Nori Salmon Cups + Giveaway

Featured Ingredient: Nori

I'd like to think that Tabi and I enjoy a fairly healthy diet. Generally, its full of whole grains, bright vegetables and healthy proteins. But there is one item we should eat more of: Seaweed.

Nori, wakame and the various other guises of dried seaweeds are among the healthiest foods on the planet, packed with a smorgasbord of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. That's because they soak up ocean-borne nutrients as they dance in the currents. Researchers at the University of California say a connection may exist between seaweed consumption and the lower than average cancer rates in Japan. Plus, seaweed contains plenty of iodine to promote healthy thyroid functioning. And what’s not to love about that distinctive salty, briny flavor?

One my favorite food companies Navitas Naturals has recently introduced an item that makes it that much easier for us to sneak more seaweed into an everyday diet. Nori powder is made simply by blitzing those nori sheets from sushi joints into a fine powder. It can be easily used to gussy up soups, a batch of kale chips or any Asian inspired stir-fry. I can also attest to its power to elevate a bowl of popcorn.

We love having these nori infused salmon rice cakes in the fridge for a quick snack. I guess they are kind of like sushi in muffin form. The sticky rice acts like a glue to bind all the ingredients together. If I had it on hand, I would have definitely included some picked ginger for extra kick. These are one of those recipes where bendable silicon cups help out a lot for easy intact extraction.  

So the good news is that it’s time for another Muffin Tin Mania product giveaway. The kind folks over at Navitas Naturals would like to award one of my readers with some of their nori powder to try out.

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment on this blog post that says “I brake for seaweed” along with some way of identifying yourself such as your initials, name or email address and I will use this online tool to randomly select a winner. I’ll announce the winner next Tuesday June 18th, so if you entered write the date down on your calendar and check back in then for a chance to claim your prize.

Congrats to Michelle who was randomly selected to receive her very own bag of Navitas nori powder. 

Nori Salmon Rice Cakes

1 1/2 cups sticky rice such as Calrose

3 to 4 ounces smoked salmon, chopped

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

4 teaspoons nori powder

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon grated or finely minced ginger

1 teaspoon wasabi powder (optional)

Prepare sticky rice according to package directions. Remove from heat and set aside for 5 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Divide mixture among 12 standard sized greased or paper lined muffin cups. Make sure to pack down the contents firmly. Set aside for about 1 hour to set. Carefully unmold and store in the refrigerator for up to about 1 week.

Honey Granola Cups

Featured Ingredient: Honey

Stick me on a deserted island and as long as I’ve got a good supply of granola with me I’m good to go. That’s why I was thrilled to figure out a way to make it transportable. While most granola bars at the supermarket kind of suck, these nutrient-dense granola cups deliver authentic granola taste in a handy take-and-go form. I would think they would be a great energy supplying snack for a wide range of summer activities like hiking, camping or for a day at the beach.

My preferred sweetener for granola is often honey. University of Wyoming scientists determined that hunger-fighting hormones were elevated while blood sugar levels were lower in subjects who consumed meals with the same number of calories derived from honey and white sugar. While darker varieties such as buckwheat appear to contain a good amount of disease-thwarting antioxidants. For the biggest benefits, search out unpasteurized honey from local suppliers.

Granola Cups

Adapted from an article I wrote for Alive magazine.

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup pecans or almonds, chopped
1/4 cup hempseeds or sunflower seeds
1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large free-range egg
2/3 cup honey, preferably dark such as buckwheat
1/4 cup melted coconut oil or other oil of choice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In large bowl stir together oats, almond flour, wheat germ, nuts, seeds, dried cherries, apricots, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.

In separate bowl lightly beat egg and stir in honey, oil, and vanilla extract. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until everything is moist.

Divide mixture among 12 medium-sized greased or paper-lined muffin cups and pack down tightly with the back of a spoon so they stay together after baking. Bake 20 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Let cool several minutes before unmoulding.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Bundles

Featured Ingredient: Egg Roll Wraps

This recipe is so good I wanted to make sure not to keep it under wraps. Ok, bad pun.

