Morning Glory Muffins

Yeah, I know I already posted a muffin recipe this week. I'm going to post another one next week too. What can I say, I'm on a jag. It's a good jag, though. And not even a crazy sweet one (although the recipe uses 1 C sugar, it's for 20 muffins so you're only getting about 2 tsp per muffin; it's not sainthood, no, but it's not dessert either). Also, there are fruits and vegetables involved. Come on, that's righteous, right?

These do contain foods that are "chunky," by which my children mean that they have more texture than 'blah.' I didn't care. I was willing to eat them all. For the record, they keep for about 3 days at room temperature and freeze quite well.

Morning Glory Muffins
Adapted from ezrapoundcake
Makes about 20 muffins
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Cost: $3.60 with nuts. About $1.00 less without
(whole wheat flour: .20, flour: .10, sugar: .15, coconut: .25, raisins: .25, apple: .30, pineapple: 1.00, walnuts--I didn't use, but I'm guessing 1.00, eggs: .20, oil: .15)

1 1/4 C whole wheat flour
1 C all-purpose flour
1 C sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C shredded, sweetened coconut
3/4 C raisins or cranberries (optional)
1 large apple, peeled and grated
1 C crushed pineapple, drained (about on 15 oz. can, drained)
2 C grated carrots
1/2 C chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
2 eggs
1 C vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 and line your muffin tins.

Whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

Add coconut, raisins, apple, pineapple, carrots, and nuts. Stir to combine. (I shredded my carrots and apple in the food processor, which was speedy. If you've got a food processor, you could probably use fresh pineapple too and just sort of puree it in the food processor before you change it to 'shred.')

Add eggs, oil and vanilla. Blend well.

Spoon batter into muffins tins. Bake about 17-25 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

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Food Essay Friday: Produce That Will Last a Month or Longer

Ever since the money suck known as December, I've been trying to shop less. I don't actually even enjoy shopping, but I'd gotten into a bit of a habit or going here or there to get the very best deal. Truly, I think it's generally a lousy way to save money (there's always something else there that you or your kids desperately need/want that is not on sale) and it's an enormous time commitment, which--unless you're a super couponer--is not worth it. Yet, somehow it is sort of addicting. I'm not entirely sure why this is. Perhaps it's the draw of those super deals. Perhaps it's some double empowerment you feel by both spending money and saving (or thinking you're saving) it. My personal theory is that by going to a different store several days of the week, you can avoid doing your laundry. I'll do almost anything to avoid my laundry. Unfortunately, going to several grocery stores is no longer on the list. It was costing me too much money; it was costing me too much time; it was costing me too much life energy.  

Lately I've been doing one major shopping day. It's kind of painful (3 hours at Aldi and Walmart with two small kids), but it seems to be paying off because I have a fully stocked house most of the month, which leads to less last-minute running around. I've had more free time and it's made it a lot easier to enjoy spring, my house, and my children. But not my laundry. 

My laundry woes aside, however, you're probably wondering how I shop for produce only once a month. Well, I don't. I usually get it a few times a month. And I do a milk run to a cheap nearby store once a week. However, I have noticed that there is quite a bit of produce that lasts for quite some time, especially if refrigerated, but sometimes even if it's not. We'll start with the most obvious and move down the list. 

Produce That Will Last a Month or Longer

1. Potatoes. These can be left out and they'll last even longer in the fridge. 

2. Sweet potatoes. These do best when NOT refrigerated, but kept cool and dry. I often buy lots when they're cheap at Thanksgiving time and keep them most of the winter long in our cool basement. 

3. Onions. The bulb onions are a classic storage produce item, but even the green onions will have a very good run if you refrigerate them. Even when they start to look a little sketchy, you can peel off the outer layer and usually have a very good green onion underneath.

4. Winter squash. Pumpkins, acorn, butternut--all the stuff with a thick skin will last a very long time. I buy butternut when it's on sale and keep it all winter in our basement too. 

5. Carrots. Refrigerate and they'll last longer than a month.

6. Cauliflower. Refrigerate.

7. Broccoli if it's fresh. If not, it'll only keep a week or two. 

8. Celery. Keep it well-wrapped in your fridge. Even if it starts to get a little wilty, it's perfectly good in soups and with roasts.

9. Apples. Buy them when they're in season. If you're already eating last year's cold storage apples, they won't keep too long, but if you buy seasonal apples, they'll keep a month or much longer, especially if refrigerated. Be sure there are no rotten ones spoiling the proverbial barrel. 

