Strawberry Shortcake Muffins
After a weekend of ups (our impromptu trip to the beach) and downs (that terrible Baby Sitters Club movie) I was in the mood to bake. Lucky for me I had tons of strawberries on their last leg that I just couldn’t eat. Isn’t it funny how I never get sick of ice cream, but I get sick of strawberries. Kind of wish it was the other way around, but that’s another post.
Anyway, I originally wanted to make Strawberry Biscotti, but I decided fresh strawberries were too most for the hard crunch a biscotti requires. Instead I turned to a muffins where moisture is always appreciated, and the Strawberry Shortcake Muffin was born.
Strawberry Shortcake Muffins
- 1 C Unsweetened Almond Milk
- 1 t Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 C Whole Wheat Flour
- 2 t Baking Soda
- 1/3 C + 1-2 t sugar
- 1/2 C chopped strawberries
- 1/3 C Unsweetened Apple Sauce
- 1/2 C White Chocolate Chips
Directions
- Put the almond milk and apple cider vinegar in a bowl and let sit.
- In a big bowl combine the flour, 1/3 C sugar, baking soda and chocolate chips.
- Lay out the strawberries on a baking sheet or paper towel and coat with sugar.
- Add the apple sauce and strawberries to the bowl with the almond milk.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients mixing until combined.
- Prepare the muffin tin with spray or oil and add the batter.
- Bake at 325* for about 20 minutes.
Yield: 12 muffins
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The white chocolate chips explode! This is delicious because that makes them spread throughout the muffin so they are infused with a buttery quality from just a few chips. Mark did not believe me when I told him there was no butter or oil in these muffins.
Enjoy!
She Says: Stuffed Lentils
First things first, my momma informed me that some of the links to everyone’s blogs from the NYC Meetup were incorrect. She specifically mentioned that Sarah’s link was wrong and that is just terrible. After looking at her pictures of the event, I’ve decided she could be my little sister.
She also brought everyone these adorable Jasmine Tea Biscotti! I ate mine and Mark’s … today! They’re not sweet, but have a really interesting and unique flavor combination. And I loved how they were bite sized. Thanks again Sarah. They made an excellent breakfast dessert. And regular dessert.
Moving on. Have you heard of Big Oven? It has this cool Leftover Wizard feature where you can enter up to three leftovers and they give you recipes that include your ingredients. I read about it today in this month’s Everyday w/ Rachel Ray and used it for the inspiration for tonight’s dinner. I knew I had zucchini I wanted to use and was craving lentils. It gave me a list of 34 recipes. If I ever ask my grandpa what’s for dinner he always says, “Stuffed Lentils.” I guess humor is hereditary. Anyway, I saw Stuffed Zucchini and went for it.
In my version is:
- A baked zucchini stuffed w/
- Lentils, peppers, and zucchini cooked in
- Onions, garlic, olive oil, cumin and curry
I had it with some wheat penne w/ sundried tomatoes and spinach and lotsa salad. Mark ate his zucchini like a taco. He liked it, but asked for it to contain sausage and cheese next time.
A couple of notes here and there:
(1) I did the 10/26/08 75 minute Dave Farmar podcast today. It was pretty good, slow and steady, with a lot of good stretching for runners.
(2) Coco asked about Girls on the Run.
“Are you doing it as charity? how old are those girls? Who can participate in GOTR? is it a local organization?”
Here is some information from the website:
The Girls on the Run Program
Mission
To educate and prepare girls for a life time of self-respect and healthy living.
About
Girls on the Run© is a life-changing, experiential learning programs for girls age eight to thirteen years old. The programs combine training for a 3.1 mile running event with self-esteem enhancing, uplifting workouts. The goals of the programs are to encourage positive emotional, social, mental, spiritual and physical development.
Objectives
The Girls on the Run objective is to reduce the potential display of at-risk activities among its participants. The goal is fewer adolescent pregnancies and eating disorders, less depression and suicide attempts, as well as fewer substance/alcohol abuse problems and confrontations with the juvenile justice system
- I am volunteering as a coach. There are also volunteer assistant coaches. If you’re interested, try to find a chapter in your area (check here). I got the coach application from the local chapter’s website.
