Pumpkin and Feta Muffins

Whoa, this has been a foreign place to me lately! (And I didn't mean for it to be like that, really!)

Just need to cozy it up with a bit of sunshine in the form of...

Pumpkins. Feta. Spinach. Parmesan. Mustard seeds. Sunflower kernels. 

You still with me? I hope so.

So as we quickly approach the year end, life continues to (in short)...

* be busy and filled with decisions to make.

* teach me things like understanding and patience (and how to kill mosquitoes in the middle of the night).

* test me and my heart.

* display beauty in many shapes and forms (and also in the intangible!)

As much as I adore anything sweet (as this blog testifies), if I have a choice between a sweet or a savoury muffin, I'd pick the latter without a thought. 

And usually they (i.e. multiple savoury muffins) can completely replace a meal for me...but only if they are filled with loads of flavoursome ingredients like these Pumpkin and Feta muffins.

After I enjoyed a few of these colourful muffins (hmmmm sweet sweet pumpkins, salty feta, crunchy seeds warm from the oven...need I go on?), it suddenly occurred to me that apart from the bit of olive oil to roast the pumpkins in, I don't recall using a bit of butter or oil in the whole process at all. 

I panicked slightly. Either I read the recipe wrong. Or I have amnesia.

So I checked the recipe again. Phew - I can read and memory still a-ok!

Happy that I discovered these delicious oil-free muffins. 

And thank you for visiting today. Make some muffins, grab a cup of tea and share some of your life and heart with me, won't you?

Pumpkin and Feta Muffins
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks
Makes 12 muffins

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (I omitted this as I used non stick muffin pan).
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups / 9 oz / 255g cubed pumpkin or butternut squash, 1/2-inch cubes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large handful of baby spinach, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley or cilantro (I omitted this)
• 3 tablespoons sunflower seeds kernels
• 3/4 cup / 1 oz / 30g freshly grated Parmesan
• 100g / 3.5 oz / 1/2 cup cubed feta
• 2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup / 180 ml milk (I used around 2 extra tbsp on top of this)
• 2 cups flour (I used 1 1/2 cup AP flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)
• 4 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 405F / 200C, with rack in the top third. Use the butter to grease a 12-hole muffin pan and set aside.

2. Sprinkle the olive oil and some salt and pepper over the squash. Toss well and turn onto a baking sheet or roasting pan. Arrange in a single layer and bake for 15 - 25 minutes or until cooked through entirely. Set aside to cool.

3. Transfer two-thirds of the squash to a large mixing bowl along with the spinach, parsley, sunflower seeds, Parmesan, two-thirds of the feta, and all of the mustard. Gently fold together. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and milk together and add to the squash mix. Sift the flour and baking powder onto the squash mix, top with the salt and a generous dose of freshly ground black pepper and fold together just until the batter comes together, be careful not to over mix.

4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan, filling each hole 3/4 full, top each muffin with a bit of the remaining squash and feta (see photo up above). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops and sides of the muffins are golden, and the muffins have set up completely. Let cool for a couple minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack. I like these muffins cooled a bit, served just warmer than room temperature.

People cry out under a load of oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the powerful. 

But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night, 

- Job 35:9-10

Read more...

Curry Sweet Potato Fries

Remember my two little visitors from last week?

Here's some snapshots from our second encounter when I was on my way to the park...

There they were, hovering over a piece of bread and eating again. Completely unaware of the danger lurking around (not me!)

As the unfriendly intruder came to view and approached them, the couple looked up and were completely shaken by size of their enemy!

Errrr c'mon honey, let's get outta here before he chews us into pieces! *runs*

I imagined the magpie was gleefully thinking, mine mine mine, as he sprinted over to his dinner! 

Bullies are totally uncool, right?

Well, what happened next...to this day, I still don't understand.

Before my eyes, the couple bravely yet cautiously walked back to the bread and the magpie, seeing their return, took off without any fuss.

You know what I think?

