Apple-Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

A few weeks ago I bought about 60 pounds of apples.

That's a lot of apples.

And even I can hardly believe that after making many pies, a few cakes, some baked apples, apple crisps and apple brown bettys, mounds of applesauce, a couple chicken-apple recipes, including a salad, all my apples are gone.

Oh no! 

I still have a pancake recipe to try! 

Hard to believe I'll have to buy another few pounds. 

But before I ran out of apples, I did get to try these Apple-Pumpkin Streusel Muffins which are gorgeous and delicious and such a welcome, seasonal treat (with cider or coffee or tea) for Hallowe'en or Thanksgiving or simply for breakfast or coffee break.

 

Apple-Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Streusel:

• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter, cut in smaller pieces, or coconut oil

Muffins:

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed pumpkin
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups chopped apples

To make the streusel: place the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl and mix to distribute the ingredients evenly. Add the butter and work into the dry ingredients with your fingers until the mixture looks crumbly. Set aside.

To make the muffins: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin tins. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt in a bowl and stir with a whisk until the ingredients are evenly distributed. In another bowl, combine the pumpkin, vegetable oil and eggs and blend thoroughly. Pour the liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and mix until combined. Stir in the apples. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins. Sprinkle the tops evenly with the streusel. Bake for about 20 minutes or until tops are browned and crispy and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Makes 12

Pumpkin Muffins with Kefir and Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin Muffins with Kefir and Pepitas 

As soon as I see that pumpkins have replaced the corn and tomatoes at the market I start hungering for food that’s autumn-like. Mostly pumpkin bread and muffins to snack on when I need a little something in the late afternoon with my last cup of coffee for the day. 

I don’t make pumpkin muffins as often as I do banana bread, but almost. This is my latest version, which has kefir because I happened to have some in the fridge. But buttermilk is fine too. 

Reheat leftovers in a toaster oven for a few minutes if you need a quick breakfast. 

Btw, I used to bake and mash the pumpkin insides to get the puree, but most of the time I use canned pumpkin or squash. NOT pumpkin pie mix. I want to mix in the spices of my choice, not theirs.

Pumpkin Muffins with Kefir and Pumpkin Seeds

• 3  tablespoons butter

• 1-3/4 cups flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1 cup mashed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

• 3/4 cup kefir

• 1/4 cup molasses

• 1 large egg

• 2-3 tablespoons crushed pumpkin seeds 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 9 muffin tin cups. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, combine the pumpkin, kefir, molasses, egg and cooled, melted butter. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ones and mix only long enough to combine. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin cups. Scatter the pumpkin seeds evenly on top of each muffin. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes 9

Macaroni and Cheese

What do I cook when the grandkids come for a visit? Well, lots of things depending on which one, but I know I am safe if I have some Macaroni and Cheese on hand. Just in case.

All of my grandchildren like Macaroni and Cheese.

Doesn’t everybody?

If I have time, I make the recipe ahead and freeze portions in one-serving casserole dishes, then thaw and bake them until they’re hot enough.

Macaroni and Cheese is easy enough to make. And yet people ask me questions about it all the time. Mostly about the sauce separating or feeling grainy or gritty. So, here’s some tips for would-be Macaroni and Cheese makers out there. Followed by my standard recipe.

1. You can use a variety of cheeses, even blue-type cheeses, which give the dish a tangy taste. Although most people use cheddar by itself, that can make the texture grainy.

2. Use young cheeses such as asiago, non-aged cheddar, havarti, muenster, non-aged gouda, and so on. These have more water content than aged, older, drier cheeses and melt more easily, keeping the mixture stable.

3. Include American cheese; adding a bit of American cheese to the mix can stabilize the sauce too.

4. Use whole milk rather than skim because fat serves as a stabilizer.

5: Shred, chop or grate the cheese so that it melts more easily when you add it to the hot white sauce. Only add a little at a time and mix it in thoroughly before adding more. If you add cheese all at once there’s more of a tendency for the sauce to separate.

Macaroni and Cheese

• 8 ounces elbow macaroni

• 3 tablespoons butter

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 2 cups whole milk

• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

• pinch or two of freshly grated nutmeg

• 4 ounces American cheese, shredded or chopped

• 2 ounces Muenster, Gouda or a blue-veined cheese, shredded, chopped or crumbled

• 2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded or chopped

• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the macaroni until it is al dente, drain and set aside. In a saucepan melt the butter over low-medium heat. When it looks foamy, add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, without letting the mixture become brown. Gradually add the milk and stir constantly using a whisk until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Stir in the salt, nutmeg, American cheese, Muenster (or other) cheese and 2 ounces of cheddar cheese and whisk the sauce until the cheese has melted and the sauce is smooth. Stir the sauce into the cooked macaroni. Spoon into a baking dish and top with grated cheddar cheese. Bake for a few minutes until the grated cheese is hot and melty or the bread crumbs are golden brown.

Makes 4 servings

Rice Krispy Crusted Macaroni and Cheese

Mac and Cheese

"What are you going to be for Hallowe’en?"

It’s the question my granddaughter Nina asked recently as we were walking down the street.

So I said “I’m going as a grandma. And Grandpa is going as a grandpa.”

She thought that answer was so funny she stopped to laugh out loud for a long time. And said “but you are already grandma!”

So I told her that I was going to buy a gray-haired wig and a cane and go trick-or-treating looking like an old, bent-over woman. And I showed her how I would do it and what I would sound like when I said “trick or treat” with my best old-person voice.

But of course I am not going trick or treating because I am in Egypt. Yes, that’s right. Egypt. Cairo. Tahrir Square, the Pyramids, Sphinx and the whole bit. That’s why I haven’t been blogging as much as usual.

But I also just learned that our group, which has 9 women, will be having an early Halloween and we will be wearing gulabyas (Egyptian dresses) so I guess I will be in costume after all.

When my neighbors at home come to my door on the real Halloween and they realize I am not home I hope they don’t vandalize the place too much. One year our doors got sprayed with that stuff that comes flying out of a can like neon colored string and we had to have everything painted because the string didn’t come off.

It’s been years since I went trick-or-treating with my children. They are grown and go trick-or-treating with their own kids now. But I remember that Halloween night was always the turning point for the weather. It was always cold and frequently rainy on that night (why couldn’t nature wait one more day???)

So there was always something warm and delicious when we got home. Like soup or Mac and Cheese and certainly hot chocolate with marshmallows.

If you go trick-or-treating and need some warm nourishment afterwards, before the candy gobbling, try Macaroni and Cheese. I would give a nourishing and warm Egyptian recipe but —- more on that some other day. Here’s a good recipe for Macaroni and Cheese.

Macaroni and Cheese

• 8 ounces elbow macaroni

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 2 cups whole milk

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• few grindings of nutmeg

• 4 ounces American cheese, cut into small pieces

• 4 ounces cheddar cheese, grated or chopped

• 1 cup Rice Krispies cereal (or similar), optional

• 2 tablespoons melted butter, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the macaroni until it is al dente. Drain and set aside. In a saucepan, melt the two tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, add the flour and stir it into the melted butter using a whisk. Cook for about a minute. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to form a smooth sauce. Add the salt, nutmeg, American cheese and cheddar cheese and stir until the sauce is smooth and thick. Stir in the macaroni and coat all the pieces. Spoon the macaroni into a baking dish. If you like a top crust, mix the cereal and melted butter and sprinkle on top of the macaroni. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cereal is browned and crispy.

Makes 4 servings