Quinoa Muffins And Six Years Of Blogging
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When you do something for a very long time, it becomes a way of life. It integrates into your being and becomes one with you. Then it is no longer a thing. It is you. I started food blogging six years ago and today food blogging is me.
It is a milestone. But there is no fanfare. Instead, there is quiet contentment. A quickening of a heartbeat, a sporadic burst of that blossoming feeling in the chest (don’t panic, its not a heart attack!) to realize that I started something and stuck with it for so long. And just like that, it is back to being me. It is back to food blogging.
For the more curious, my first post on the blog was a Flower Pot Dirt Cake I baked for Nick and my 5th anniversary. Two days ago we celebrated our 11th. I didn’t bake any cakes this time around. But we had a candle-lit dinner of Indian takeaway and whittled away 2 hours laughing and becoming nostalgic.
Even though my month long feature of Heidi Swanson ended in January, I have continued exploring her beautiful cookbook. It is a never ending source of inspiration. Her recipe for Bran Muffins was what inspired these Quinoa Muffins that I am about to share with you. They are carefully concocted of mostly healthy ingredients and packed with fiber. They are an excellent breakfast standby and are fast becoming my experimental canvas for all kinds of nut, fruit and grain additions. I hope you will bake them, because they are amazing!
Food Styling, Prop & Photography Alert – Orange pate knife – Set of 3 $49.95 by Laguiole from King Of Knives. Vintage Blue Enamel Coffee Pot (used as a vase) – $5 from Thrift Store (Salvation Army). Rectangle Wire Rack – $10.95 from KitchenWare Direct. Little Milk Bottle – $2 from Breadtop.
QUINOA MUFFINS
Adapted from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day
Preparation Time – 10 minutes + Quinoa Cooking Time
Baking Time – 25 minutes
Makes – 12
Ingredients
2 large organic eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup wheatgerm
1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
1 cup wholemeal flour
1/4 cup raw sugar + extra for sprinkling
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons mixed citrus peel
Method
Preheat oven to 200C. Line a standard 12 cup muffin pan with paper muffin cases. Alternatively, butter the holes of the muffin pan and set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, butter and maple syrup. Sprinkle wheatgerm on top, mix and set aside.
In another bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, citrus peel and quinoa. Add this mixture to the wet ingredients and gently mix until just combined.
Fill each muffin case/hole three quarters full. Sprinkle the top with some raw sugar. Bake for approximately 20 to 24 minutes until the muffin starts to brown and the sugar has caramelized. If during baking the sugar starts browning too quickly, reduce the oven temperature and bake for slightly longer at the lower temperature until muffins are golden and cooked through. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan and turn on to wire racks to cool completely.
Eat warm, slathered with good butter or freeze for brekfast emergencies. Muffins will keep well for nearly a week in the fridge.
My Notes
At a recent trip to Pyrmont Grower’s Markets, I bought a small bag of organic mixed citrus peel. It had a delightful mix of grapefruit and mandarin. I think that grapefruit flavour really makes these muffins shine. You can always substitute with your favourite citrus peel from the bakery section of the supermarket.
I like to have a box of cooked quinoa handy in the fridge for baking whims like this one. If you have cooked quinoa and frozen it, thaw at room temperature before using in the recipe.
Wheatgerm can be substituted by quinoa flakes, flattened puffed rice, crushed cornflakes or your favourite crushed nuts. It just adds a beautiful texture to compliment the quinoa.
I like my muffins to have a crunchy top. Hence the sprinkle of raw sugar before baking. If you are not comfortable with that and have had issues with burning sugar in baking, you can either sprinkle powdered sugar or skip the step completely. The muffin has enough sweetness without the addition of more on top.
6 years is a real long time and I am so glad you didn’t give up in between or else I wouldn’t have met you!! Love you work Sneh..
I am yet to make quinoa .. not sure why am so afraid to try once again after the first failure but the muffin looks so beautiful and you said it could be like a quick breakfast too which is why I am not going to give up on Quinoa yet
kankana´s last [type] ..Bandhakopi Torkari – Cabbage stir fry
Wow, happy 6yr Bloggiversary!!! what an achievement! Love your blog! following you on twitter!:)
Congrats Sneh! Your work, your confidence and talent clearly reflects in your posts. Great going!
Looking forward to many many more years of excellence from you
Congratulations on 6 years!! That’s quite an achievement Sneh, and a testament to your talent both in writing and your photography, both are beautiful.
How funny we both published a beetroot cake at the same time and now quinoa cakes. We must be on similar wavelengths
Jennifer (Delicieux)´s last [type] ..Roasted Apricot, Vanilla & Quinoa Cakes
Incredible Sneh! You are a source of great inspiration to all of us, don’t ever change!
I’m intrigued by this recipe, hope to give it a try soon.
Congratulations on your 6th!
Nash at Plateful´s last [type] ..Oreo “Blizzard” — decadent treat to welcome the golden sun-drenched days
Congratulations on 6 years of blogging. That’s quite an inspiring accomplishment!
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen´s last [type] ..Thin Green Spinach and Herb Omelettes | Flourless Crêpes
Congratulations on six years of blogging, and on your 11 year anniversary! I’m relatively new to your blog, so have lots of recipes to go back and investigate. Your recipes and incredible styling/photos are a constant source of inspiration – looking forward to seeing what the next year (or six!) brings
thelittleloaf´s last [type] ..Chocolate & Caramel Layer Cake
Congratulations Sneh….6 years is long in the blogging world!! Here;s to another 6 and more!!
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Sneh,
I just came across your blog. I was drawn to this piece you wrote on sticking with blogging. Kudos to you.
