Wheat Germ Muffins

Quite simply these are a basic muffin with substance and the apple wedges on top dresses up these otherwise plain muffins. However under the radar these muffins may be they are a healthy alternative and one that will be enjoyed with just about anything. 

Wheat Germ Muffins

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1 cup unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 cup wheat Germ

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 tablespoon ground flax seed

2 tablespoons coconut sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, beaten 

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled

apple wedges, thinly sliced 

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a muffin tin with paper baking cups or reusable silicone baking cup liners. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, wheat germ, cornmeal, ground flax seed, coconut sugar, ground cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. 

In another bowl combine together the egg, milk and melted butter; add all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened; the batter should be a bit lumpy.    

Fill the lined muffin cups with batter and place a few thinly sliced apple wedges into the tops of each muffin and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until muffins are lightly brown. Serve warm with a little bit butter. 

Notes: you could add grated apple to the muffin batter. 


Hope everyone had a nice weekend. - JD 

Peanut Butter Flax Cookies

Peanut butter cookies always remind me of my childhood as my mum would regularly make them. This is a nice take on a comforting classic recipe and are exceptionally good and did not last long.  

Peanut Butter Flax Cookies

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makes approximately 18 to 24 cookies

1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1/3 cups ground flaxseed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup coconut sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment paper. 

In a bowl combine the flour, flaxseed, ground cinnamon and baking powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl stir together the peanut butter, butter, caster sugar and coconut sugar until smooth; beat in the eggs. Stir the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture a little at a time until a dough forms. Shape into round balls, no larger than a walnut, place on the prepared baking sheet and press down with a floured fork. 

Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet half way, or until the cookies start to brown. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Notes: you can replace the crunchy peanut butter with smooth peanut butter and use whole wheat flour instead of white flour. 

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend, we did! - JD 

Carrot Bran Muffins

These sweet but hearty muffins are my son's favourite and they can easily be devoured by all. Although he thinks the addition of raisins or cranberries would be a bonus. As they are or with the additions this is another great no fuss recipe.  

Carrot Bran Muffins

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Makes about 12 muffins

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon ground flax seed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups All-Bran Buds cereal

1 cup almond milk

1 egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 large carrot, grated

Preheat oven to 400ºF / 200ºC.  

In a medium bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, ground flax seed, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the cereal and almond milk. Let stand until soft... about 3 minutes. Add the egg, vegetable oil, and grated carrot. Beat well. Add the flour mixture to the cereal mixture and stir until just combined. Add the batter evenly to a 12 greased or lined muffin tin cups.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown. Serve warm.  

Notes: the 1 large carrot equalled about 1/2 cup grated carrot. I lined the muffin tin with reusable silicone baking cups which worked like a charm. 

My son knew exactly what to do with day old cinnamon bread... he made cinnamon French toast for breakfast.  


Bit of a late post, however we are enjoying the Spring Break and enjoying the time we are having in the kitchen. - JD 

Our Vegan / Vegetarian Dinner Party

The other night we had a dinner party with friends and the dinner menu was mostly vegan and or vegetarian. We started off the night with homemade hummus and crackers. The herbed sesame crackers were made by my daughter and myself.   

My son was in charge of drinks. He decided to create a lovely summery fruit punch which consisted of raspberry juice and tonic water with slices of oranges. It was a delicate flavour with a bit of zing.   

The main was marinated tofu burgers with vegan buns. Flavourful and very, very tasty. I will post the recipe tomorrow. They were dressed with red onion, tomatoes, pickles, and...

pineapple relish. Last week I posted about the cookbook, Haute Dog and shared a recipe from the book which was the pineapple relish. I decided that the relish would be perfect with the tofu burgers. It complimented everything nicely and was a big hit. 

The side was a salad. It is hard to believe that underneath all those veggies there were tender greens and spinach. A homemade mustard vinaigrette was the accompanying   salad dressing.   

Dessert was a light fruit salad. Fresh juicy berries and tart plums lightly tossed in coconut sugar. Something  to refresh the palate.

Hope everyone had a good long weekend. It is Wednesday, the middle of the week, and the to do list keeps growing. - JD 

Left Over Rice

I can't say this is another one of my new favourite snacks because I have made this, one of my favourite snacks, before. Made... well there isn't much to it really. You need to take some day old left over rice and place some in a dessert or cereal bowl. Pour heated milk over top and add some brown sugar with cinnamon. A sweet, filling comfort snack. Yesterday's late night snack had coconut sugar on top instead. It's like an instant rice pudding. You could possibly heat everything in a sauce pan on the stove but to be honest I have never done it that way. The microwave has been far too convenient. Now you just don't have to save the left over rice for fried rice anymore. - JW