Pumpkin Quinoa Muffins

We live in a time of so many choices.  What to do with our days, our lives, who we want to be, what we stand for.  As a little girl, even into my twenties, I dreamt of notoriety.  As a ten year old, I signed my diary entries with a grand flourish, convinced that one day the world would read them when I  became a famous dancer.  I declared that I'd never have kids because I would be too busy as a diva on the stages Europe. 

These are just muffins, but to me, they represent a lot more.  You see, the diva in me would probably have had a staff in charge of menial daily chores.  But I could never give up certain things for the sake of an "easier" life.  The hard worker in me thrives on stirring up a batch of the granola that Roman loves, whipping up some of his favorite multigrain pear waffles for second breakfast, and so on for lunch and dinner.  In between there is laundry and there are always dishes to be done.  

I know I've grown up because I'm grateful for my life as it is.  I feel settled and no longer need the attention I once craved.  There is order, calm and purpose in caring for other people- something I never would have understood as a younger person.  I'm just living.  Trying to help my people thrive and grow.  Modest tasks.  And for now, this is how I go on, one snack at a time.

Pumpkin Quinoa Muffins

Adapted from Bob's Red Mill's recipe

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

3/4 cup cooked Quinoa

2 large eggs

3/4 cup canned pumpkin (unsweetened)

1/2 cup buttermilk

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

1/4 cup raw shelled pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Preheat the oven to 400.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and soda, salt.  Stir well with a whisk.  Add the cooked and cooled quinoa and stir with a whisk or fork to break up any clusters. 

In a measuring cup, beat the two eggs and add to the flour mixture. Measure out the buttermilk and combine it with the pumpkin, adding this to the large bowl.  Add the melted butter and the vanilla if using.  

Fill 12 muffin tins (grease them or use muffin liner cups if needed) about 3/4 of the way and sprinkle each muffin with pumpkin seeds.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool them in the tins for about ten minutes before turning them out to cool completely on a rack.  These muffins freeze well.

* To cook quinoa, rinse one cup of dry quinoa well using a fine mesh strainer.  Boil 2 cups of water, then add the quinoa, cover the pot and simmer for 12 minutes.  Remove from heat and leave the cover on the pot for another 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork.  

Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

Finally settled in to our NYC apartment after a three month transition, when the final box was unpacked and the last painting was up on the wall, it felt fantastic. We looked around and agreed, this is the greatest place we've ever lived. Both the apartment and the city. But for me, there was one tiny piece still missing to make it a home. Once I got my kitchen stocked I was more than eager to get baking. So during Roman's first nap in our new place, I got busy. In Rome, I was in the habit of baking him healthy treats while he slept. Here in America, despite the abundance of healthy, pre-portioned snack foods for kids, home-made is still extra special. And for me it means home.

Muffins also mean a bit of normalcy, on a day like today when I want to hide from the world. Halfway ashamed that I feel this way when I didn't lose anyone on Sept 11, 2001, but wholly aware that I have never been the same since that day when our world was re-shaped. So yes, I'm writing about muffins today. And I hope that I'll also be able to take Roman to the park and share a muffin when they open up the police barricades in lower Manhattan. That way I can show him that no matter what happens that's shocking and sad, we must go on, and so we do.

Oatmeal Raisin Muffins

I adapted a recipe from Jane Brody's Good Food Book. Her recipe called for buttermilk and I have made these successfully with both cow's milk and almond milk. It also called for butter, which I replaced with coconut oil. I added a ripened banana for extra moisture and it worked nicely.

1 cup almond milk
1 cup rolled oats (regular or quick)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons wheat germ or wheat bran
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup packed brown-sugar
1 tablespoon honey (I used agave syrup.)
1 egg

1. In a small bowl, combine the milk, oats, wheat germ and raisins and let the mixture stand until the liquid is absorbed, about 1/2 hour.

2. In another, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. in a large mixing bowl, beat mashed banana, the butter (if using) and the sugar until the mixture is light. Beat in the honey and the egg. (Note: I used coconut oil that was very liquid, so I did not need to use a beater.)

4. Add the oat mixture to the banana mixture, then add the flour mixture stirring the whole thing well to moisten.

5. Divide the batter among 12 well greased muffin cups. Bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

Cecina- chickpea flour flatbread

Recently it has become evident to me that I can no longer cook the way I used to. I was feeling sort of bad about this as if I had become less of a cook, but now I'm embracing this change because I know it's temporary. Before Roman was born I spent most of my free time planning, shopping and executing elaborate, multiple course meals for friends. Those meals were my creative and social outlet. My favorite pass-time. Now my focus in life has changed and in the kitchen I gravitate towards quick and simple recipes because my attention is being pulled in other directions.

A friend brought over a plate of flat bread made from chickpea flour called cecina (pronounced tche-tcheena). I was excited to discover another use for chickpea flour since the sformato I made last year. Plain and simple, but also tasty and healthy, cecina is a flatbread made of chickpea flour, olive oil, water and salt. It has been eaten for centuries in many different parts of Italy and the Mediterranean and goes by different names including farinata di ceci, and calda calda. It is well known in Tuscany and Liguria but is also eaten in Sardinia and as far away as Morocco where they add egg.

Cecina

Makes two 22 cm (8 inch) flatbreads

Cecina can be made plain or you can add rosemary, chopped onion, sliced artichoke before baking it. Even plain, it's great as a snack, aperitivo, or to pack in the picnic to the park or the beach. For lunch, top with ham, cheese and avocado for an open face sandwich. The recipes I found on line all said the mixture must sit for a few hours before baking, so be sure to plan ahead. You could use a jelly roll pan and make one large flatbread, which would yield a slightly thinner flatbread.

8 ounces (250 grams) chickpea flour

3 cups (700 ml) water

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 scant teaspoons salt

Sift the chickpea flour into a bowl containing the 3 cups of water, stirring to combine and prevent any lumps. Let this sit for three hours. After this time, stir in the olive oil and the salt. Grease two 8 inch baking tins and divide the batter between the two (it will be very liquid.) Bake at 425 (220 c) for about 15 minutes, or longer to brown the top slightly.