Muffin Monday: Chocolate Chip Orange Muffins

*** Indulge in heavenly chocolate paired with intense bits of orange. Enjoy this wonderfully rich muffin with a steaming cup of coffee when you need to stress down.


From Denny: This recipe is from a bed and breakfast in Michigan. This bed and breakfast sports a number of interesting themed packages to enjoy. They have a special shopping package where they have teamed up with 10 shops in their area where you can get some great discounts with the range from clothing to food and drink and even local art.

These shops are a wine sellar of 200 wines from around the world, local pottery, a green recycled products shop carrying famous names, a spice merchant, a gourmet food and kitchen supply shop, an antique mall of 175 merchants, a local folk art shop and artisan hand-knit clothing.



Sherwood Forest Bed & Breakfast


Voted #1 in Best of Personal Luxury in the State by Lake Magazine.
Featuring Fireplace-Jacuzzi suites, 1/2 blk to Lake Michigan

Sherwood Forest Bed & Breakfast
938 Center Street
P.O. Box 315
Saugatuck, Michigan 49453

1-800-838-1246 for reservations

Fax: (269) 857-1996
email: sf@sherwoodforestbandb.com

Keith & Susan Charak, Innkeepers


*** Remember to support small business in your area and when you travel. Why stay at a Big Business hotel as you travel when you can stay in a more home like atmosphere of a bed and breakfast inn? The prices are comparable, the people friendlier and your stay will be memorable.




A similar version of chocolate chip muffins from Laura HB @ flickr - these bed and breakfast inns rarely provide photos but this muffin should look just like it only with flecks of yummy orange peel throughout the muffin.

Y-Vonne's Chocolate Chip Orange Muffins

From: Sherwood Forest Bed & Breakfast Y'Vonne, a favorite siren and chefette at Sherwood Forest, gave us these delicious muffins, they're dense and rich and so perfect on a chilly morning!

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 cups milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
4 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Combine first 3 ingredients in large bowl. In another bowl, combine rest of ingredients (except chocolate chips). Add wet to dry ingredients and mix, then add chocolate chips. Divide batter among 18 greased muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees for approx. 15 minutes.


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*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:

The Social Poets
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Visual Insights
Beautiful Illustrated Quotations
Poems From A Spiritual Heart
The Healing Waters
Dennys Food and Recipes
Dennys Funny Quotes

Muffin Monday: Mushroom Dill Muffins From Louisiana Mushroom Farm

*** Check out a savory muffin using your favorite mushroom.





From Denny: Here in Louisiana most people never gave much thought to farming mushrooms. OK, I thought about it and people thought I was crazy. Well, turns out there are some other crazy people who thought it was a great idea too. After all, it doesn't take up a lot of room and it's a crop that grows in the dark. How cool is that? Yes, I also have a science blog. It really shows sometimes. :)

Well, Johnnie and Cheryl Santangelo of Independence, Louisiana, pressed ahead and now three years later they are the proud owners of the only mushroom farm in Louisiana. And do they have some yummy recipes too! After all, mushrooms are the ultimate brain food and what a delicious way to feed our brains.

"We started at zero," remembered Johnnie Santangelo. "Neither Cheryl nor I knew anything about mushrooms. Absolutely nothing! All we did know was that there was this old mushroom farm that has sat abandoned just down the road from our home. Years ago, it had been land my dad had leased for cattle. We were looking for investment property and this looked like it."

Johnnie and Cheryl both teach at Loranger High School. He is an agriculture teacher and she is the assistant principal.

"Yeah, like weeds and trees and vines that we had to hack away with machetes just to be able to open the doors of the buildings," said Cheryl. "Once inside, we found the only thing growing there were water moccasin snakes. I was terrified and not about to go in there.

Explaining the history of the previous owners of this mushroom farm, "The place had been run as a mushroom farm by a man from Pennsylvania as an investment for another man in New Orleans. At some point, the two men had a disagreement and the man who was running the farm, just walked away from it and left everything. The people who were left behind didn’t know anything about mushrooms so the place was just locked up. Just as it was.

"My husband, my son Johnnie III and some others went in and cleaned out the buildings. We found everything just as it had been left 18 years earlier. I even found the first dollar that the original owner had earned and left behind. He just walked away from it. I framed that dollar bill along with the first dollar we made. To say the place we found was a mess would be a gross understatement.