They must've put a dumbing spell on the magpie. Or not. I know from previous experiences that magpies still adore carbs despite being meat lovers. Guess this will remain a mystery to me...unless someone knows anything about these strange behaviours!

So perhaps the moral of the story is this: Size does not matter. You can beat the Goliath in your life!

Bye bye Mr. Magpie!

He was pretty much in a trance-like state as he made an exit from the scene.

Happy at last with their dinner. 

Or so you think...

Apparently the lady wasn't impressed. She suspected that the boy cared more about the food than her so she left. 

And I don't think he even noticed!

Me gonna rip this piece 'o bread like a man!

Grrrrr....

Hang on, something doesn't seem right?

Ok, let me think...

Is someone missing? I'm pretty sure I didn't leave the nest alone this morning...

*looks around*

Oooops! Honeyyyy...where are you?

By the way, while I'm in no way claiming to be a mind-reader of these creatures with wings, I will however claim that these curry sweet potato fries I've been making will mostly likely have you hooked!

They have graced my dinner table at least a dozen times as there seems to be an overflowing supply of sweet potatoes in the fridge lately. And this is now one of our favourite ways to indulge this vitamin-A rich food in my home. Crunchy, spicy, sweet...yum!

Oh and learn from that silly lorikeet - don't forget to enjoy your food with your loved ones this week!

Baked Curry Sweet Potato Fries

Adapted from Joy the Baker

Makes 1 potatoes worth of fries. 

• 1 plump sweet potato/yam/orange-fleshed potato, peeled
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large egg white (I omitted this and used another tbsp of olive oil)
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

3. Peel sweet potato and slice off the top and bottom points of the potato. With potato positioned north to south, use a large knife to slice potato into 1/3-inch potato planks. Stack planks in two piles, and slice, north to south, into 1/3-inch sticks.

4. Place potato sticks onto prepared baking sheet and toss with olive oil. Set aside.

5. In a medium bowl, whisk egg white until foamy and frothy (if using egg whites). Add curry powder, cumin, turmeric, and crushed red pepper flakes and whisk to incorporate. Pour the egg white mixture over the potato sticks and gentle toss to coat the potatoes.

6. Place in the oven and bake to desired doneness and crispiness, my fries took about 40 minutes. While the fries bake, stir together yogurt, cumin, olive oil and salt. Place in a small serving dish.

7. Remove fries from the oven and serve immediately.

Have a lovely week ahead!

Read more...

Apple and Tomato Gazpacho

You're probably wondering why I am attempting all these summer-y dishes in the middle of winter - first the Japanese anmitsu with matcha ice-cream and now this gazpacho, the Spanish cold and raw vegetable soup.

Sometimes not everything has to make sense, friends.

All I know is that I am possibly suffering from a bad case of winter blues that only my canine friend here can understand...

Just kidding!

I don't have the winter blues because I get to drink hot chocolate and have hot showers. *thankful* The dog above was only giving me the look because I wouldn't share my hot chocolate.

And the reason I made this gazpacho on a cold and wet day was because that day happened to be the 22nd July - a date marked in my diary to make this soup. Why?

It's time for my second contribution to Stephane Reynaud's 365 challenge (initiated by publisher Murdoch books), of course! (First is here) The aim is for all keen foodies to cook through the cookbook 365 Good Reasons to Sit Down to Eat in one year!

Well, at least this recipe makes total sense to the rest of the world experiencing the summer heat at the moment.

This is not your usual Spanish gazpacho however. Instead of the typical cucumbers, onions, capsicums and garlic used to make a gazpacho, only apples are used here along with tomatoes! Many recipes I've seen also use bread crumbs (or stale bread) into the blended soup, unlike this no-carb one.

Anyhow, to make this soup...

First you'll need the following ingredients! (Plus salt and pepper of course!)

Even though this is a raw soup, you'll still need to slightly boil the tomatoes so that the skins can come off easily. Much fun - this is my favourite step!

