couple quarts of spent grain without a purpose. For example, we sometimes substitute spent grain for oatmeal in Orangette’s leftover oatmeal muffins. I like to replace the all-purpose flour with a mixture of oat and almond flour and add a teaspoon of cinnamon (pictured above).
Spent grain goes sour pretty quickly, and while freezing them is an option, in my case that just means the grains slowly start to fill the freezer. When we lived on the Eastern Shore, we fed the grain to neighborhood chickens, and here in Brooklyn we’ve added them to the compost, but because I actually kinda dig the malty flavor of spent grain I’d rather find ways to eat it.
I’ve found the best way to use up the maximum amount of spent grain while also giving it a longer shelf life is to turn it into flour. Here is the method I use:
Homemade Spent Grain Flour
Set your oven to its lowest temperature and place two oven racks as close to the the center as possible.. Spread your spent grain in a single layer on two large baking sheets. Bake, stirring every hour to ensure even drying, until the grains are dry and brittle, about 4 hours. Grind into flour using a food processor, blender (I use the Vitamix dry blade), or a grain mill.
I fiddled around with the leftover oatmeal muffins recipe to make this spent grain version that uses a whopping SIX CUPS spent grain for 18 muffins. They’re nutty, barely sweet, and studded with the crunch of walnuts and tartness of cherries. We love them for breakfast or a snack.
Spent Grain Muffins
1 1/4 c spent grain flour (from 4 c dried spent grain)
2 c all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 c chopped walnuts (or other nut)
1/2 c dried unsweetened tart cherries (or other dried fruit)
3 eggs
1/2 c honey
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 c wet spent grain
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a muffin tin or line with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the spent grain flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the walnuts and cherries.
3. In a medium bowl, lightly whisk together the eggs. Whisk in the honey and then the butter. Stir in the wet spent grain.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined. Add 1/4 c batter to each muffin cup. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 15-20 minutes.
Makes 18 muffins