June 20, 2010

The Best Things In Life...

Ginger-Wheat Mulberry Muffins.


Last Saturday I woke up early. The plan was to head straight to the farmer's market...alone. It's fun to go with the family, but I usually try to leave before anyone else in my house is awake--so I can have a little me time and pursue the farmer's market at my leisure. This time, my little guy Carson, woke up before I had a chance to sneak out and quickly got dressed to go with me. The two of us roamed the market in search of  unusual veggies, fresh local goat cheese, berries, and smoked trout. We came to one vendor that had a table covered with mulberries. Carson couldn't remember ever trying a mulberry, so we bought a pint and headed home with our bundle of goodies!


The kids loved the mulberries so much, that when we decided to pack a lunch and head to the pool; we took the rest of them with us to snack on. My husband and the kids swam and I chatted with friends. Later the kids gobbled down the berries with purple faces and fingers. As we left the pool that day, I happened to look to the left, and what did I see? An ENORMOUS mulberry tree! Thousands of mulberries hanging at arm's reach and scattered over the ground.

Now, I have two pet-peeves. One, I hate wasting time. Two, I HATE wasting money! I think the latter comes from growing up in a family with five kids--we didn't waste ANYTHING! The mulberries from the farmer's market weren't very expensive, but that's not the point. The point is, I could of had as many mulberries as I wanted--FOR FREE! So you know exactly what happened next...we came back to the mulberry tree with empty containers and collected until we couldn't hold another berry. That was the only  way (in my mind) to right the irritation of paying for them that morning!

Mulberries are very common is some places, and not so much in others. So to clarify for the mulberry virgin, they are similar to blackberries. I find them slightly sweeter with a floral undertone. They are also a little longer and denser. Mulberries pull away from the tree with a small stem that should be snipped off before cooking. You can use them in ANY recipe where you would use other berries. Tarts, jam, and homemade ice cream are lovely with fresh mulberries, but today it will be muffins!


Ginger is a nice contrast to the sweetness of Mulberries. Here I've combined these two ingredients in simple wheat muffins. The nuttiness of the wheat supports the stronger flavors of the ginger and Mulberries without being overshadowed. These muffins are not too sweet, so they make a perfect breakfast or snack!


The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back in your pocket. ~Will Rogers

Lastly, I have recently received my second blog award! This award came from The Cilantropist, a wonderfully refreshing blogger with clean recipes and beautiful photography. It's a true honored to be recognized--especially by someone who obviously has good taste! Check out her site, and you'll see what I mean!

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

Sommer

Ginger-Wheat Mulberry Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour + 1 Tb. to coat the berries
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground ginger
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
½ cup sugar
¼ cup honey
1 large egg
1 cup plain yogurt
¼ cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 ½ cups trimmed mulberries
¼ cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 450*.

Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground ginger, and set aside.


In a separate bowl, mix the melted butter, sugar, honey, egg and yogurt.


Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Toss the mulberries in 1 Tb. of flour to coat. Fold the crystallized ginger and mulberries into the batter.


Using a spoon, scoop the batter evenly among 18-20 lined muffin cups or greased muffin pans. Sprinkling the ¼ cup of brown sugar on top of each muffin.


Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.


Cool the muffins for 5 minutes, then turn them out of the pans to cool completely.


Makes 18-20 muffins.


Ginger-Wheat Mulberry Muffins on Foodista

35 comments:

  1. Wow! I seriously do not remember ever trying a mulberry! The mulberries in your photos make me want to dive in a turn purple! And also, your muffins are gorgeous - very nice crowned top. I hear you on the money wasting bit...I too HATE to waste money. That's part of why I make so much of what we eat now....I'm trying to save money, even though sometimes it would be easier (but not necesarily healthier!!!) to buy something pre-made!!

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  2. Absolutely love your photography, from both the artistic and graphic / instructive standpoints.

    Berries and summer ... go together like ... well, you know.

    Summer Solstice is today, but here's an astronomical factoid if you need another reason to celebrate the warmer weather. Summer solstice is the longest day of the year, and also marks the point where Earth is furthest from the sun. But, because of inertia, July 4-5 are typically the "slowest" days of the year: the days in which Earth's orbital speed is the slowest. That's why everyone is so laid back in the summer!

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  3. Wow, such unique muffins! The mulberry and ginger combo sounds spectacular!

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  4. Great looking muffins. I have never tried mulberries but I could see the recipe also with blackberries. And I love the ginger addition in them!

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  5. Mulberries are one of my favorite fruits! I love this recipe. Thank you for sharing it.

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  6. wow...I have never had a mulberry. I will look for them at my farmer's market, but I don't think theyy are regional. None the less, these look delicious.

