Blueberry Pecan Muffins with Toasted Millet

I can't even begin to tell you how surprisingly happy I am with these muffins. They are really, really good.

I've had several of you ask me if I've tried Pamela's Products Artisan Flour Blend and until recently, I hadn't tried it - nor was I that anxious to try it. However, I've been doing a lot with sourdough these days (I'll share about that at a later date), and making actual bread loaves with the starter has been posing a challenge for me with the flours I'm trying to combine, as well as blends that I normally purchase for use in other baking. I started thinking this particular blend might work a bit better, but I haven't tried it with the sourdough yet. Seeing it available as a single bag purchase through Amazon's subscribe and save program, however, gave me the incentive to go ahead and purchase a bag.

The first thing I tried with this flour blend was pancakes. I mostly followed the instructions on the bag, with a few of my own tweaks. I have to beg of you in the name of all that is good to NOT make pancakes with this flour blend. My daughters found them edible, but not as tasty as other pancakes. I, on the other hand, could barely gag them down. The texture was terrible. Very gummy and heavy. The batter was thick and slimy. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

So it was with much trepidation that I made muffins out of it, following the basic recipe on the bag but making my own adjustments that I felt would give the batter a better chance of turning out something edible. I wasn't disappointed, and am looking forward to making them again this week. The toasted millet adds a lovely crunch and flavor you don't want to skip out on!

I feel better about trying it with the bread soon. I'll let you know how that goes.

Blueberry Pecan Muffins with Toasted Millet
(Printable Recipe)

Projected Prep Time: 15 min; Projected Bake Time: 15-18 min; Makes 14-19 muffins (regular size)

2 cups Pamela's Products Artisan Flour Blend
1/2 cup almond flour
1 Tbsp. gluten-free baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
8 Tbsp. melted butter, unsalted
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups milk, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup toasted hulled millet (see directions)
1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
2/3 cups pecan pieces

Place 1/3 cup hulled millet in dry pan and cover with lid. Heat at low-medium heat for a few minutes, shaking pan often, until millet is hot and toasted. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line muffin tin with baking cups.

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl with a fork.

Whisk together melted butter and milk (room temperature will keep butter from getting firm again), then whisk in eggs and vanilla.

Pour liquids directly into dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Mix in toasted millet. Fold in pecans and then blueberries.

Drop evenly into muffin cups (the batter made 19 muffins in my regular size tins).

Place in oven (top rack if gas oven) and drop temperature to 375 degrees. Bake 15-18 minutes or until done. Cool on wire racks. Store leftovers in airtight container in refrigerator, bringing to room temperature or warming back up just a little to eat.

Enjoy!

Spiced Quinoa Millet Hot Cereal

I'm obsessed. This breakfast became an instant second to my favorite breakfast - baked oatmeal, and may even at some point be tied in first place. And it's SO. Simple. Period.

When I read the lovely Angharad's post on her warm spiced breakfast quinoa last month, it was on my mind until I made it for myself. (If you aren't familiar with her blog, Eating for England, you really should be.) I love quinoa and I love millet, but had never put the two of them together. And before this, I'd only eaten whole quinoa in savory dishes and salads.

But after reading Angharad's description of the cereal, I thought perhaps - maybe, just maybe - I might have a hot cereal I could not only manage to eat but also actually love. You see, I love baked oatmeal and oats that aren't slimy (aka bake the slime out). I love grits (grew up eating them with salt and a pool of butter) but only if they aren't sweet. I can't stand mushy, slimy or clumpy hot cereals. Or cold. I don't even eat my cold cereal with milk because it will get soggy and mushy.

I have no idea how or when I developed such a picky attitude toward breakfast cereals, and I've tried hard not to let my kids on to this lest they become my copycats, but I can't help it. It's who I am. I watch my family eat their hot cereals and wish I could join them in that comfort food.

And now I can.

Because this hot cereal is not slimy. It's not clumpy. It's not mushy. It has crunch. It has comfort. It's delicious. And it's alkaline. (If you omit the yogurt.)

As I stated in my juice post last month, I'm trying to eat more alkaline lately. I'm not giving up all acidic foods, but I'm trying to make sure I'm balancing them out with plenty of greens and alkaline foods.

This recipe is basically the same as Angharad's mentioned above, but I don't add add extra water or milk in mine because of my breakfast cereal issues. Add them if you want. It is so easy to make. I like to make it in the evening and then refrigerate it in an airtight container (after cool - if it's still hot I just stick the pot in the fridge til morning). Scoop some into a bowl, warm it up and spice (or not) and sweeten as desired directly in the bowl. You're done.

I like to flavor mine with a little ground ginger and cinnamon with some maple syrup (like she suggests in her recipe), then sometimes top it with a little vanilla yogurt. It's also fantastic with no spices and just maple syrup.

The flavor combinations in this cereal are limitless. For these photos, I added baked apple slices with a little vanilla yogurt and cinnamon sprinkles. Try it with bananas. Berries and cream. Go tropical with some pineapple and coconut, maybe some macadamia nuts. Try pecans. Almonds. Make it savory. Take this cereal to whatever flavor you want, just make it.

Healthy, alkaline, filling. High in protein, fiber, iron and more. You can't lose!

Projected cook time: 20-25 minutes; Projected prep time: Under 5 minutes
(Printable Recipe)

1 cup whole quinoa (it's easier if you get a brand like Bob's Red Mill that pre-rinses the bitter off)
1 cup millet
4 1/2 cups water
Pinch of kosher salt or sea salt
Spices, as desired (see above for suggestions)
Maple syrup or preferred sweetener, sweeten to taste (two spoonfuls is usually sufficient with the maple syrup)
Yogurt (optional)
Butter, if desired

Rinse grains off first if you don't have a brand that pre-rinsed the quinoa. Place quinoa, millet, water and salt in saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the water is absorbed (takes about 20-25 minutes).

Serve hot or let cool in pan and then place in an airtight container and refrigerate until use. Spice, sweeten and fruit it up as desired (see suggestions in paragraph above recipe).

Enjoy!

And I'll also share my photo of beauty I found here in this post. I loved the color of this dove against the white bark of the tree:

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html