Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins

I love rhubarb. I love the tartness of it and I love the way it pairs with strawberries. I saw fresh rhubarb cropping up around the farm stands a couple of weeks ago and finally got to buying some. I decided to try something new with the ol' strawberry rhubarb combination and make muffins instead of the usual cobbler. I adapted this recipe from a Robin Hood flour recipe to make it somewhat healthier. I like these muffins, but I don't know that I love them. The texture was great, but they needed more rhubarb. My husband really enjoys them, but the little one only likes to eat the top, which isn't her usual style. I would like to try it again using actual buttermilk instead of the vinegar in milk thing that I commonly do, but really, who keeps buttermilk on hand? Oh, and I think fresh strawberries would've been better, but frozen worked fine. I'm just being picky.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp ground flax seed (flaxmeal); we use TA foods flaxmeal, which is in a red bag and can be found at Real Canadian Superstore. Bobs Red Mills is okay for just peanut allergy but not tree nut allergy and Nature's Path recently started labelling for peanut cross contamination.
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup melted margarine
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with 1 tbsp vinegar, that has sat for five minutes)
1 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb (I used the food processor because I'm lazy like that)
3/4 cup chopped strawberries

Topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients together in one bowl. In separate bowl, combine margarine, egg, buttermilk, strawberries and rhubarb. Add dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Scoop batter into paper lined or silicone muffin cups and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Muffins will spring back when done. Makes 18.

Whole Wheat Apple Hermits

I get a big kick out of baking "healthy" cookies. It pleases me to no great end to make a whole grain, fruit or vegetable filled cookie and have my rather picky daughter declare it to be "weally dood!" I like to take a normal recipe and change it up completely. I especially like it when it works out well. Yesterday's creation, the whole wheat apple hermit, was fabulous. This hermit is a moist, spicy cookie studded with soft apple pieces and chewy dried fruit, and is a new house favourite, destined to take up a permanent space in my recipe box. Really, this is more of a fall recipe than a summer recipe, but I don't play by the rules. Plus, it's been cold, wet and windy.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup softened margarine or butter
1 beaten egg
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 generous tsp of ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 large apple, peeled, cored and chopped into itty bitty pieces
1 cup of raisins (we use and trust Sunmaid)
1 cup of Craisins (for the love of all that is holy, don't use the icky flavoured ones)

In mixer, cream together margarine, egg and sugar.
In separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, spices and salt.
Add the dry ingredients slowly to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. It will end up looking too dry and you might feel a little panicked. Add the fruits, mix well and place balls of cookie dough about an inch apart onto a greased cookie sheet (we use a silpat lined cookie sheet). Flatten slightly. Bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then move to cooling rack. Your house will smell like spicy goodness. Enjoy!