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!

Shawn's Oven Chips (Fries)

 Shawn knows about potatoes. Back in May he brought 10kgs of potatoes over to our house.  Lucky for those Irish Red Roasters he told me about a very simple oven chip recipe.  Bring the potatoes to boil first! I have made one change to his simple recipe...add turmeric.  It gives the potatoes that golden 'fried' look.

Shawn's Oven Chips (Fries)
serves 2 1/2
3 large potatoes
1 tsp sunflower seed oil
1/4 tsp turmeric
salt and pepper

Cut potatoes into the size chips that you want.  Put in a pot of cold salt water and bring to a boil.  Drain and let the potatoes dry.   Mix the cooled potatoes with the oil, turmeric, salt and pepper on a cookie sheet.  Bake in a very hot oven (220c) for around 20-30 min or until golden brown.

note: This is also how to make the perfect roast potatoes that you can find with any roast dinner in any Irish pub.  Its just how you cut the potatoes and shake in the pot after draining.