"To be honest, I don’t think anybody even knew those buildings were there. But once all was said and done, we knew that we were going to grow mushrooms … and that we would be successful."

These educators and their son grow three types of mushrooms from two species: the grocery store familiar white button and the portabella. When the portabella are picked at an early stage and small they are labeled as creminis. If you allow the portabellas to grow and mature they are the coffee brown large umbrellas that almost have the texture of steak and will win over most meat eaters to veggies.

The production level these days for this farm is 18,000–23,000 pounds of mushrooms. That many pounds of mushrooms are produced in each room and each week all year long. Their profit line went from zero to $200,000 and growing in only three years. Sounds like my crazy idea was not so crazy after all. :) Congrats to Johnnie and Cheryl Santangelo.


Red Hill Mushroom Farm
51237 Mushroom Lane
Independence, LA 70443

Business Phone: (985) 878-0172
Fax: (985) 878-0172



Mushroom Dill Muffins


From: Johnnie and Cheryl Santangelo of Independence, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, owners of Red Hill Mushroom Farm


Tender, earthy mushroom muffins enhanced with dill. Serve along side soup. Use a mini-muffin pan for perfect little “mushrooms.”

Ingredients:

2 tsp. butter (or margarine)
2 cups chopped fresh white mushrooms
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. Baking powder
¾ tsp. dill weed
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. pepper
2 large eggs
10 oz. can of condensed cream of mushroom soup or your fresh mushroom soup
¼ cup melted butter (or hard margarine)
¼ cup milk
2 tsp. lemon juice

Directions:

Melt first portion of butter in large frying pan on medium-high. Add mushrooms. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are browned and liquid is evaporated. Let cool.

Measure next 5 ingredients into large bowl. Stir. Make a well in center.

Beat remaining 5 ingredients with whisk in medium bowl. Add to well. Add mushrooms. Stir until just moistened. Fill greased mini-muffin pan(s) 3/4 full. Bake in 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. Let stand in pan for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool. Makes approximately 4 dozen mini-muffins or 12 large muffins.


*** Check out how Muffin Monday started: American Revolt: How You Can Break Big Business, Big Banks, Big Insurance, Big Oil, Big Lobbyists

*** Check out more recipe posts: Recipes: Muffin Monday and Cake Tuesday


*** Mushroom on steroids by miss karen @ flickr


*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

Muffin Monday: Savory Feta, Roasted Pepper Basil Muffins From Sur La Table

*** Try the unusual: a savory muffin for breakfast, lunch or dinner.





From Denny: We all love muffins. They are that little meal, that special little treat in the late afternoon. They are divine bits of Heaven. Sometimes, I would rather enjoy a savory muffin instead of the sweet.

The American breakfast can quickly become predictable with the usual suspects of eggs, bacon and toast. Banana bread with a little softened cream cheese is wonderful in the morning with eggs. But how about something totally off the wall different?

Feta cheese is a good protein source any time of day and mixes well with so many ingredients. You could even enjoy these muffins alongside those predictable eggs and bacon. This muffin has roasted peppers which are sweet of a savory kind. They would go well too with a soup or salad for lunch. Try them with roasted chicken for a dinner too.

For this recipe make sure to use only fresh basil as opposed to the dried version as they need the fresh oils to punch up the flavor of the muffin. If you don't have any fresh basil, the author recommends substituting a tablespoon of fresh thyme or a teaspoon of dried thyme in its place. Thyme tends to be a pungent herb even when dried.



Feta, Roasted Pepper & Basil Muffins

From: Sur La Table - The Art & Soul of Baking, Andrews McMeel Publishing, October 2008


Makes: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
½ cup (4 ounces) jarred roasted red bell pepper, patted dry and chopped into ¼-inch dice
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk
¼ cup (2 ounces) olive oil
1 large egg


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F and position an oven rack in the center. Lightly coat the muffin tin with melted butter, oil, or high-heat canola-oil spray. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the large mixing bowl. Set aside. In the medium bowl, stir together the feta cheese, roasted bell pepper, and chopped basil. Set aside.

Pour the buttermilk into the measuring cup. Add the olive oil and the egg and whisk together until well blended. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the well and stir gently with a spatula. Mix only until there are no more streaks of flour or pools of liquid and the batter looks fairly smooth. A few small lumps scattered throughout are fine—they will disappear during baking. Gently fold in the feta cheese mixture until evenly distributed in the batter.

