Month: July 2019

Best Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

In the same vein as a second semester home-ec class in 1977, here is a genuine muffin. Not cake batter in the shape of a muffin, but a not-too-sweet muffin with the coarser crumb that defines old school homemade muffins.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees-this is always the first step.

List of ingredients-get them gathered with the proper cooking utensils second.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 TBS powdered buttermilk

2 TBS Poppy seeds

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

1 lemon

1/4 cup powdered sugar plus more for glaze

Ingredients for Lemon Poppyseed muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
About 1 cup granulated sugar (adjust to how sweet you want the muffins to be)
2-1/2 Tablespoons powdered buttermilk.
2 teaspoons baking powder.
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (to activate the buttermilk).
2 Tablespoons poppy seeds.
Mix dry ingredients.
1/2 cup oil in a 2 cup measuring cup (this is canola oil).
1/2 cup milk (this is non-fat).
Add 2 eggs to wet ingredients.
Microplane the entire lemon zest into the dry or wet ingredients (this time into the dry, with a quick stir).
Cut lemon in half. Juice.
Remove seeds from the juice. Reserve the juices lemon halves. Add juice to wet ingredients.
Mix wet ingredients well.
Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Gently fold and stir just until all dry ingredients are incorporated.
Spray muffin pan with oil. Make sure your oven is preheated to 400 degrees.
Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.
Set timer to 20 minutes.
Stir up the lemon glaze, start with 1/4 cup powdered sugar.
Squeeze juice out of the reserved lemon halves.
Add a little milk. The glazers is adjusted by adding a little powdered sugar and a little milk or fresh lemon juice and lemon pulp and lemon zest left on the microplane until it looks right.
Stir glaze.
Stir glaze.
Add the lemon zest!
Remove from the oven. They should be deep golden brown and spring back when touched. Don’t burn your fingers!
Put just a little glaze on top!
According to my home economics teacher, never use a knife on muffins. Just pull open gently and place a pat of butter inside.

Easy & Tasty Broccoli and Carrots

Clean and prep
Good olive oil, kosher salt and a pan
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
In addition to trimming and rinsing carrots, a good scrub is good
Or you might feel like peeling the dirty looking spots
Coat in oil in pan
Cut down broccoli
Cut down to about the same size as the carrots
Be sure everything is coated in oil
Set timer from 30 to 45 minutes
Half way through the cooking time, turn them over

Then check every 10 minutes until done.

Fresh Beet Greens

There’s a simple technique that is used for fresh beet greens, kale, and broccolini. Here’s the template:

  1. Clean and prep
  2. Blanche
  3. Ice water bath
  4. Saute

Here’s what it looks like with fresh beet greens from the farmer’s market.

Must be cleaned and all icky leaves discarded
Remove stems
Bring to a boil with plenty of salt!
Blanche for 2 minutes until tender
Cool blanched greens quickly
Use a slotted spoon to remove from the water
Season with fresh garlic and spring onions
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat
Saute for a minute or two
Rough chop cooled greens
Saute together and season with S&P

How to Use the ICE train

When I first moved to Frankfurt, Germany, I wanted to see everything in Europe on a budget! The best way to travel is by train. There are the local trams, the Regional trains, and the ICE or Inter City Express high-speed trains. Each train has a very well-organized process and it helps to have it quickly explained. For instance, once you purchase your ICE ticket, how do you know where to get on the train to find your seat?

This short video below shows you how to quickly find out!

 

 

20190619_080537 ICE Train in Binz