And you'll need to cut the apples into both cubes (for blending) and matchsticks (for garnish!)

You could practice your knife skills here too!

Blend the apple cubes and tomatoes together into a puree (I used my bamix) and pour in the cider vinegar and olive oil. Season it up and you're good to go! Not surprisingly everything came together in less than 10 minutes! Speedy!

This is a light tomato soup sweetened by the apples while the spring onions give it a slight punch. The addition of the sour cider vinegar (apparently an age-old home remedy that we could all have more of!) complements the other flavours well while the apple matchsticks add a nice texture! *crunch* 

As much as I enjoyed this refreshing gazpacho (which I had while all rugged up in a heated room in my make-believe-it's-summer state of mind) I couldn't help feel something was missing. Perhaps I would blend in some bread to add more body to the soup next time! 

Or perhaps my body was just craving for something steaming hot and hearty.... 

I think the next time I'll see this soup again would be on the hottest days in summer! :)

Apple and tomato gazpacho

Serves 6

Prep time: 20 minutes

• 6 tomatoes
• 3 granny smith apples
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 bulb spring onion (scallions)
• 100ml cider vinegar
• 100ml olive oil
• salt and pepper

1. Cut a cross in the base of the tomatoes and plunge into boiling water for 30 seconds, then remove the skins.

2. Peel two of the apples, cut them into cubes, then cut the third (unpeeled) into thin matchsticks and combine with the lemon juice.

3. Finely slice the spring onions.

4. Puree the tomatoes with the apple cubes, add the cider vinegar, olive oil and spring onions and season.

5. Serve garnished with the apple matchsticks and drizzle with olive oil.

I hope you smile today :)

Read more...

Roasted Dutch Carrots with Balsamic Vinegar and Honey

One of my favourite activities during the week is grocery shopping. Or more precisely, shopping at the food markets with my fashionable granny trolley (which was on my Christmas wishlist but I couldn't wait and got it myself a few weeks ago!)

Apart from the obvious pleasures of smelling/touching/purchasing the freshest produce and seeing all the seasonal items in abundance - I enjoy observing how people around me go about this activity and seeing their different purchasing patterns.

I also love to listening on to people's conversations at the markets (yes, I eavesdrop while I shop!). Like the time I was picking carrots, a man next to me asked his young son,

"Do you know what these are called?" 

"Errr...purple carrots?"

"No, these are called heirloom carrots, ok?"

Good on ya, dad! I adore conversations like this. 

Teaching kids that carrots don't come in a packet off the supermarket shelf. 

Then just a few days ago, I was picking some corns and this young boy came up next to me and asked,

"So, what do you look for in a corn? How do you know if it's any good?"

I taught him to pick ones which are bright and plump. Then he proceeded to have a conversation with me which rocked me socks off. With such genuine enthusiasm, he talked about how awesome that the blackberries in his basket are and how cheap they are now. Maybe it's because I don't have any kids myself yet, but it feels rather strange to be talking to a young kid as if you are talking to a grown-up.

Anyways, so this is the first time I have purchased those dutch carrots! December has a way of making you do things you normally wouldn't do. And plus I couldn't take my eyes off these when I saw them all vibrant and joyful, almost singing out to me.

These are so sweet and simply delicious - I'm sure they'd make a great side to any meaty Christmas dishes!

I wish your Monday was very nice and you keep safe during this festive time... 

Ingredients

• 1 bunch Dutch carrots
• 30 ml  olive oil
• 3-4 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp honey
• Splash of balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste
• Few sprigs of dills (although I would recommend using thyme since dill don't really quite work as well as thyme - just what I had in the fridge).

1. Preheat the oven to 220C.
2. Trim carrot tops and wash carrots well.
3. Place carrots in medium baking dish with combined oil, garlic and honey and balsamic vinegar; toss well. Sprinkle salt and pepper.
4. Roast, uncovered, 15 minutes.
5. Add thyme leaves, roast further 3 minutes or until tender.

Read more...