I will be coming up on my first year food blogging. I am a food professional a food stylist to be exact. I started blogging after I heard about blogging and was looking to do more editorial work in my job. Always drawn to photography I have to admit since my blog started I have turned my passion from the styling to photography. I am obsessed with good imagery.
I love your honesty and what a great post. For me it is hard because there are so many days I feel I am blogging to myself. Did you feel like that in the beginning?
Thanks for your nice article and recipes. I will give this one a try.
a suburban kitchen´s last [type] ..Olives East Window
Thank you for reaching out. You know, there are some days even today when I feel that I am blogging to myself. The only difference is that 6 years ago it bothered me enough to put in extra hours and try to push more content on the blog to get people to read it. Now, it is more for myself. It has been 6 years but on certain days, I feel like I am still finding my groove. Nothing wrong with that. Blogging is a rite of passage and you have to come full circle to realize that it is a part of you and that you are not a part of it. Sometimes, you might need to step away from it for a while to want to come back to it. It isn’t always easy, frustrating even because it takes a part of your soul to put yourself out there. But if you don’t expect a thing, have fun, keep persisting and explore the learning curve it has to offer, it is truly worth it.
Well done for persisting to the 1 year mark, it only gets easier from then on!
Congratulations! Six years is a big accomplishment – and I can only imagine how good it feels. I consider food blogging, at least for me, to be such a labor of love… six years in I can absolutely understand how it just becomes you. You can’t start and continue something like this without passion, and it shows through in each post.
These muffins look increddible – I’m bookmarking them as a ‘must make’! Thanks for another wonderful post.
Willow´s last [type] ..Beef Barley Soup for the Soul
Congratulations on your milestone! I’ve been looking for a sweet quinoa recipe, and this looks like just the thing.
Kaytee @ Little Red´s last [type] ..Breakfast at Balthazar
Love your blog,Sneh ! Congrats on 6 years of blogging ! It’s a huge achievement and here’s to more !!!
Congratulations Sneh, 6 years is such a long time! I started my Italian food blogging 3 years ago (while my English blog is just a brand-new one!)
I’m so glad I stopped by: I love your pictures and your recipes and these quinoa muffins look so good and healthy… I’ll definitely try them soon!
Congratulations on your 6 years of blogging Sneh! Love the quinoa muffins too…thank you for sharing this!
Peter G | Souvlaki ForThe Soul´s last [type] ..Home Made Pickles
Congratulations on the 6 years.. those muffins look very moist. love the first shot!
Richa@HobbyandMore´s last [type] ..Chana Masala Hummus, cherry tomatoes, Veggies Rustic Pizza. vegan
This is such an inspiring accomplishment. Congratulations! I’m almost at my one year mark, but the journey still feels like I’ve only just begun. I absolutely adore your blog and photography. Quinoa is my favourite grain, so of course I think this recipe is superb. I am now following you on FB and Twitter. Well done, Sneh!
Lyn @LovelyPantry´s last [type] ..Chocolate Stout Cake
Wow, 6 years, congrats! These muffins look delicious. Such a good idea to keep cooked quinoa on hand.
Jeanine´s last [type] ..Yogurt flatbread & sweet potato hummus
Congratulations on successfully hitting the six-year mark. =) I think I’ve visited a million blogs (I’m a huge fan of foodgawker) and there are a handful that I constantly return to for inspiration and ideas and yours is most definitely one of them. I haven’t made any comments yet – and I’m so not a fan of Facebook or Twitter – but trust me, I’m out here quietly and thoroughly enjoying everything that you post. Thank you for sharing your beautiful recipes, pictures and words. It’s greatly appreciated.
Congratulations on your 11th anniversary and 10 years of blogging! Love the idea of your quinoa muffins, they are on my to-do-list for the weekend.
Selfishly speaking: thank you so much for ‘staying in’ there. When I find one of your posts amongst my rather voluminous mail, I relish the time when I can open and read. Rather cheekily I do wonder whether we knew and cared and used quinoa way back then – don’t quite remember
! Huge congratulations!!
Congrats on 6 years of blogging!! I have been blogging that long, too. Goshhhh!!
anh´s last [type] ..{Salad days} Viet-Russian Potato Salad & Chicken cabbage salad with tamarind dressing
A big congratulations Sneh on your six years and may there be many more! Your photography is inspirational and beautiful!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella´s last [type] ..Chicken Karaage
Wow a whole 6 years of food blogging that is impressive. It shows that you are still enjoying it. Blogging seems to take while to get used too but as you said it becomes part of you after a while so I look forward to the future and seeing where I end up.
Cakeboule´s last [type] ..Ginger and White Chocolate Buttercream Cupcakes
woohoo happy bloggiversary!! and here’s to many more years to come!
Congratulations on 6 years!
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Congrats on these 6 years, you’re a fantastic blogger!
Gaby´s last [type] ..Review: Khan Baba
6 years is a big , big deal. Hearty congratulations!! Wishing you many many more years of blogging, writing and photography.
Anita Menon´s last [type] ..A Versatile Blogger Award- It Couldn’t Get Any Better
Congrats on 6 years! We have been blogging for 3 months, and are definitely at the beginning of the process. Still trying to find that style!
Your persistence (and a bunch of your recipes) are a true inspiration!
what a feat! six years! congratulations and keep up the great work. (that’s cute about your anniversary night!)
marissa @ the boot´s last [type] ..penne with swiss chard and pancetta
Sneh, you rock. Simply put but it’s true – just love your recipes and photographs, reading your stories and learning more about you. Here’s to another 6 years.
I’ve got to try these quinoa muffins. I have some of Heidi Swanson’s books, too. Should really crack them open more often! These look like the perfect excuse
Yasmeen @ Wandering Spice´s last [type] ..Pumpkin Soup