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  7. The mulberries are so cute! Your muffins look yummy, I'd love to try one!

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  8. My husband's very keen on the stock market....but I think Wil Rogers makes a heck of a lot more sense LOL

    Oh!! I can so imagine how you must have felt when you saw that mulberry tree ROFL

    I love ginger to distraction and though I've never had a mulberry before, I can only imagine these muffins would taste nothing short of wonderful!

    Heart stopping photo, by the way...

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  9. While markets do seem like they would provide the perfect setting for alone time, it sounds like you had a successful trip just the two of you :)

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  10. Tell me more about how to shop for crystallized ginger. I bought some ginger chunks at the whole foods market one time just because I saw another lady buying some. It looked like candy. However, it was so spicy hot and hard that after time I just threw it out. I'm not sure what it was I bought other than it was ginger.

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  11. Surprisingly for someone who loves berries, I've never ever eaten a mulberry before! This is something I need to set straight really soon... The muffins look so perfect and would be great for breakfast tomorrow.. if only I lived close to you!

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  12. great combo mulberry and ginger..girl I would have been right there with ya picking those berries, too cute..congrats on the award

    sweetlife

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  13. I think you may have inadvertently found me something to bake for my dad next time I see him. He doesn't 'do' sweets, but loooooves ginger. I think if I leave off the sugar topping he'd really like these. I don't know if I've ever tried a mulberry - I'm very curious now. Oh, and I also have that song stuck in my head now (here we go round the mulberry bush...) THANKS. ;-)

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  14. I love all of the flavors you incorporated here, and the texture must be amazing. The perfect breakfast!

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  15. Really like how healthy this is. Looks yummy!

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  16. Nana Scriv~

    I like to buy crystallized ginger from the "bulk bins" at the store. That way, when I scoop them into the bag, I can feel them for freshness. They should be just slightly more firm than a dried apricot. They are covered in sugar and have some heat. Although, when you mix them into the muffins the heat will not overwhelm! Hope this helps!

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  17. I haven't ever seen a mulberry, let alone tasted one. I am pretty sure I won't be finding any here in AZ, so I am going to have to substitute another kind of berry in those amazing sounding muffins.

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  18. I'm absolutely intrigued. These muffins sounds wonderful with the combination of sweetness and warm sharpness. Like so many others, I have yet to encounter a mulberry (save for the monkey chasing the weasel but that didn't bring me any closer! hahah) but will be on the lookout.

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  19. Wow, your muffins look absolutely delicious! I love ginger! I'm going to have to try it in blueberry muffins.... I have some blueberries in the fridge just waiting to be eaten.

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  20. Fantastic muffins and photography. Love some alone time at the farmers market.

    Cheers

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  21. Hey Sommer,
    I love mulberries! I used to eat them outside when I was young until my stomach hurt...
    These muffins look so nice. I wish I had one this morning with my coffee. Oh, and I like that Will Rogers guy-he's onto something isn't he?!

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  22. These muffins look fabulous!!!
    I bet the Ginger is wonderful.

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  23. Congratulations:) These are beautiful muffins, I am crazy about ginger...

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  24. I wrote a comment and it got deleted. Oh well. Anyway, I LOVE GINGER and these look too good to resist. I'm not sure if I can find mulberries, tho (i've never had them before). I wonder if blackberries would work.

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  25. Well suddenly my Wafflehouse omlet and toast don't seem quite as good. To bad you are not open 24hrs, I would be quite a regular.

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  26. I so miss Mulberries, living in France we don't have them here (or that I know of ) but will try this out using blackberries. Congrats on the award - very well deserved.

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  27. Ohh, mulberries! My favorite berry after cloud berries, a swedish orange berry that looks like an orange little cloud. Great post!

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  28. I don't know what are mullberries in French (probably because we don't have them as Wheel and Lollipos said), but I know they're berries and wherever you put berries, I will eat them. Gorgeous muffins! Just gorgeous...

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  29. we have a mulberry tree right outside our work and I always intend to go pick a bucket full but instead watch as the birds do it for me ... this recipe is a keeper, for next spring when the tree's fruit come back around ........

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  30. I have never been a muffin fan; they always strike me as being a cupcake masked as health food so why not just have the cupcake? Having said that, these look fabulous. I am particularly partial to mulberries. Of all the berries they are the most delicious even though they are a shocker for their bright tell-all stain! Thank you Sommer.

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  31. I don't think I have seen mulberries yet, but it's sure a nice combination with ginger. And I luuuuuuuuuv the crumble on top. Delish!!

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  32. Had I not baked these a bit too long, they'd have been perfect. Love the flavor. Have you tried them with blueberries yet? I'm thinking I'll do that next week.

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I love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for taking the time. If you have a question, I'll get back to you ASAP!