Basic McDonald (“use your imagination” Muffins
2 C flour (500 ml) 1 beaten egg
¼ C sugar (62 ml) 1 C milk
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder (12 ml) ⅓ C oil (83 ml)
1 teaspoon salt (5 ml)
Sift together dry ingredients. In another bowl beat moist ingredients. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Pour moist ingredients all at once into the centre of the dry ones.
Stir until just moist. Pour into well greased muffin cups. Bake at 190∘C for about 20 minutes. Makes 10-12 muffins.
Variations:
The FLOUR can be any combination of whole wheat, nutty wheat, bread or cake flour. I like to add at least ¼ C of pat bran/ you can also add up to ½ C of rolled oats for texture and flavour. Another interesting ingredient is mealie meal (especially the yellow stone-ground meal!). the flour portion of the ingredients should equal 2 cups.
The SUGAR can be any combination of the following: regular sugar, castor sugar, brown sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup.
The MILK ingredient can be make up of one or more of the following: milk, soured milk, yoghurt, sour cream. I generally measure a cup of milk and then add 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice and let it sit for a few minutes. The milk sours and becomes slightly curdled and it takes away the taste that the baking powder can sometimes give the muffins.
For the EGG, if you wish, you can substitute 2 raw egg whites for the one whole egg.
Hint: with most sweet muffins, adding 5 - 10 ml of vanilla essence enhances the flavour.
Apple-cinnamon: add 1 chopped Granny Smith apple and 2 Tbs cinnamon or mixed spices to dry ingredients.
Cheese: Eliminate sugar and add 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese.
Three Cheese: No sugar. Add ½ cup shredded cheddar, ½ cup Parmesan and ½ cup crumbled Feta
Cheese & Ham (bacon): No sugar. Add 1 cup shredded cheddar and ½ cup cooked crumbled bacon or sliced ham and 1 tsp basil or mixed herbs.
Olive & Feta: No sugar. Add ½ cup chopped olives (retain a whole olive for the top of each muffin), ½ cup chopped feta cheese and 3 Tbs of fresh chopped basil (or 1 Tbs dried)
Banana-Nut: decrease milk to ½ cup and stir in 1 cup mashed banana and ½ cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
Oatmeal-Fruit: decrease flour to 1 3/4 cup and add ½ cup oats and ½ cup fruit cake mix
Lemon Poppy Seed: decrease milk to 3/4 cup and after mixing muffins, fold in 1/3 cup lemon juice and 2-3 Tbs of lemon rind and 1/4 cup poppy seeds.
Carrot: Add 1 cup shredded carrot to moist ingredients and 3 teaspoons of cinnamon to dry ingredients (nuts optional)
Chocolate Chip: gently stir in 1/2 cup chopped chocolate pieces into batter. For Chocolate-Chocolate Chip muffins stir 1/2 cup cocoa powder into dry ingredients.
Cappuccino: Add 1/2 cup cocoa powder and 2 Tbs coffee powder to dry ingredients
Best muffins of all: Look in your fridge for leftovers and create a muffin flavour al your own (i.e., pizza muffins, chilli cheese, chocolate chilli, Italian herb, etc)
These muffins will get better and better with time, as you experiment and add the amount of ingredients to your muffins that you enjoy. Most important: HAVE FUN!
A Formula for Quiche
There are four basic parts to a quiche: the crust, the cheese, the filling and the custard.
The Crust
Regular Crust: 60 gm margarine, 250 ml flour, dash of salt, 45 ml cold water. Bake 15 minutes.
Potato Crust: 2 large mashed potatoes, 30 ml butter, 125 ml shredded onion, oil
Combine mashed potato, butter, salt and pepper and onion. Mix well. Spread into pie pan.
Bake @ 190〫C for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and fill, then continue baking.
Savoury Crumb Crust: 250 ml fine bread crumbs, 125 ml flour, 125 ml rolled oats, salt, basil,
marjoram, 125 ml melted butter. Mix together all ingredients. Press into pie pan. Pre-bake at
180〫C for 10 minutes.
Cheese Crust: Add 125 packed shredded cheddar cheese to regular crust.
NO CRUST: I “forget” the crust a lot! It is healthier and faster, but not as popular.
The Cheese
This is the first layer in the quiche. A layer of cheese must be deposited on the crust, because it forms a moisture-resistant barrier between the filling and the crust and keeps the crust from getting soggy. Recommended types of cheese: Swiss (especially gruyere) and/or sharp cheddar. Recommended amount for bottom layer: 125 ml grated (for a small pie plate - increase the cheese for a larger plate). (Save 125 ml grated cheese to add with custard.
The Filling
Spinach: 400 g chopped and steamed with sautéed onions and nutmeg.
Mushrooms: 400 g sliced and sautéed with oregano and thyme.
Asparagus: Chopped and steamed (or tinned, drained) with tarragon and dill.
Broccoli: 1 lg stalk chopped and steamed with lemon juice and garlic.
Tomato: 1-2 med tomatoes, sliced and gently sautéed in olive oil with basil and dill.
Zucchini: (baby marrow) 400 g sautéed with basil and sun-dried tomatoes.
Place filling in pie pan over first layer of cheese.
Then deposit remaining 125 ml shredded cheese on top of that.
The Custard
Beat together 3 eggs and 250 ml milk. (4 eggs and 375 ml milk for a large pan).
Pour into pan, over cheese and filling.
BAKE in a 190〫C oven for 40 - 50 minutes.
