Ginger Pear Spice Muffins - perfect to bring to a friend.

This post is submitted to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday.

Cooking for people brings me enjoyment. I like seeing them enjoy something I’ve made, and I feel good about making something nourishing for the people I care about. So when a friend had a small get together at her house, I thought about what I would bring. The food needed to taste good, but be healthy. In fact, I wanted my friends to be surprised at just how healthy it was. I wanted to bring something sweet, since I knew someone else was bringing something savory. I also wanted it to be vaguely breakfast or brunch appropriate. I turned to the food blogs, but did not see the inspiration I needed. So I turned to Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and saw just what I wanted (with a few modifications, of course!).

I ended up going with a variation of the Basic Muffins recipe found on page 482. Everyone loved them. They thought that the spices were just right, they were delighted with the level of sweetness, and they couldn’t believe the real pieces of pear inside. They taste delicious, and you would be hard pressed to find a healthier muffin. The recipe uses whole wheat flour, demonstrates soaking of the flour overnight to reduce the phytates, uses maple syrup (and a small amount at that) instead of a refined sugar, and includes fresh whole fruit. You must give these a try.

Ripe Pears

Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups of water
• 2 tablespoons whey*
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 ripe pears, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

The day before you bake these, you need to combine the whey* with water and then mix with the flour. Then cover with a towel and leave in a warm spot in the house.

After 12-24 hours (24 is best), chop the pear, grate the ginger, and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Combine all of the rest of the ingredients, including the chopped pear and grated ginger, with the soaked wheat. If you have some sort of a food processor or kitchen aid, you might want to use it. I don’t have one and just used old fashioned arm power. At first, it might be difficult to combine the ingredients as the gluten in the flour was working overnight. But cradle that bowl in your arm and stir vigorously, just like they did in the days before the food processors, and you’ll be able to combine it, as I did.

Fill a buttered muffin tin about 3/4 of the way. I used the “jumbo” muffin size tin and it made a full dozen muffins. Bake for about 40 minutes. or until a toothpick pierces the muffin and comes up dry. Then they are done – nice and gingery with real bites of pear. Incredible!

Ginger Pear Spice Muffins

*Whey can easily be made if you have raw milk or yogurt. Set the milk out for a few days until it has clearly separated. Yogurt does not need this step.  Then pour the separated milk or fresh yogurt into a clean towel or pillowcase. Hang it over a bowl for 12-24 hours – whenever it stops dripping.   The whey is the watery stuff in the bowl.  What is left in the towel is cream cheese.  Whey can keep several months in the fridge and can be added to smoothies, can be used in lieu of water for bread making, and can be used to start various lacto-fermented veggies. Whey has wonderful beneficial bacteria and a slightly sour or acidic taste.  The cream cheese will keep for a few weeks in the fridge and is excellent on crackers.  You can lightly salt it if you want to.

If you do not have raw milk or don’t want to make whey, you can substitute whey for a mild tasting vinegar or lemon juice. You can also use 2 cups of yogurt, kefir, or buttermilk instead of the water + whey combination. The goal is to soak the flour in an acidic solution for 12-24 hours.

Tags: Baking, Breakfast, recipe