November 24, 2020

by drplasticpicker

Flaxseed and Raisin Muffins. I have ground flaxseed that I needed to use up. We also have too much wheat flour and organic raisins. I offered Dr. Dear Friend a new 2 lb bag of Organic California Grown Sun-Maid Raisins, but I discovered that Dr. Dear Friend does not like raisins. She also does not like mushrooms, but loves cucumbers. We were going on our walk around the HMO parking lot, visiting the three wild rosemary bushes, the guerilla composter project soon to be succulent garden, and the new breezy shaded nature path I found. This is when I learned about how she does not like raisins. So with that excess of ingredients, I was inspired to make muffins today. I Ecosia (not Googled) a recipe and modified a recipe from Diabetes Forecast http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2009/feb/recipes/flax-seed-and-raisin-muffins.html and opted out of the splenda and just put in real sugar and honey.

Modified Flaxseed and Raisin Muffins

Ingredients

1/3	cup	ground flaxseeds
1 3/4	cups	all-purpose wheat flour
2	tsp.	baking powder
1/2	tsp.	baking soda
1	tsp.	cinnamon
1/4	tsp.	salt
1 1/2	cups	“vegan buttermilk” which is soy milk with 1 tablespoon of apple-cider vinegar
1/2	cup	sugar (I used 1/4 cup of white sugar and 1/4 cup of honey)
3	Tbsp.	canola oil
2	large	eggs
1/2	cup	golden raisin

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine the ground flaxseeds, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In another bowl, combine the “vegan buttermilk,” brown sugar, oil, and eggs and beat well.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the “vegan buttermilk” mixture. Stir until just combined. Fold in the raisins.
4. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups and bake for 18 to 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins stand for 5 minutes and then turn the muffins out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Again this is the original recipe that I modified http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2009/feb/recipes/flax-seed-and-raisin-muffins.html

I modified the recipe quite a bit given the ingredients I had at home. With every new recipe, I learn new skills and have new experiences. This recipe called for buttermilk and I substituded vegan buttermilk which is soy milk with a bit of apple-cider vinegar (I used my home-made apple scrap vinegar). My apple-scrap vinegar is really good. I gave my mom a small container and she was complaining about her ears itching quite a bit. Someone had told her to clean her ears with a qtip with a dab of vaseline, and she does not like the greasy feel of it. I told her just to dip the qtip in vinegar and clean her ears. We use 50/50 vinegar and distilled water mixture to prevent swimmers ears and can be used to treat fungal otitis externa. Anyway, I’ll call today to see how her ears are doing. Isn’t that interesting how many uses you can find for things that you can make essentially for free?

The oven timer went off. This recipe takes only 18 minutes. It’s amazing how quickly the baking time goes especially since I blog in between. The muffins turned out pretty darn well.

Home-made muffins are much better than store bought muffins. Store bought muffins are too large, and too sweet. I used to tell everyone that my favorite food was a cookie with a cup of coffee. That is when I didn’t cook as much and before I became Dr. Plastic Picker. The odd thing is that for the last year or so, I haven’t had a craving for a cookie in a really long time. I used to go down to Coffee Central at Man’s Greatest Hospital to eat the big cookie they had there. I didn’t learn until the end of the residency that the Coffee Central cookie was 600 calories. I had stayed the same weight all of residency but had subsisted on a lot of cookies. I remember my cholesterol shot up to 270 as an otherwise healthy person in my mid 20s. That is scary.

My favorite food now is any home-made muffin I make with some vegan subsitutions and especially is they are a food waste project. One muffin is just perfect for me and my cup of coffee.

I bet you Dr. Dear Friend would like the raisins in this muffin. I have to take our daughter to her orthodontic visit today which is in the direction of clinic. I will stop by and give Dr. Dear Friend some muffins and see what she thinks. I’ll let you know dear reader!