10. Oranges and other citrus fruit. Again, if these are seasonal (winter is their season), they'll keep for a while on the counter and they'll give you an easy month if they're kept refrigerated. Do make sure there are none already rotten or broken open. These will rot and ruin the good fruit around them too. 

11. Cabbage. Keep it wrapped in the original packaging or some tightly wound saran wrap of your own and they're good to go for a long time. 

12. Beets. Wrap or seal in a bag and refrigerate.

13. Lettuce. Okay, it might not make it quite a month, but you'd be surprised how long a wrapped head of lettuce will last you. Iceberg probably does the best, but I haven't bought it for year. I usually buy romaine and I've had lots of success with it. Generally speaking, the tighter the head, the longer it will last. Loose or cut leaves will go quickly (though putting them in a bag or tupperware with a paper towel will keep them going over a week too). 

Cheesy Cauliflower Soup

Cauliflower soup doesn't sound very glamorous, does it? Let's call it Creamy Cheesy Soup instead. This is what I called it when Kip (who hates cauliflower) asked what it was last night at dinner time. I won't say that I quite looked him in the eye, but it wasn't a lie either. It is both creamy (as in texture; it contains no actual cream--gasp of shock or delight depending on which soup camp you belong to) and cheesy (as in containing lots of cheese; it does not contain annoyingly over-the-top personality characteristics). But, yes, it does also contain an entire head of cauliflower. Kip ate a bowl and didn't say anything or threaten divorce, but then perhaps he's given up the food battle and is having a clandestine affair with someone who cooks him BBQ chicken and mashed potatoes every night. Hmmm, I'll have to look into that.

My kids--you've met them; pickiest kids on earth except for those with weird eating disorders--were divided over the soup. Mark and Elizabeth wouldn't try it (though I think Elizabeth might have really liked it had it been allowed to cross her lips). Savannah and Emma gave it a go and Emma was even sort of a fan. My kids aside, however, I think this is a pretty kid-friendly soup. It can be made completely smooth and it really is quite cheesy and good.

The other thing that's great about this soup is that it's sort of a blank canvas. Well, better than a blank canvas because it's good as is. However, as a creamy, non-threatening soup, you could totally pump it up and rock your soupy world. Here are some ideas:

1. Add 1 C white beans.
2. Add some chunks of sausage (yes, please)
3. Chop and boil some kale and then add that (it's so in right now, though I have to say it really deserves its day in the sun)
4. Add some chunks of potatoes and maybe some leeks.
5. Add chunks of pretty much any vegetable. It would be lovely with broccoli, carrots, peas or even butternut squash.
6. Puree in a bit of an orange vegetable if the white is just too bland for you and yourn. More vitamin A, check.

Cauliflower Soup (aka Creamy Cheesy Soup)
adapted from Everyday Food
Serves 4-6
Prep and cook time: 45 minutes
Cost: $3.00
(cauliflower: 1.49, bullion cubes: .25, onion: .15, cheddar: 1.00, butter: .10)

Note: I recommend using homemade broth or a lower sodium broth. Not because I am Mrs. Healthy Pants, but because I found ours a little on the salty side and wish I'd toned it down a bit.

Another Note: I pureed this and made it perfectly smooth. However, if you're serving grown-ups or other individuals who might actually enjoy a bit of texture, you might want to set aside 1 C of the soup before pureeing and then add it back in at the end, so as to have a bit of texture in your soup.

3 Tbs butter (unsalted)
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1 medium head cauliflower cut into 1-2 inch pieces
4 C low-sodium chicken broth
1 C water
1 1/2 C shredded cheddar (about 5 1/2 oz)
pepper
garnish with pepper, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika (my newest love), or something perky and green

Melt butter in large pot and throw onions in. Let them soften up a bit and then add cauliflower. Cook until the cauliflower has a bit of color to it. (Alternately, you could probably roast your cauliflower as your onion softened on the stove). Add water and broth and cook for 20-30 minutes or until it's totally soft.

Let it cool for a few minutes and then puree. (If you'd like it a bit chunky, reserve some of the cauliflower and add it back at the end.) You can do this with an immersion blender or by putting it in a regular blender. (If using a regular blender, be sure it's not crazy hot and hold a hot pad over the top of the blender to keep it from exploding out of the darn thing.)

Put it back on the stove and add the shredded cheese. Stir gently until the cheese is all melted. Then garnish with pepper or something red or something green.

See post for ideas about how to rock your soupy world if you're the type of person to do so.

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