Consider these bundles of joy a fresher tasting take on the classic Chinese take-out dish. Best of all, the contents are all bound up in a crispy parcel that both adults and kids will love tearing open. Try to reserve some of the cooked sauce for topping the parcels when served.

Most supermarkets carry egg roll wraps, but make sure you don’t mistake them for the smaller wonton wrappers that won't work here. Extra wraps can be frozen for up to 3 months. The sweet and sour chicken mixture can prepared up to a day in advance.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Parcels

Ingredients

1/3 cup low sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon canola or grapeseed oil

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, sliced into ½-inch cubes

1 small green bell pepper, chopped

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

2 green onions (scallions), white and green parts, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons minced ginger

1 cup cubed pineapple

12 egg roll wraps

Method

In a small bowl, whisk together broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, ketchup, sugar and cornstarch. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink inside, about 5 minutes. Add peppers, green onion, garlic and ginger to the pan and cook for 1 minute, or until peppers are slightly tender, stirring often. Pour in sauce, bring to a boil and heat until slightly thickened, about 30 seconds. Stir in pineapple and remove pan from heat.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Press egg roll wraps into 12 standard sized muffin cups. Fill each egg roll cup with the chicken mixture, fold over the tops to seal and brush with remaining oil. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Let cool for 5 minutes before unmolding.  

Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Muffins

Featured Ingredient: Hazelnut Flour

I may have created what can be considered close to the perfect muffin. Hazelnuts, robust maple syrup, warming spices, subtly sweet bananas and luscious dark chocolate chips meld together to create a muffin that undeniably delivers tempered indulgence.

Hazelnut flour is basically just ground up hazelnuts making it a nutritious addition to items like muffins, cakes and pancakes. Namely, hazelnuts provide beneficial monounsaturated fat and vitamin E, an antioxidant that is one of the most underconsumed nutrients in the typical North American diet. You can find brands like Bob’s Red Mill in natural food stores. Almond flour would be a good substitute in this recipe.

My recommendation is to heat up the muffins for about 25 seconds in the microwave so you end up with melted chocolate goodness in each bite.

Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Banana Muffins

1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 cup hazelnut flour/meal

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1/2 cup low fat sour cream or plain yogurt

1/3 cup dark pure maple syrup

1/4 cup melted coconut oil or other oil of choice

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, stir together flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl, lightly beat eggs and stir in sour cream, maple syrup, oil, banana and vanilla extract. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until everything is moist. Fold in chocolate chips.

Divide mixture among 12 standard sized greased or paper lined muffin cups and bake for 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool several minutes before unmolding. 

Mac-and-Cheese Cups

Featured Ingredient: Broccoli

I thought I would share another recipe from my “Cupcakes for Dinner” article that recently appeared in Family Fun magazine based on the premise of my cookbook Muffin Tin Chef. This one is a healthy take on mac-and-cheese.

Filling out these mac-and-cheese cups with antioxidant rich broccoli and creamy low fat ricotta cheese helps avoid the avalanche of calories that is downfall of many of the casserole dish baked versions. You could also make use of fresh broccoli if desired. Making them in the larger sized (a.k.a. Texas size) muffin cups allows for a more substantial presentation, but you certainly can also use the standard sized ones. Just be sure to reduce the cooking time by about 5 minutes. Japanese style panko bread crumbs provide a lovely crusty topping. To add a shot of protein, you can stir cooked and chopped Canadian bacon into the pasta mixture before baking.

The tasty tomato jam recipe below was cut from the article due to space constraints, but I really love this upscale version of ketchup so I wanted to include here as an optional add-on.

