Lately, in the interest of healthier meals, made with local ingredients, etc. we’ve been playing a rousing game of Food Wars. We alternate nights cooking, don’t say what we’re cooking and have fun trying to create layers of flavor, while keeping it healthy. This morning, in dire need of brunchy food, it was my turn. We have a winner so I’m writing it down quickly.

Cooking with whole wheat is tricky. Most recipes continue to split the whole wheat flour with white flour in the interest of not creating belly bricks. The muffins this morning greatly resembled cornbread in their reasonably airy crumb with the little crunch in each bite like cornmeal would create. However, that crunch came from ground flax and wheat bran. These have just a hint of sweet so they are not cloying. They could easily be breakfast, a tea accompaniment, etc.

Anyway….we’ve decided it’s the perfect muffin/quick bread base so I’ll be using it with other additives besides dates. Jalapeno and corn for chili muffins is a future try.

This morning, I served these with freshly made miso soup. Sounds strange but the slightly sweet muffins with the slightly salty miso and crisp, crunchy green onions went together very nicely for a tasty but healthy brunch.

Whole Wheat Muffins with Honey and Dates

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups of whole wheat flour (We use John’s Farm, a local farmer so it’s organic, freshly ground, etc. I think this makes a huge difference. The downside for those outside the area is at the Farmers Market it is $7/5 lbs. but online it’s $19.99/5 lbs.)

3 TBSP freshly ground flax seed

3 TBSP wheat bran

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:

1 cup water

1/4 cup canola oil (I will try this with applesauce next time)

1 egg

2 TBSP honey

2 TBSP agave nectar

Addition:

3/4 cup chopped dates – about 5 large medjool dates

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Combine dry ingredients and sift together 3 times — sifting MATTERS with whole wheat. Don’t forget with flour to spoon it into a measuring cup and level with a knife, not just reach your measuring cup into a bag and scoop, it compacts it and you end up with more flour than needed. Some of the heavier things like bran or flax may not sift through, just dump them back in and make sure to mix them in.
3. Cut up dates. If you’ve never done this it will be a big sticky ball. Just keep cutting. Then put them in the flour mixture and use your hands to separate the date ball. As flour gets on the pieces they will break up and scatter in the mix.
4. Mix wet ingredients together, make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in, mixly quickly. It will be a slightly wet mix.
5. Pour into muffin tins/papers. This does NOT raise a lot so I fill them about 3/4 full.
6. Cook for 15-20 minutes at 425. Ovens vary. 17 minutes was perfect for mine.

I’ll have to post the amazing shrimp caprese couscous in another post, since I also don’t want to lose that recipe while it is fresh in my head.