Cranberry Lemon Muffins

It's been a long time since I've been this excited over a baking recipe.

A simple ingredient list and easy mixing by hand really makes this recipe appealing, and since I have a definite affinity for both cranberries and lemons, I was smitten with these from the first bite.   

These muffins are bursting with bright lemon flavor thanks to a generous helping of fresh lemon zest, and every bite is kissed with tangy, fresh cranberries. 

The coconut flour gives these an incredibly delicious, slightly nutty background flavor and adds to the overall sweetness of these. My latest favorite flour, it adds depth to any recipe it graces.  

Slicing the cranberries in half takes some time, but don't let that deter you from making these muffins.

Trust me, they are worth it. 

I used Pacific Northwest - grown cranberries, which, here in California, are definitely fresher than their Eastern counterparts. The recipe actually came from the bag; I adapted it, switching flours, and replacing margarine, milk, and refined sugar with less-processed ingredients.

The result is a moist, tender muffin that I can feel good about eating.

Try these with tea.   

This recipe makes a very thick batter. I used an ice cream scoop to portion out the dough between 12 muffin cups. 

Cranberry Lemon Muffins

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2 cups fresh cranberries

1/2 cup almond milk

1 cup evaporated cane sugar

1/4 cup coconut oil, softened

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 eggs

Zest of one large lemon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups spelt flour, minus 1/8 cup

1/8 cup coconut flour

2 tsp baking powder

Before you do anything, slice the cranberries in half, then set them aside.

Heat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, mix sugar, salt, oil, eggs, and milk. Zest the lemon over the bowl, add vanilla, and stir.

In a smaller bowl, whisk the flours and baking powder together.

Add to the wet ingredients and stir until smooth.

Fold in the sliced cranberries.

Divide batter evenly between 12 paper-lined muffin cups. 

Bake 25 minutes, or until slightly golden at edges and a toothpick comes out clean from the center of  the muffins.

Let cool and eat the same day for the freshest taste.      

Recipe adapted from HBF International Northwest Fresh Cranberries.

Persimmon + Ginger Kombucha

This honey-gold brew is especially delicious this time of year. 

It combines the taste of a ginger beer with that of the buttery-sweet persimmons

to make a slightly fizzy, balanced beverage that is neither too sweet nor too tart. 

Finally, a good use for overripe persimmons; in fact, the softer the better for this recipe.

The ducks are always interested in what we're eating, even kombucha!

Depending on how ripe your persimmons are, you may be able to just remove the stem at the top and put the soft fruit into the kombucha to infuse as is. 

[Below: Ducky was very interested in the bag of persimmons, and persisted his begging until we gave him a piece of one, which he wasn't thrilled with. The girls were more interested in the delights the flat of calendulas had to offer them.

  

Coco's big eyes widen at the sighting of a particularly juicy-looking slug: ]
Aren't her petite little tootsies just adorable!?

This was my first attempt at infusing kombucha, using my very first home-brewed batch. 

It turned out so much better than I'd hoped - a raging success. I can't really believe it!

Quality ginger-root is key here.

Look for the smaller, golden-fleshed roots that have been showing up recently in health food markets; these are grown in Peru and are far more potent than their larger, grown-in-China counterparts. Of course, homegrown would be far superior to any roots you could buy.  

Persimmon + Ginger Kombucha
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You will need 1 1/2 cups of diced fruit and a roughly 1-inch length of thinly-sliced, unpeeled fresh ginger root for every half-gallon of kombucha you plan to infuse.

Start with plain homebrewed kombucha that is finished fermenting to your taste.

Brew a fresh batch of sweetened tea for your SCOBY.

Set aside one cup plain finished tea for inocculating the new tea.

The rest of the finished kombucha can be infused.

To infuse, place the kombucha into a clean jar and add the diced fruit and ginger.

    Let this infuse for about three days, or to taste. The finished brew should be slightly effervescent and a beautiful deep golden-orange color.

This can be sipped as is, or, for more carbonation, bottle and refrigerate for a day or two, until the desired amount of bubbles is reached.