I'm very excited about this garment! I've never worn anything I've made, except to try on one scarf as a gift I was giving. I was just so excited about the color and having such a huge hook that I couldn't resist starting it at 2am in bed last night. I knew it would be fast work and easy on hard-to-focus eyes. I debated sleeping in it when it was finished about an hour later. The pattern is so easy you could probably do it with your eyes shut, and much faster the second time around. It's the free "Openwork Crocheted Cowl" pattern from Lion Brand Yarns, found
here.
Maybe the reason I was able to start and finish this project so late in my bed was because I ate three of these before getting in. They were fresh out of the oven. (They are quite tiny and were sans the cashew cream.) But really, a lovely muffin-- Jae Steele's Blueberry Buckwheat Muffin.
The recipe**:
INGREDIENTS:
- 1¾ cups whole buckwheat (raw, not toasted)
- 2 cups filtered water (room temperature or just-boiled)
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ organic non-dairy milk
- ⅓ cup flax seeds
- ¼ cup softened non-hydrogenated coconut oil or sunflower oil (plus extra if using to coat pan) *I've used canola and it works great! (not sure about the nutrition)*
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- zest of 1 organic lemon (about 2 tsp, lightly packed) (if organic is unavailable, omit)
- 1 tsp anise seeds, ground (optional)
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 cups fresh or frozen (not thawed) blueberries
DIRECTIONS:
Rinse the buckwheat, then combine it in a bowl with the 2 cups of room temperature filtered water and soak overnight (or combine with the 2 cups of just-boiled water and soak for 1 hour).
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Prepare a muffin tray with paper liners or a light coating of oil (you'll need to prep 16 cups instead of the standard 12).
Pour soaked buckwheat (along with any unabsorbed water) into food processor or blender, add the syrup, milk, flax seeds, oil, lemon juice, zest, anise and salt, and give it a whirl for about 1 minute, until the buckwheat kernels are broken down. Add the baking powder and soda, and whirl again for another 10 seconds to combine.
Pour the batter into a large bowl and fold in the blueberries with a silicone spatula.
Portion the batter into muffin cups, filling them to the top, and bake for 25 minutes*, until the tops are domed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Stores in an airtight container for up to 2 days, or in fridge for up to a week.
MAKES 16 MUFFINS. Gluten-free & potentially Soy-free
MUFFIN TIPS
Soaked but not forgotten
If you soak the buckwheat but don't get around to making the muffins the next morning, all is not lost. It will keep in the fridge for a day or two -- just allow it to warm to room temperature for about half an hour before proceeding with recipe.
Ghost muffins
When a muffin tray is on its way to the oven but not all the cups are filled, pour about ½" (1 cm) water into each empty cup to promote the same level of humidity in the oven.
Recipe completely courtesy of jae steele and her cookbook, Get It Ripe.
*I've found it can easily take longer than 25 minutes in the oven, and I haven't noticed too much of a dome. I take them out when they are obviously not liquidy anymore, and the paper liner can easily be peeled off by user.
** I sometimes call this muffin, "the most disgusting muffin by the average American's standard" muffin, because they are not sugary sweet (in fact, completely devoid of refined sugar!) or cakey, and have an earthy, nutty flavor. However, they are sweetened with maple syrup, and have a lovely light flavor with a little tang of lemon and also sweetness of the blueberry. I think they're delicious and every time I eat them, I physically feel really good-- my stomach feels soothed and I feel oddly invigorated. Alive groats! I write this because I know baking takes money and time, and you shouldn't waste either of these by being misled.