cozyquail.

soft & crumbly apple muffins

currently listening to: Kate Nash Pumpkin Soup 

  

I have decided to dedicate my day off from my part-time job to bake a little autumn treat!  The great debate was between apple crisp, apple pie, apple muffins, or some maple-pecan cookies.  The apple muffins won due to their simplistic recipe (so I could make mulitple batches) and because I've got many an apple around the apartment from apple picking with family this past weekend. 

The recipe I use for these muffins takes me way back to Home & Careers class in junior high.  Even after the years since then (about 10 years or so) I keep returning to this tried and true recipe!

 

[ Apple Muffins ]:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour                                 1/4 cup oil

1/2 sugar                                          1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons baking powder                 1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt                              *1 medium apple (peeled & grated)

Topping:

1/3 light brown sugar                         1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

*You can double the amount of grated apple you use in this recipe for more apple in each muffin.  I chose to do this for more of the fruit in each!

1. Stir together all the dry ingredients listed above in a large mixing bowl (flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, & baking powder). 
2. Whisk together the wet ingredients (egg, milk, & oil) in a separate medium sized mixing bowl.
3. Rinse, peel, and grate the medium apple (or apples) with cheese grater in medium sized bowl.
4. Add mixed-up egg, milk, & oil to the dry ingredients in the large mixing bowl.  Add in grated apple after (do not overmix).
5. Fill lined muffin tins (or greased if you want to be a little more eco-conscious) about 2/3-3/4 full with batter.
6. Sprinkle a teaspoon amount of the topping on each muffin before placing in the oven.
7. Bake @ 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes. (I baked mine for 22 minutes and they came out perfect!)
8. To check to see if the muffins are baked all the way through poke a toothpick to the bottom and check to see if there is any batter on the pick.  If you see a little batter bake a little while longer (maybe 5 minutes or so) and check again.  If you do not see any batter, or just muffin crumbles, then they are finished!  I use this trick for all baked goods to test if they are baked thoroughly.

 

 

Each batch of this recipe makes about 12-14 regular sized muffins.  I ended up baking about 5 dozen for a treat at work and for some friends in the local area.  When I begin to bake, sometimes I just can't stop and feel the need to bake a large quantity at a time (and end up sharing a good portion of baked goodies).  I'm not sure if these muffins would arrive well if I shipped them in the post, but it may be worth looking into for those friends who are a distance.

I hope you try out this very simple & delicious recipe for yourself as an autumn perk!  Apple recipes are always a lot of fun to make, and usually are pretty simple as well.  I'm quite thankful I'm still residing in New York State, so that I am able to pick them fresh from an orchard and bring home.  It's a sweet autumn tradition my family and I have had, and still cultivate annually.  I know I can look forward to apple picking each year and all the lovely baked goods that accompany the season!

tasty spaghetti squash.

currently listening to:  Dev Booty Bounce

 

I am very proud to say that I am solely dedicating this post to the healthy, easy-to-bake-in-the-oven, and amazingly delicious spaghetti squash!  I had never even tasted a spaghetti squash until trying a sample of the autumn squash earlier this week at Wegman's while I was grocery shopping.  I really don't know how it wasn't in my life up until this point because...it's so darn scrumptious!!!  If you were like me, and have yet to try this tasty squash, I'd certainly ask you to reconsider and give this vegetable a second chance.  I also feel as though this recipe would be a picky-child pleaser too (coming from someone who was also quite picky in my younger years when it came to trying new foods).

You may find that your local grocery store will sell spaghetti squash either whole or by the half wrapped in plastic.  I chose to purchase a whole squash, because i was cooking for 6 people total (and I love leftovers).  If you are cooking for a group of four or less, you may want to opt for the half size for less quantity and less waste.  I also chose to bake the squash whole (I prefer baking most things if I can and I enjoy the freedom to do other things while food is baking), but there are also recipes for either steaming, boiling, or microwaving your spaghetti squash as well.

The recipe on how to properly bake spaghetti squash in the oven can be here on Steamy Kitchen.  Jaden has a wonderfully simplistic recipe/method to baking the squash and her photographs are just as wonderfu!  I'm really glad I stumbled on her drool-worthy website, because I may be trying some other recipes as well!  Baking the squash was really simple and it was quite successful on an old cookie sheet in the oven for a little over an hour (the squash I bought was also 4-5lbs).  However, scraping the squash out after it was baked got to be a little messy!  I tried to keep the mess at a minimum by attempting to scrape out all the squash over the sink with a large pot to catch all the squash goodness.  I ended up getting pretty carried away and also ended up with little stringy bits of the squash all around where I was working...oh well!

 

Once I had scraped all the squash from the outer rind, rinsed it in cold water, squeezed the excess water out, I transferred it to a medium skillet with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on low heat.  I mixed up the fresh baked strands with the oil and spices of your choice (I went with pepper, oregano, basil, garlic powder, and some creole cajun seasoning-of course a little of each goes pretty far).  Once the squash was starting to heat up I added about 1/2 a can of crushed tomatoes (juice and all) to the mix.  Top off your warm spaghetti squash with parmesan cheese (of not if you're vegan). 

