Lunch for two

A crusty Acme baguette, leftover tabbouleh and a bowl of pasta e fagioli soup for me. Tiny slices of baguette and a little bowl of soup for the baby. She loved the soup and munched contentedly on a slice of bread (before tossing it on the ground). Then she tossed all the Cheerios to the ground. Then she flung the yogurt to the ground. Lunch over!

Kim Boyce's Apple Oatmeal Muffins

I love muffins. And who doesn't? They're quick little breads, not overly sweet like cupcakes and hopefully filled with tasty things like fruits and nuts. I have a vision of the perfect muffin: small enough to fit in the palm of my hand, moist with a fluffy crumb, not too sweet and crammed with nuggets of something delicious. Blueberries with orange zest? Dates and walnuts? Apples and cinnamon? Yes please!

But make it a little healthier, would ya? See, muffins often fall into the category of what I call Not-Worth-The-Calories. A good example would be your typical coffee joint muffin. Satisfying when you're starving, yes, but if you really taste the muffin and judge it by its merits? SO not worth the calories. Especially since it probably has 400 of them.

So here's my vision - a healthy muffin which also happens to be delicious. Imagine my delight to see this article in the Los Angeles Times, featuring nutritious breakfast muffins created by Kim Boyce. Boyce used to be the pastry chef at Campanile so you can be sure she knows her stuff. I really wanted to try one of her muffins and luckily, I had *most* of the ingredients to make her apple oatmeal muffins. I say most because I didn't have graham flour or oat flour. I decided to wing it using 2 cups of all-purpose instead.

This is an interesting recipe. You start by simmering oatmeal in a mixture of milk and water while caramelizing apple chunks with cinnamon (in a different pan). This sounds complicated but it takes just a few minutes. Then you mix the dry ingredients with a few spices (including a surprisingly generous amount of fresh nutmeg - 1 tablesp0on!) and the wet ingredients. A very small amount of butter is used; milk and applesauce provide the remaining moisture. That's it! The whole prep took me about 20 minutes.



The verdict? Well - it's a mixed bag. The flavor of these muffins is outstanding; the cinnamon and nutmeg lend a subtle warm spiciness and I love the caramelized apple chunks. I'd increase the apples next time. I also liked that these muffins were barely sweet (if you have a real sweet tooth you'll want to add more sugar).

I did find, however, the texture to be a little ... weird. The muffins were moist, certainly, but the crumb wasn't light and fluffy. It was dense and heavy. And kind of chewy. It's got that low-fat muffin texture, which frankly I'm not crazy about. It could be that I overbeat the batter slightly but I've made plenty of muffins before and never had this problem so I'm pretty sure it's the recipe.

Here's a close-up. Notice the moist crumb? And the cranny where an apple chunk was eaten?



I would make these again, however, because the mild apple spice flavor is so delicious and I'm pretty sure my 11-month baby would gobble them up in the form of mini-muffins. I noticed that Boyce's sweet potato muffin recipe uses a combination of fermented dairy products (yogurt, buttermilk) with baking soda. I've obtained a good rise and crumb with this combination in the past so I will probably use this for the moisture in my muffins next time (in addition to using the whole grain flours).

PS - Check out Luisa's experience with the sweet potato muffins, which are on my must-try list


Apple oatmeal muffins

Makes 1 dozen muffins

Note: From Kim Boyce. Graham flour is available at Whole Foods markets and health-food stores. Use any apple sauce containing only apples and water.

Vegetable oil spray for coating muffin tins
1 1/2 cups milk, divided
1/2 teaspoon plus a pinch of salt, divided
1/2 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons white sugar, divided
2 medium apples, (a tart, crisp variety such as Braeburn or Granny Smith), peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 -inch pieces
2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided
1 cup flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup graham flour
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup applesauce
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla


Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a muffin pan with vegetable oil.

In a small saucepan, bring one-half cup water, one-half cup of the milk and a pinch of salt to a boil. Add the oats, cover and simmer at medium-low heat until cooked, about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Most of the liquid will evaporate.

Heat the butter and 2 tablespoons of the white sugar over medium-high heat until bubbling. Add the apples and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon, toss, then allow to caramelize without stirring. Toss again, each time allowing the apples to color. Once finished cooking, the apples should have lost their edges and be caramelized, about 5 minutes.

Into a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, oat flour, graham flour, the remaining 2 tablespoons white sugar, the brown sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, the remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon and one-half teaspoon salt. Add any remaining grain from the sifter and stir to combine.

Whisk the remaining 1 cup milk, the applesauce, the melted butter, the egg and the vanilla with the oatmeal in a separate bowl. Pour in the dry-ingredients mixture. Add the apples and fold until the mixture just comes together.

Using an ice cream scoop (about one-half cup capacity), scoop the mixture into each of 12 muffin cups, about 1 scoop per muffin. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. The bottom of the muffins will be dark golden brown.

Nutritional information (per muffin): 195 calories; 4 grams protein; 31 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 7 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 32 mg. cholesterol; 252 mg. sodium.

A tangy salad

In my opinion, there's nothing better than a tangy vegetable salad. Growing up, "salad" consisted of an array of thinly sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and sometimes radishes spread in a single layer. Just before dinner, my brother or I would be called upon to dress the salad with lime juice and salt. By the time we were ready to eat, the vegetables would have given off a little moisture but they remained crisp and juicy.

Since then I've come to appreciate a wide variety of zingy salads. Korean panchan, Israeli chopped salads, Greek salads -- all favorites of mine. Today I opened the fridge to a lonely looking half-bunch of parsley, a few scallions and a sack of Bob's Red Mill whole grain bulgur. I thought I'd make one of my favorite salads and clean out the fridge in one fell swoop. To avoid alienating my parsley-averse husband, I only used half a bunch of parsley rather than my preferred 2 bunches (since, traditionally, tabbouleh should consist mostly of parsley). I was too lazy to run to the store for mint, which I typically would use. Even with the shortcuts, I was rewarded with a bowl of fluffy bulgur drenched in a refreshing, lemony dressing.

** Regular bulgur (rather than whole grain) can be substituted. Just follow the package directions. I personally find whole grain bulgur quite delicious.


Tabbouleh - adapted from Gourmet magazine and Bob's Red Mill

Serves 3-4

1 cup bulgur (cracked wheat) -- (Note - I used whole grain)
1/2 bunch parsley, minced (or more to taste)
1/4 to 1/2 bunch mint, minced
3-4 scallions, sliced thinly
Black pepper to taste
Sea salt to taste
1/4 t ground cumin (Note - I doubled this)
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1-2 lemons
2-4 T olive oil

For whole grain bulgur, cover with 1 cup tap water and let stand at least 30 minutes. I personally prefer to soak for a few hours to make sure the grains are soft enough.

Drain the bulgur well and then add all herbs and spices. Squeeze the lemon juice over and dress with enough olive oil to thoroughly moisten. Taste for seasoning. It should taste bright and lemony.