muffins | strawberryplum

Cranberry-Orange Cornmeal Quick Bread

December 18, 2013 | posted by Sarah | 1 Comment

I have a theory on how the humble little quick bread became everyone’s favorite homemade holiday gift: no one has time for anything in December. Life goes from busy to absolutely chaotic. I’m supposed to be where, when? You’re on your way over…um, great! Throw in shopping, pre-entertaining deep-cleaning, the fact that you must double the amount of time it takes to go anywhere, and you get the picture. If you’re going to have something in homemade in hand when you show up at that party, the only viable option is a loaf of quick bread.

Thankfully, quick breads are among my favorite baked goods to give and receive. On a giving end, I love making them for the obvious reason of being quick, but they’re also versatile and forgiving. Don’t have the cranberries the recipe is calling for? No biggie–use the dried cherries from the cupboard. Slightly over-baked because you were singing in the shower and didn’t hear the timer buzz? Don’t sweat it, just add extra glaze. You get the picture; it’s easy, relaxed baking. On a receiving end, it’s always such a pleasure to wake in the morning, knowing a breakfast-able is ready and waiting on the counter. And, of course, you can always pop a loaf in the freezer and save it for, say, when you’ve run out of Christmas cookies and you need to shake the middle of January blues.

This is a great quick bread–tender and cakey, made with cornmeal and buttermilk, bursting with winter citrus and bejeweled with tart cranberries. It’s perfect to give as a gift, but if you want to bake a loaf just for yourself and enjoy in a dark, quiet room away from the hustle n’ bustle, that’s cool, too.

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Sausage, Fennel & Gruyère Miniature Egg Stratas

November 14, 2013 | posted by Sarah | 16 Comments

Pecan and apple pie aside, if I had to choose just 1 thing to load my plate with on Thanksgiving, it would be the stuffing. I mean, as a carb-aholic what’s not to love? And you can have so much fun with it! Herbs, sausage, nuts, veggies, I can’t wait…

…except this year, I won’t be spending Thanksgiving on American soil. I doubt I’ll have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner unless I figure out a way to cook turkey and stuffing on a 2 burner cooktop in a teeny studio apartment. But I couldn’t let a year go by without experiencing the essence of Thanksgiving so I concocted these stuffing-inspired egg strata muffins. They’re made with sausage, sautéed fennel and onions, Gruyère, and toasted bread, soaked overnight in a rich egg custard. They walk a thin line between strata, savory bread pudding, and something Matt refers to as “cowboy breakfast” and the rest of us simply call “egg bake”. And for me, they taste exactly like everything good about the holidays, wrapped up into 1 neat little package.

So, of course, it tastes good, but here’s the other reason everyone loves strata: it’s assembled the night before you serve it, which means you get to brunch without busting out a mess of bowls and pans first thing in the morning. And if that’s not good enough, these mini stratas bake in half the time of a big strata.

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Pear & Candied Ginger Muffins

October 16, 2013 | posted by Sarah | 7 Comments

I have a strange stubbornness when it comes to turning my furnace on for the first time each fall. I try to hold out until November 1st, telling myself we could totally get another run at 75° sunshine. I need to believe al fresco dining isn’t out of the question for the next 6 months, that I won’t soon be wearing long underwear. I can’t give in; I can’t let go of summer and I can’t acknowledge that winter’s knocking at my door.

So I avoid the truth and spend the month of October shivering. Shivering and shivering and…

…baking. I spend a good deal of time baking. A hot oven helps with the chattering teeth and a warm treat with a cup of coffee makes most situations tolerable.

My latest attempt at baking away my October shivers was a batch of pear and candied ginger muffins and they provided just the warmth and comfort I was looking for. The muffins bake up impossibly light and fluffy. They’re loaded with chunks of ripe pear and candied ginger and a spicy ginger-lemon glaze puts them firmly in the “can’t wait to make them again” recipe file.

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Raspberry-Rhubarb Quick Bread

April 17, 2013 | posted by Sarah | 7 Comments

I’ve got a smidge of a problem with my freezer. You see, I put things in but they never come out.

That is, until they fall on my head as I’m trying to shove something else in there.

But after being assaulted by an almost year-old bag of frozen rhubarb, I decided it was time to take control of the situation. Theoretically, rhubarb should be back in season within a month, so it would be silly to hang on to the bag I froze last spring. Digging deeper, I discovered there were several bags of forgotten raspberries, as well. Let’s put this frozen fruit to work and make a loaf of quick bread.

I love quick breads. Who doesn’t? There’s easy. Forgiving. You don’t have to break out the stand mixer. Deliciously moist. Hold up well for a few days. I baked this loaf on Friday and I’m still, happily, eating it on Tuesday as I write this.

But, enough of my jibber-jabber. This is supposed to be quick bread. Let’s get it done.

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Date, Coconut & Pecan Quinoa Muffins

January 21, 2013 | posted by Sarah | Leave a Comment

Now let’s get one thing straight; when it comes to muffins, I hardly discriminate. I like ’em all, from dense and cakey to light and delicate, most every muffin has its time and place in my world. But, if you’re going to press me for my favorite weekday version, it is, without a doubt, the humble quinoa muffin.

Why, you ask. Why some dowdy quinoa muffin when I could be biting into a fluffy blueberry-buttermilk beauty? It’s like choosing some mousey brunette over a blonde bombshell pageant queen.

Because quinoa muffins have got substance, integrity, loyalty. They’ll coax you out of bed with the promise of deep, nutty-grainy deliciousness and fuel you all through the first half of the day. They’re not going to merely flirt with you in the morning only to flake out on you halfway to lunch.

If you’ve been coming around here since the beginning, you probably already know about my affection for quinoa muffins. I’ve been known to hide squash and apples in them. This time around, I’m thinking quinoa muffin meets granola with big chunks of dates, copious coconut curls, and plenty of pecans.

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