If you do decide to try baking up some spaghetti squash of your own (I really hope you do!) you can always change and adapt what you put in with it!  I really enjoyed the crunch and texture spaghetti squash has to offer and just how much it really resembled eating the real spaghetti!

homemade cream of spinach soup

currently listening to:  Flunk [Parliavox Remix] "Morning Star"

 

When I had gone out to my local grocer [Wegman's] to purchase spinach I didn't realize just how much spinach is packed inside the two 10oz. bags I put in my shopping basket.  It was much more than the recipe required for the quiche I had made-and I had even added extra resulting it to be a Suess-like deep green.  The end result was that I now had 1  1/2 bags of fresh spinach with a short shelf life in the vegetable bin. 

Growing up, the only spinach I tolerated was seeing it on old Popeye episodes in an old-cartoon compliation on VHS.  Not until about middle school age did I give it another daring try in a homemade vegeteable dip my mother routinely makes for get-togethers.  I have since taken a greater liking to the healthy green & have made ammends with my judgements prior; I also do believe my taste buds transitioning & whatnot with age played a key role as well. 

Thinking about the variety of spinach dishes I could make, as to not waste excess dark greens, has turned out more interesting than I anticipated [& has all been quite tasty].  I fully intend on finding & making different homemade recipes using spinach as the main ingredient until this bag runs out.  The bag is also currently about 3/4 full after one very-spinachy quiche & a hefty batch of homemade cream of spinach soup. 

When first looking for a recipe I simply googled & browsed around for a recipe that both looked appetizing [I'm a cook who prefers a photograph with the recipe], simple to make, & have contain a good amount of ingredients that Greg & I both had.  I found this simply delicious & simple to make recipe on Food Loves Writing.  It also had a fantastically droolworthy photograph of the finished product that was enough to convince me to take on this new recipe!

[source]

I did keep pretty well to the original recipe found here, which was easy to follow, with some small improvisions of ingredients I already had; using minced red onions instead of yellow or green & an additional 2 cups chopped spinach.

I also added a good amount of fresh peppercorn, some basil, garlic powder & a little cajun seasoning for a bit of heat.

Though my photogaph seems less quaint & charming-I'm sure it was equally delicious.  This recipe made a splendid homemade dinner for two [with leftovers] which also was accompanied with melty pumperknickel grilled cheese that Gregory whipped up & merlot.

Tomorrows dinner might need more creativity to whip up as I continue the [non-intentional] green-themed spinach days.  Depending on the recipe tomorrow may or may not be the last day.

Who knows...spinach may be tasty in a muffin.

 

Thank you, Food Loves Writing, for your fantastic recipe!

[seven] things I l-o-v-e!

currently listening to:   M.I.A.  "XXXO" 

 

[seven] things that strike my fancy.

showing off a little love.

 

1.  Making homemade spinach quiche

The recipe I chose is from Smitten Kitchen [I also tweaked it a bit & also honestly didn't measure anything either...].  I lean more towards fresh spinach and mix all my ingredients in the blender so it's all ready to pour in the crust.  It also turns out very green after-resembling a Dr. Suess parody.

   

It turned out quite festive deep green from the spinach with St. Patrick's Day just around the corner.  It was delightfully tasty.

 

2.  Concerning The Spiritual In Art by: Wassily Kandinsky

I'm currently reading this small insightful paperback & learning fresh material to further my own education in the art world.  My goal is to continue reading as many as I can [within my own time] to better prepare myself as an [artist] & for graduate school.

[source]

 

3.  Pottery Barn's  Ava Desk

I saw this desk in the store & was immediately attracted to the simplicity & rustic tones of this desk.  Too bad it's an item outside of my budget & my current priorities.  Minimal & tasteful.

 

[source]

 

4. a fresh new H&M hoodie

Graciously given to me & well loved for this mild-cold weather still.  I picked out a men's XS so it wouldn't shrink & be extra warm [compared to the women's].

[photograph not to present hair color].

 

5.  The Office [American version]

The luxury & leisure of being able to catch up on episodes I could not before is really great.   It helps to de-stress the day & makes up for some good laughs late night with Gregory.  I do very much enjoy the Office [British version] as well...especially Gareth.

[source]

 

6.  preparing for spring planting

The thought of spring coming [though it seems consistently out of reach here in central New York] excites me a whole bunch!  Ideally I want to paint pots like a primary school child & have fresh herbs growing on the petite porch in the flat I share with Gregory, like in this darling photograph. 

 
[source]

7.  spring trench coats

My mind has been dancing with the possibilty of purchasing a trench coat for the cool weather still ahead as winter transitions into spring.  It all started when I saw a couple great ones on clearance at Marshall's Home Goods last week.  I do really dig this cute little number found on Non-Plastic.

[source]

I hope you have a happy & inspiring  Sunday!