Use the large ice cream scoop or 2 soup spoons to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops feel firm and a skewer inserted into the centers comes out clean. Transfer the muffin tin to a rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Gently run a thin knife or spatula around each muffin to free it from the pan, lift out the muffins, and transfer them to a rack to finish cooling (careful, these are tender while hot). Serve warm.

When completely cool, the muffins can be stored at room temperature, wrapped in plastic or sealed in a resealable plastic bag, for 2 days. Reheat, wrapped in foil, in a 325°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until warmed through. The muffins can also be frozen for up to 1 month, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then sealed in a resealable plastic freezer bag. Thaw, still wrapped, for 30 minutes before reheating.


*** Check out how Muffin Monday started: American Revolt: How You Can Break Big Business, Big Banks, Big Insurance, Big Oil, Big Lobbyists

Photo by mccun934 @ flickr

*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

Muffin Monday: 3 Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipes

*** Enjoy 3 quick and easy recipes for chocolate and coffee all wrapped up and baked into the goodness of a muffin.





From Denny: Muffin Monday just seemed like a natural when writing about food. What a great way to start off our work week! I wanted to see what the Bed and Breakfast Inns around America offered up in the way of muffin delights and found a real treasure trove.

If you happen to live in the area of this inn, or will be traveling there soon, you can check it out. Whenever I travel I like to check the menus of the hotel, inn or local restaurants and plan my excursions around the local food. The local cuisine is half the learning experience when traveling and tells you so much about the culture.

I found the last two recipes while researching a Creative Commons usable photo from Flickr. My fellow photographers definitely like to eat well and enjoy posting many of their favorite recipes. Whenever I get lucky and run across them I try to post those recipes as so many of them are fabulous. Enjoy baking!


*** Remember to support small business in your area and when you travel. Why stay at a Big Business hotel as you travel when you can stay in a more home like atmosphere of a bed and breakfast inn? The prices are comparable, the people friendlier and your stay will be memorable.


Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Muffins

From: Deacon Timothy Pratt Bed and Breakfast Inn c.1746
325 Main Street
Old Saybrook, Connecticut 06475



Email: betterbedbreakfast@pratthouse.net



Ingredients:

6 T. butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 T. Instant Coffee
2 T. coffee flavored liquor (optional)
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 6-muffin pan. In large bowl, beat on medium speed: butter and sugar till light
and fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla, disolve coffee granuules, and coffee liquor until blended.

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternating with
milk, beating just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Divide batter among muffin-pan cups.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until centers spring back when lightly pressed. Serve warm.







William Shatner’s Cappuccino Chip Muffins

From: William Shatner, star of the Star Trek TV and movie series

Makes: 8-12 muffins (when you fill the tins up to the top you will get 8.)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg (room temp)
1 cup milk (room temp)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips or equivalent of other chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with flour-added cooking spray. For bigger muffins, spray 8 of the cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, espresso powder, cinnamon and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk egg lightly. Whisk in milk, melted butter and vanilla extract. Make a well in center of dry ingredients and pour in milk mixture. Stir just until evenly blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Divide batter among 12 or 8 greased muffin cups. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.






Cappuccino Muffins

From: Taste of Home magazine

Ingredients:

Spread (filling)

* 4 ounces cream cheese, cubed
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Muffins

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup milk
* 2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
* 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips


Directions:

In a food processor (or using a hand mixer), combine the spread ingredients, cover and process until well blended.

Cover and refrigerate until serving.

For the muffins: In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir milk and coffee granules until coffee is dissolved.

Add butter, egg and vanilla; mix well.

Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full (Sprinkle with raw sugar...)


Bake at 375°F for 17-20 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
I used 2tsp of expresso powder instead of the instant coffee and mixed it with the milk to dissolve, added a few extra shakes of cinnamon and extra choc chips. I also overflowed the vanilla flavoring, I baked at 370 for 18-19 mins … made 17 muffins. Very moist and delicious!

Serve with espresso spread.


*** Check out the origin of Muffin Monday recipes: American Revolt: How You Can Break Big Business, Big Banks, Big Insurance, Big Oil, Big Lobbyists

*** Photo by Laura HB @ flickr

*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!