- The girls are in grades 3-6.
- Girls on Track is a related organization for girls in 6th – 8th grade.
(3) Mark has declared this the best compliment ever. I was thoroughly pleased as well.
Sarah (lovINmytummy) Says:
March 23rd, 2009 at 10:33 am editGracie saw me watching the video and said, “Are those kids or grownups?” I said, “Kids.”
Thanks Gracie and Sarah. We are grownup kids!
She Says: Meeting Bloggers is Fun
Hey Gals and Guys. Today is excellent!
I got up and had the usual gallon of coffee before running. I also had 1 Original PistachiOats for some running fuel. I hate running with anything in my stomach, but because I planned to go for awhile, I figured this was better than (1) nothing; and (2) mid-run fuel, which I haven’t quite mastered.
On the sched for today was 9 miles, but I did 10! Woot woot. You see, my plan was to run slightly slower than normal to get used to the pace and feel of running for longer periods of time. I did most of the 10 miles at 8:57 min/miles (speeding up only at the very end) and did not feel like death when I was done. It was encouraging. I definitely got bored, but I am going to have to deal with that if I’m going to run 13 miles.
- Miles: 10
- Time: 1:30:08 (I think the extra time is from when I had to reset the ancient treadmill at my gym after an hour).
- Av. HR: 157
- Max HR: 199
When I got home I quickly had a banana and tried to get at least as pretty as Mark for our Blogger Brunch at Counter.
Here’s a behind the scenes secret. Moments before walking into Counter, Mark and I went to Rite Aid so he could get a Met –Rx Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bar because he was hangry and was talking crazy talk about his insides falling apart. Needless to say, he enjoyed it. The thing reeked of protein. Seriously, I could smell protein the whole time he was eating it. After his last bite, we went inside to meet everyone.
It was so fun meeting everyone, but it was really more like catching up with old friends than meeting new people. I think we were able to talk to everyone. Here is what we learned:
Gena – Eats raw and does not like onions or garlic.
Ashley – Just got back from England last night!
Danielle - Got cute French Toast that she said was just alright.
Missy – Is from Philadelphia and is real life friends with Dori.
Dori – Asked for no spinach in her omelet … three times and is real life friends with Missy.
Melissa – Has cute clothes and is short, but looks tall on her blog!
Sarah – Is from North Attleboro (which is v. close to Rhode Island) and is going to run the Brooklyn Half Marathon too.
Ashley – Doesn’t have a blog, but might start one.
Amie – Could not stay, but was v. nice.
Olga – had a nice spring break, but is back to the books tomorrow.
Vani – Is thinking about becoming a teacher.
Amelia – Liked my olive oil muffins!
Emily – Was wearing the bracelets that always sneak into her blog pictures.
Shane – Is finishing her first year of law school.
It was also quite fun to get some bloggie gifts! Sarah brought homemade mini-biscotti, Missy brought Z-bars and Melissa brought raw snacks from one lucky duck and Dr. Weil bars.
For lunch I chose the Hummus Tahini with grilled flatbread and a Market Salad. I just wasn’t in the mood for any of the more breakfasty options. It was basically an entire (less economical) container of hummus and therefore, I ate half a container of hummus today! The flatbread was pretty good. Definitely a little oiled up. Nice. Gena didn’t like the oniony dressing, but I loved it! Bring on the stink.
Mark didn’t know what to get, so he let the waitress decide. She chose Tuscan Eggs: Poached Eggs & a Bed of Spinach on an English Muffin with a Mushroom Sauce. In retrospect I see that it was probably the lack of ingredients to make other dishes on the menu that led to her decision. He also ate Danielle’s French Toast and a large amount of my hummus.
I think all who attended would agree that everything was okay, nothing was marvelous and the service was ummmm terrible.
Here’s Mark schmoozing with the ladies. Look how cute Melissa and Amelia are! Check out the recaps from the other ladies. I am sure they have better pictures.
