Monday, September 29, 2014

Cute and Mini Corn Muffins

In my quest to create a new life that includes all aspects of the things I love...in case you need a list: architecture, interior design, product design, accessory design, food and recipes design and creation, gardening and garden design, well maybe that's enough...or let's just say DESIGN....this is a recipe I  created yesterday to go with vegetarian chili and red cabbage slaw. It's super cute, mini muffins that were also quick and easy to make with ingredients I already have in my kitchen and pantry.

To back up a bit, my husband and I have signed up to help host international guests in our home as a part of a program with the US Department of State and World Denver. I crave talking to people from different countries with different and yet similar ideas. So far my husband and I have had guests from Albania, Angola, Philippines, Guyana, Suriname, and Kosovo.....and did I say...I love travel and travel writing, too. We've done two of these dinners so far. It's been a fun challenge to create menus that I think everyone will have a selection and combine flavors that make sense.

With this meal came the restrictions of one pescetarian, one allergy to all nuts but seeds were okay, and one who would eat anything! In order to move this forward, I decided we would just make it comfortable for everyone and go with vegetarian. For the Southeast Asians in the crowd, this kind of vegetarian will eat both milk and eggs. The menu and the corn muffin recipe both include these two items.

THE MENU
Appetizer:
Fresh popped popcorn with butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder and micro-planed parmigiano reggiano
Fresh made hummus served with celery and carrot sticks, cauliflower and cucumber slices
Toasted raw pumpkin, sunflower, flax and sesame seeds with brown sugar, salt, pepper, smoked paprika

Salad:
Spinach with homemade vinegrette with balsamic reduction
Red Cabbage Slaw with Rice wine, wasabi and crushed, mustard seed vinagrette
Cute and Mini Corn Muffins

Main:
Vegetarian Chili with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, oyster crackers
Jeera Rice
Cute and Mini Corn Muffins (Round 2)

Dessert:
Cinnamon/Nutmeg Topped Crusted Brownies
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

And, finally, the recipe!!
Cute and Mini Corn Muffins
Cute and Mini Corn Muffins
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
Lightly butter 2 mini muffin tins (Pans I use have 12 muffin cups each)

3/4 Cup Coursely Ground Polenta Meal
3/4 Cup Tamale Corn Flour
1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 eggs
1 1/2 Cup Buttermilk
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
2 Teaspoons Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1/4 Cup Melted Butter
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 - 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground, Dried Jalepeno Peppers
3/4 Cup Freeze Dried Corn

Mix all ingredients together until just blended.
Fill each mini muffin tin to about 7/8 full.
Bake 10 minutes in the middle of the oven.
Remove immediately from oven. Transfer mini muffins to a cookie rack to cool.
Serve immediately or rewarm in 170 degree Fahrenheit oven.

Notes:
Using butter in small amounts on the cups of the muffin tin creates a nice 'crust' for the muffins. The photo shows varying results of the browned butter. It makes it easier to remove the muffins. If you don't have two tins, you will need to re-butter the cups in the tins before adding the second baking of batter or the crust will not form and muffins may stick.

I purchase freeze dried corn from my favorite herb and spice store in Denver, Savory Spice Shop. The original store, which is also my favorite, is on Platte Street just 'north' 15th Street and
east' of I-25.  They also have an online presence but have franchised to many other locations in Colorado and across the country.

Preheating will be important because you want the muffins to develop quickly. You will need to watch to make sure the butter doesn't burn and the muffins don't burn. 450 degrees is a very hot oven.

This was such a great, fast, make-ahead, freezable recipe for a lovely fall accompaniment to chili or squash soups.

Happy baking! Cheers.




Monday, September 22, 2014

Fall Division and Planting = Spring/Summer 2015 Blooms

It's that time of  year.....overused phrase for sure....but it's really time to divide many perennials and plant them, too! One of the greatest benefits to transplanting and planting as fall leaves fly is spring, summer and fall blooms for 2015. The second greatest benefit is the 30-50% off sales of perennials at garden centers in the front range communities. The plants may not look pretty and the blooms may have long ago given their beauty away but they are ready and willing to go into your garden so that you can enjoy blooms next year.

If you read the spring garden entry, you learned that its a great time to divide and plant because the soil is warming and the air is cool! Roots become established and the plant has a chance to start sending up new growth all with either no or limited amounts of water. And, guess what....the fall season is also a great time to plant and divide perennials for many of the same reasons. The air is beginning to cool and the soil is still warm. You may still not be convinced that fall planting is for you but the growing season for these plants can last until October and early November in Colorado's Front Range.

2 of 4 1/2 bags of iris given away since August.
Some of you are friends with me on FACEBOOK so you have already seen the posts for free plants. This includes about 4 1/2 large mulch bags of iris this season, a large grocery bag of hens and chicks, bags of daylilies, low-growing sedum, and grape hyacinths. I've transplanted purple coneflower, red hot poker, four different varieties of grasses, Asian lilies (think Easter Lily), sedum, hens and chicks, peonies, Centaurea Montana (perennial bachelor buttons), garlic chives, and started adding bone meal to bulbs and other blooming plants for their fall/winter feeding. I'll grant you that grasses may actually want to wait until early spring to be divided in your garden but, hey, they are free and I was in the mood to move them.
Hens and Chicks (Sempervium), Grape Hyacinth (Muscari) and Stonecrop Blue Spruce and Angelina (Sedum Reflexum and Sedum Rupestre) ground cover given away.

You may be thinking, "BUT Cheryl, we already had some nights with temperatures in the mid 30s! It snowed in Boulder!" Yes, we will have some freezing temperatures but this conversation is about  hardy perennials. They don't mind a few frosty nights or even some snow cover as long as their toes are cozy in the soil. The soil will eventually get cold enough that it may freeze. At that point, it should be the goal that your plants are established and ready for a good snooze before the thaw begins.

Late summer Hens and Chicks (Sempervium Tectorum) or Common Houseleek.
It's also time to start preparing perennials, especially tender perennials for winter especially if you are worried about winter kill which is caused by the drying of the plant's crown. Mulching is a great way to keep moisture and temperatures up around the plant's roots. For this I have used leaves as mulch, partially because it's light in weight but mostly because it's free. I have to admit that I've dumpster dived for these when neighbors have filled the dumpsters with bags of leaves rather than adding them to the city-wide compost program or putting them in their own compost piles. Leaf mulch creates pockets of air that stay warm; it holds some moisture so the plant doesn't dry out; and it starts breaking down into the soil. Carefully apply the mulch. There are some plants like thyme that like their tops to exposed to the sun. It's easy to kill creeping and woolly thymus by covering them. Hens and Chicks, however, love to be under a covering of a light winter mulch. In the spring because Colorado is often very dry, I have the option of leaving the mulch on the ground, digging it into the soil or raking it all up for the 'brown matter' for my compost pile. Snow still benefits plants especially when the outside temperatures dip below zero degrees Fahrenheit.  It will provide protection from extreme, dry cold while adding slow draining moisture into their roots.

With any gardening project, there are lots of resources out there. Fall and spring are the swing seasons for gardening which for me means the main times to revitalize the garden and prepare for the seasons to follow. Gardening is an optimistic and hopeful prospect. I am optimistic that you will be renewing your love of the outdoors and preparing your plants for their long winter's nap.
Bees love the Garlic Chives ( Allium Tuberosum).