Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

One of my Christmas presents from my Daughter-In-Law Kristen was a small bottle of citrus flavoring that can miraculously transform many kinds of baked goods.  The flavor is subtle with warm and zesty overtones.  It is described as a combination of vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet.  You will want to use it in everything.

Fiori de Sicilia is sold by King Arthur Flour.  This Italian flavoring is used by Italians to scent their panettone and pandoro.  But it can be used in cookies, pound cake, pies, meringues and sweet breads.  It is strong, so no more than 1/2 teaspoon is needed to flavor your baked goods.

Fiori di Sicilia certainly woke up my blueberry muffins.  The recipe I used came from Bobby Flay’s new cookbook, Bobby at Home.  His recipe only called for lemon zest and vanilla extract for flavoring.  I’m sure the original recipe would be just fine if you don’t have the Italian flavoring.  That option will be in the following recipe.

We are happily settled in our Florida cottage for the Winter.  The muffins will go in the freezer for all of our guests and friends over the next few months.

CITRUS INFUSED BLUEBERRY MUFFINS (Adapted from Bobby Flay)

Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 cup frozen blueberries
(1 teaspoon lemon zest and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract) or (1/2 tsp. vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp fiori di sicilia)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with nonstick spray.

Combine the flour, sugars, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl.  Whisk the egg in a medium bowl until smooth, then add the buttermilk, melted butter, oil and vanilla (or vanilla and fiori di sicilia combination).  Add lemon zest if using.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until the batter just comes together.  Fold in the frozen blueberries.  Evenly divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling each three-quarters full.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with a few moist crumbs attache 18 to 20 minutes.  Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes.  Remove from the tin and let cool 5 minutes longer.

Printable Recipe

I am always looking for interesting breakfast options.  There is something very special about food that can be picked up on the run when you have very little time.  When you add to that a healthy alternative to heavy egg and cheese concoctions, I am delighted.  I found this quinoa muffin recipe on Pinterest from Iowa Girl Eats.  Kristin actually made her muffins in mini muffin cups and figured the calorie count to be 48 calories for each.  I made mine in a standard size muffin pan.  I was not so much interested in the calories as I was in the healthy ingredients.

The quinoa takes the place of flour in the muffins.  There are only two eggs and two egg whites in the mix.  The other ingredients are zucchini, cheese, ham (I used Canadian Bacon), green onions and parsley.  But what is so special about the ingredients is that you can use anything that you would like.  Leave out the ham and you would have a good vegetarian muffin, substitute spicy cooked sausage and you would have an added kick.

I plan to tuck these muffins away in the fridge and freezer for future quick breakfasts. We will be traveling back to Lake Lure at the end of the month.  David usually likes to stop for a chicken biscuit at MacDonald’s.  Even though he eats just the bottom half of the biscuit with his fried chicken patty, these muffins are a far better choice.  The only down side that I see is that Daisy, our dog, won’t get her favorite top biscuit treat.

I am entering the recipe in Tasty Tuesday over at The Comforts of Home.  I hope you will give these tasty muffins a try.

HAM, CHEESE AND QUINOA FRITTATA MUFFINS

2 cups cooked quinoa (about 3/4 cup uncooked)
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1 cup zucchini, shredded
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup diced ham
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese
2 green onions, sliced
salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix to combine. Liberally spray a mini muffin tin with non-stick spray and spoon mixture to the top of each cup. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges of the cups are golden brown. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before removing from the mini muffin tin.
2. TO FREEZE: Place baked cups on a baking sheet then freeze until solid and transfer to a freezer bag. Microwave for 20-40 seconds depending on how many you’re reheating.
3. FOR REGULAR-SIZED MUFFIN TINS: Bake for 25-30 minutes

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