Now, I was down right shocked at how short some of my favorite bloggies are.
- I am 5’2” (almost).
- Mark is 5’9.5”
Your turn. Height please.
She Says: Baking with POM
As much as I love drinking POM Wonderful straight and in Pomegranate Mojitos, I thought I would use some of my samples to see what I could create in the kitchen. I made three different things that I brought to my mom and dad last weekend for testing.
Pomegranate Cherry Granola
I used my Acai Pineapple Granola recipe as a guide, but here is what I did:
Ingredients
- 1 Cups Oats
- 1 Cup Raw Almonds
- 1 Cup Dried Cherries
- 6 T POM juice
- 1 T Ground Flax
Procedure
Preheat oven to 300* Mix everything in a bowl. Make sure it’s all covered with the liquid, but not sopping wet. Spread onto baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes. Make sure to rotate the granola while baking! It’s done when it’s no longer wet and slightly crunchy, but it will not be as crunchy as packaged granola. It will get crunchier when it cools, but it doesn’t have butter or added sugar, so it’s won’t be quite the same texture as you might be used to.
Homemade granola is awesome. It’s easy and cheap and you should try it for sure.
Pomegranate Chocolate Chip Biscotti
I thought the tartness of pomegranate juice would really go well with cornmeal/polenta, so I was inspired to make biscotti because of these Polenta Biscotti from Eating Well.
Here are the modifications I made:
- I used Whole Wheat Flour
- I added 1 bottle of POM
- To compensate for the extra liquid, I added an extra 1/2 Cup or so of cornmeal
- I added 1/2 Cup of Chocolate Chips
- I added 1 Cup of Almonds, Cashews and Walnuts
- I used only 2 eggs
- I omitted the vanilla
Here are all the dry ingredients. I like using raw nuts in recipes. They have a crispness that toasted nuts do not have.
And the chocolate chips because I was making these for my dad who is a chocoholic.
Pretty in Pink – POM + Eggs + Oil
These were good, but I could not find the cornmeal or pomegranate flavors. I think once you add chocolate chips to something, it can easily become the dominant flavor.
Pomegranate Cornbread Mini Loaves
Unsatisfied with the corn presence in my biscotti, I decided to try again. This time I made mini cornbread loaves using the recipe on the back of the bag of Indian Head Yellow Corn Meal. I followed the recipe for “cake-like” cornbread exactly, except I swapped the milk for Pomegranate juice. The result was a very moist corn bread. The pomegranate flavor was more apparent in these muffins.
I hope you get a chance to try POM Wonderful in one of its many forms. It’s truly delicious and versatile.
Recipes
Hi Everyone!
Here are some of my favorite recipes that I’ve made since starting the blog in July 2008. Many recipes are my creations, which I am very proud of. Other recipes are adopted from other sources, which I always credit because that is the nice thing to do. Let me know if you have any questions about a recipe or if you try one out.
Enjoy and Happy Cooking!
xoxo
Heather
Baked Items/Sweet Treats
Barney Butter & Banana Cookies
Caramel Apple Cheese Cake (modified from Cooking Light)
Cherry Chocolate Chip Granola Bars (modified from Oh She Glows)
Chocolate Banana Bread – Low Fat
Crusty Italian Bread (modified from the King Arthur Flour Cookbook)
Lara Inspired Bars: Almond Date and Pineapple Almond
Oatmeal (Chocolate Chip) Flax Cookies
Peanut Butter Pumpkin Blondies
Picnic Wraps (adapted from The King Arthur Flour Cookbook)
Ricotta Chocolate Chip Cookies
Root Beer Floats (Mark’s – pictures only)
Sour Cream Coffee Cake (modified from Cooking Light)
Thin Mints (modified from Heidi Swanson)
Vegan Agave Brownies (two ways)
Vegan Coconut Cranberry Cookie Bars
Breakfast
Mango Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
Oatmeal Greek Yogurt Cream Pie
Lunch or Dinner
BBQ Tofu, Apples, Sweet Potatoes and Wheat Berries
Pumpkin Polenta with Spinach and Garbanzo Beans
Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower
Sesame Noodles (modifed from Shape)
Sweet Potatoes & Brussel Sprouts with Dijon Sauce
Dips & Condiments
Bobby Flay’s Roasted Tomato Ketchup
Drinks
Root Beer Floats (Mark’s – pictures only)
White Sangria (My sister’s recipe – scroll down to comments)
She Says: Good Evening Girls and Boys
You know what’s weird? Each day I write a morning message to the students. I start off with a greeting and make a conscious effort to say “girls and boys” with the same frequency that I say “boys and girls.” I guess it’s my women’s studies classes shining through.
