Lemon & Poppy Seed Muffin

Last night S & I went out to Palmer Square at Princeton and were amazed at how lively and beautiful the whole place was. Victorian buildings, tiny little coffee shops and home made ice-cream. Not just that, there was music and couples old and young, so full of love and cheer dancing like no one's watching.

So anyway, we were walking around there a lot just admiring everything and wondering why it took us over a year to find this place that was a stone's throw away. We made mental note of the places we wanted to take our parents to, when they visit us here. And I reminded myself that I would one day own a cute lil muffin shop.

But for now, I have some eggs, an oven and 1 sure customer in my very own home. So this Saturday, we made us some Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins ! Pair it with some Ginger Chai and a movie - we have a winner !

Applesauce Muffins

Hola !
Am back after a long and much needed vacation @ Puerto Rico. So stepping in here with a quick update, before the next one to India!

Ever gone overboard with buying a dozen apples and then not know what to do with it? Here's a lil something you can try.


AppleSauce

Peel and core 2-3 apples (McIntosh or any semi-tart apple), then chop them up into lil cubes and toss them into a small vessel with hot boiling water. Simmer, and cook partially closed until the cut apples becomes soft and tender. Cool and transfer to a blended and blend until you get it to a sauce like consistency. You may add sugar as you feel necessary.

In an air tight container in the fridge - the sauce will keep up for about 2 weeks.

Onions, Garlic & Shallot Muffins

Some more Indian twists !

Shallots, are chinna vengaiyam (for those of you from South India). It's a diminutive member of the onion family and grows in clusters like garlic with a papery skin. To prepare a shallot, cut the ends, remove the papery skin, slit length wise and mince like you would cut up a small onion.

Jam Filled Muffins

Remember those Jim-Jam biscuits from Britannia ? 

They used to be my favorite, along with Good Day and Marie Biscuits... the pleasure of digging into cold and delicious jam in between crispy layers of biscuit.. aah. Love those! So, I made my own version of Jam Filled Muffins one Saturday, reminiscing fond memories of Adyar Bakery @ Ashok Nagar :-).

Banana-Walnut Muffin

Banana Walnut Muffins as my friend S says in her blog (which is AWESOME btw !) is a quickie. Come Sunday, we do a usual trip to the Whole Foods nearby and pick up " Organic " Fruits & Veggies (thanks to K's obsession with organic food). A week later, it's a pity to see at-least 3 out of every dozen have dark black wrinkled skin in some forbidden corner of our fairly full refrigerator.

Hence, Banana Nut Muffins or Banana Nut bread gets made every week. This week, it's the muffin. Makes for a good snack (morning/ evening)

If you can get your hands on Walnut Oil, I'd recommend using that instead of Canola. It has a subtle flavor, very nutritious and high in unsaturated fat. Store in a refrigerator to prevent from becoming rancid. It will keep up for 3 months.