Blackberry Muffins

Its a great year for blackberries in Ireland!  The past two days I've been out picking.  This year they are big fat and juicy but also sour.  I've been playing around with a low sugar/low fat muffin/cake recipe for a few weeks. Using my all time fav zucchini muffin recipe I replaced almost all of the oil with that old standby of apple sauce.  Also cut down the sugar (hey apples are Sweet!!!).

Blackberry Muffins
For 12 Muffins
2 apples
2 eggs
1/4 cup of sugar (If you want a sweeter use 1/2 cup instead)
1/8 cup of rapeseed oil
1 orange (the zest and juice)
1 tsp vanilla

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups self rising flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

pinch of salt

2 cups blackberries

 Oven 170c.  Peel and chop the apples.  Cover with water and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and cook till soft about 5 min.  Blend or mash.  Cool a bit.  Mix with wet: eggs, sugar, oil, orange and vanilla.  Add the dry: flours, spice, salt.  Mix and add blackberries.  Fill the muffin tin and into the oven for about 30 min. 

These are a great breakfast muffin.  Most and not very sweet.  If you are used to  white flour, oil and sugar you may need to add 1/4  cup more sugar the first time you try this recipe.  The blackberries are soar this year so I'm going to add it next time!

Whole Wheat Blueberry Teddy Bear Pancakes

My Dad alway used to make me pancakes shaped like Micky Mouse.  Joe doesn't know about Micky yet but  he did like these teddy bear pancakes.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Teddy Bear Pancakes
for 4

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 tbs honey
 oil for frying.
Blueberries

Mix the dry, add the wet. Heat a pan with a little oil.  Make baby sized bears by using 1/4 cup of batter for the head and 1 tsp for each of the ears.  Add blueberry eyes and nose.  Cook until the little bubbles pop flip and cook for about a min more.  Joe loved them with cream cheese.

Toasted Brown Rice

 I have a very hard time getting my white rice eating family to eat brown rice, but that doesn't mean I stop trying.  So far mixing brown and  white rice together hasn't worked well so I've gone back trying to work with just plain brown rice.  A few weeks ago I cooked the brown rice in broth...but Saeid didn't like it.  Last night I toasted the rice before cooking and guess what? Saeid said "I don't hate this brown rice."  The baby liked it too!  Win!  I don't think this will replace our everyday white rice but its a start.

Toasted Brown Rice
serves 2 (and 1/2)
1 cup brown rice
1 1/2 cup water
1 tsp salt

Toast the rice in a dry pan on med heat for 5 min or until the brown rice starts to brown and smells nutty. Make sure to shake the pan from time to time. Transfer the rice into a pot (or toast the rice in the pot to start but it may take longer).  Cover with the water, add salt.  Bring to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pot.  Forget about it for the next 20min.    Fluff and enjoy.

No left overs!!!!