Muffins

One good way to eat more local as well as eating healthier and lower on the carbon chain is to make foods from scratch. It is also a good cost savings measure if you are trying to cut back on spending. Cooking from scratch seems to be a lost art these days. Here at our house, we try to make as many items from scratch as possible. I will use a mix occasionally for a few items but not for muffins. In my opinion, homemade from scratch muffins are not that much more work to make than from a mix especially when you taste the flavor difference. Here is the basic recipe I use. To this mixture, I add fruit or cheese. It is a great way to use fruit that is still good but past its prime.

Basic Muffin Recipe
3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (can also use white flour for this)
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/3 cup sugar or Splenda
2 tsps baking powder
1 slightly beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil (can substitute applesauce for oil)

Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until dry ingredients are just moistened. (Add fruit if desired here.) Put in muffin tins and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until they are golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes. Makes 12 regular sized muffins. Eat and enjoy!

Variations:
To the above mixture (choose 1 combination or create your own as you feel more comfortable with this)

1 cup berries (any kind)
3/4 cup chopped apple (add 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg for extra spice)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (add cinnamon and nutmeg)
3/4 cup chopped cranberries
3/4 cup mashed banana (decrease milk by 1/2 cup; can also add cinnamon and nutmeg to this)
3/4 cup pumpkin (decrease milk by 1/2 cup; add cinnamon, nutmeg and pinch of ground cloves)

Have fun and experiment after you get comfortable with this recipe. It makes a great snack as well as a nice quick breakfast.