Lemon-Rhubarb Muffins and Quick Bread **

I'm always on a quest to create a recipe for great muffins or quick breads. One that has texture and LOTS of good flavor. I think I've avoided banana and zucchini breads due to what I perceive as their blandness. This is another recipe where I typed everything I wanted to use into Google and A.I. gave me dry ingredient amounts and other suggestions. I varied it from what was given, of course, and this turned out so well! Preheat your oven to 335°

In a medium glass bowl, whisk together:

2c all purpose flour

1T pumpkin pie spice

1T baking powder

1t baking soda

1t Orange Salt

In your blender jar, blend the following:

1 lg. organic thin skinned lemon - whole then chopped

1c packed dark brown sugar

2 lg. pasture raised eggs

1/2c single source EVOO

1/2c full fat sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)

1-2t pure vanilla extract

Before pouring the blender contents into the bowl, stir the following into the dry bowl:

1c rough chopped pecans

1-1/2c finely diced fresh rhubarb

Now stir in the wet ingredients. Fill silicone muffin molds and a greased loaf pan. Sprinkle the tops with spiced sugar. Today I used equal parts of turbinado, organic cane and coconut sugars, with a good amount of pumpkin pie spice, for my spiced sugar.

Bake the muffins for 25-30 minutes and the quick bread for an additional 5 minutes or until everything passes the toothpick test. Mmmm. . .Lin

** I made this recipe again today 7-30-26, and it turned out just perfect. The only change I made was to use a cut up mandarin in place of the lemon and baked the muffins in a metal paper-lined pan. 

Coconut Vanilla Raisin Ice Cream

I have a couple other recipes I should be blogging, but they're a little more involved than this one, so I'll get to those later. Meanwhile, here it is! The recipe I had rattling around my brain when I created the fruity sorbet-ice cream recently.

2/3c raisins

2T± pure vanilla

~ check the label, it may contain alcohol
~ if that's a concern, find a good vanilla that is alcohol free

1/2c dark brown sugar

1/2c unsweetened shredded coconut

1 can Thai Kitchen coconut milk

a shake or two of Himalayan pink salt

Soak the raisins in enough warm-hot water to cover in a flat dish - probably 1/3-1/2c - for at least a half hour.

While that's happening, stir together in a medium glass bowl, the coconut milk with the dark brown sugar until well combined and the sugar dissolves. Sprinkle on the salt and add the vanilla. After a half hour, using a silicone spatula, scrape this into your blender jar. Drain the raisins in a strainer for a few minutes, then into a freezer container.

Blend the milk-sugar-salt-vanilla for a minute or so. Pour over the raisins, stir everything together well. Freeze for a couple hours then stir to mix everything so the raisins don't stay at the bottom. Freeze another hour or two until it's scoopable.

This is the first ice cream I've made that didn't freeze rock hard after the first serving! . .Lin

Easy No-Kneed Whole Wheat Bread

Whisk together in a big glass bowl:

2c whole wheat flour

1c all purpose flour

2T ground chia and flax seeds

1½t Himalayan pink salt

Stir and dissolve the following:
1½t active dry yeast
¼c dark brown sugar
1½c very warm water

Dough after 8 hours in a warm place

Pour the liquid into the big bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix well with a heavy wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and put in a warm place for 8-12 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured countertop. It will be very loose and sticky. Flour your hands and move the dough, folding it in half, adding flour to keep it from sticking. Do this for a couple minutes then put into a big bowl lined with parchment paper.

Preheat the oven to 425° also preheating the top and bottom of an oven safe large casserole or dutch oven. When the oven is ready, transfer the dough and parchment paper to the preheated container. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes to crisp and brown the top. Cool before slicing.

This turned out great. I'll be trying rye and other grains in the near future. . .Lin