Anyway, I am still in love with the excitement surrounding the Hangry Pants food drive. It’s put such a holiday pep in my step! Thank you to any blogger who linked to the post. If you have a blog and are willing, please feel free to link to the post as well. Each new commenter means another $.05 for the food drive, so I want to get as many new people to comment as possible. Also, a couple people mentioned they might hold a similar drive on their blogs. If you do, let me know and I will definitely link to your fundraiser inititavie.
Also, I’ve started a new running challenge. It’s hosted by Melissa at Fitness NYC, so if you’re interested, head on over here. I like this challenge because anyone can participate. The general goal is to run a marathon (26.2 miles) or super marathon (52.4) or more between 12/1 and 1/1!
Currently, I am avoiding writing a paper for my Student Teaching Exit Portfolio, so I’ve decided to share some tea and lotion. The tea is Yogi Tea Woman’s Dong Quai Tonic. I like it at night, but recently made it for my sister and she was v. insulted. Even asked if it was a joke. Obviosuly, not for everyone.
The lotion is carrot cake hand lotion and I love it in the winter. My hands are always dry, so I use lots and it makes my hands smell like cinnamon and carrots. It’s good.
Cookie of the Day: Biscotti
I love biscotti! Last time I made biscotti, I tried a Cooking Light recipe for Chai Spice Biscotti and explained how I love them because they are really easy to make, yet always impress people. Those were really good, and I recommend playing with that recipe to come up with a healthy holiday biscotti.
For the Christmas season, I like to make Giada’s Holiday Biscotti, which you can find here. The addition of cranberries, white chocolate chips and psittacosis to get the red and green colors in there. These are great to give as a food present because they get better with age, so you don’t have to worry they will be stale by the time the recipient gets to enjoy them.
She Says: Chai Spice Biscotti
I had an awesome 6.7 mile run while watching Say Yes to the Dress and Olympic Water Polo. For me the first 3 miles of a run are always the toughest, but today I remembered Caitlin’s morning post and pushed on! Always feels great at the end.
I also made Chai Spice Biscotti from this recipe at Cooking Light. Biscotti are great because they are super easy to make. Biscotti is made by forming the dough into a small loaf, baking the loaf, then cutting the loaf and baking the biscotti pieces again (twice baked, get it?). Biscotti is also great to give to people because they’re cut on an angle and look fancy, so people assume they’re difficult to make. Put ‘em in a jar, tie a ribbon around it and there you have it. Homemade sweetness.
Here are my changes to the recipe:
- Whole wheat flour
- Pumpkin spice instead of all spice
- Two egg whites and one egg
- 2+ T of applesauce instead of oil
- Reduced sugar to 1/2 cup
During the half time of biscotti baking, I tasted one to make sure they were not toxic and decided they were slightly dry and could use a frosting or glaze. I immediately thought of that white hard glaze that is often found on oatmeal cookies. I didn’t have any confectioner’s sugar and couldn’t think of anything else white to use, so I melted chocolate chips and added skim milk and cinnamon for some kick. Pretty good, like a more subtle ginger snap dipped in chocolate.
See the Spices from the Chai Tea?
Time to hydrate, refuel and run some errands.
I know something you don’t know… Mark ate at one of my favorite restaurants in N.J. I hope he posts some pictures!