Three Cheese Mac ‘n’ Cheese Cups

Ingredients

8 ounces (2 cups) whole grain macaroni (elbow) pasta

1 1/2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

2 large eggs

3/4 cup low-fat milk

1/2 cup reduced fat (light) ricotta cheese

3 cups frozen broccoli florets, thawed and chopped

2 green onions (scallions), white and green parts, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup panko bread crumbs

Prepare macaroni according to package instructions, leaving the pasta slightly undercooked (al dente).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Drain pasta and add to a large bowl along with cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup parmesan. Stir until cheese is melted. In a separate bowl, lightly beat eggs and stir in milk and ricotta cheese. Add egg mixture to pasta mixture and stir in broccoli, green onion, nutmeg, mustard, salt and pepper. Divide mixture among 8 large sized greased or paper lined muffin cups.

In a small bowl, stir together bread crumbs and remaining parmesan cheese. Divide bread crumb mixture among macaroni cups and gently press down on the contents. Cook for 20 minutes. Let cool for at least five minutes before unmolding.

Tomato Jam

Ingredients

1 pound plum (Roma) tomatoes, about 4 tomatoes

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce (optional)

Using a sharp knife, slice a shallow X into the bottom of each tomato. Fill a medium sized saucepan about halfway with water and bring to a boil. Drop tomatoes into the boiling water for about 15 seconds and remove with a slotted spoon. When cool enough to handle, peel back the skin from the tomatoes starting at the points created by the X, slice in half, scoop out the seeds and chop.

Mix together tomatoes and sugar in a medium sized saucepan. Let stand for 10 minutes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often. Stir in cider vinegar, paprika, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce if using. Simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.

Chocolate Avocado Coconut Cakes

Featured Ingredient: Avocado

When it comes to celebration, a chocolatey treat is always welcomed. And I recently received news that definitely called for a batch of muffin tin chocolate goodness. For several years now, I’ve been working away as a nutrition and food writer for a number of publications. And last weekend I was lucky enough to receive a James Beard Award in New York City for Food Journalism. They have been lovingly called the Oscars of the food world. It’s an amazing honor and definitely made these chocolate cakes taste that much sweeter. 

Infused with avocado and adorned with a quick raspberry sauce, the taste can only be described as guilt-free decadence. You’ll also notice that with the absence of eggs or dairy, the cakes are vegan. But they manage to be wonderfully fudgy and only get better after a day or two. My suggestion is to serve the cakes warm.

Avocado owes its mega benefits to the fact that the creamy flesh is rich in ticker-friendly monounsaturated fat and a range of nutrients including folate. While raspberries are among the highest-fiber berries you’ll find.   

Chocolate Avocado Coconut Cakes

Chocolate Cakes:

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder (optional)

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne or chili powder (optional)

1 large ripe avocado

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1/3 cup melted coconut oil or other oil of choice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Raspberry sauce:

3 cups frozen raspberries

2 tablespoons sugar of choice

2 teaspoons cornstarch

Place cocoa powder and espresso powder if using in a heat proof bowl. Pour in 1 cup boiled water, stir to dissolve and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, stir together whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cayenne or chili powder if using, and salt. Place avocado flesh, coconut milk, maple syrup, oil, vanilla, vinegar, and steeped cocoa in a blender container and blend until smooth. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix gently.

Divide mixture among 12 standard sized greased or paper lined muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out nearly clean. Let cool several minutes before unmolding.

To make the raspberry sauce, place frozen raspberries, sugar and cornstarch in a microwave safe bowl and heat on high for 2 minutes. Stir and heat for another 2 minutes.

Serve cakes topped with raspberry sauce.

Pizza Muffins

Featured Ingredient: Pizza

I was recently asked to put together several savory muffin tin recipes for Family Fun magazine based on the premise of my cookbook Muffin Tin Chef. The article was whimsically called “Cupcakes for Dinner.” I think what came out of this article was a handful of really tasty and fun meals that I want to start sharing on this blog. As good of a place as any to start is with these pizza muffins.

Homemade pizza can seem like a daunting undertaking, especially on a harried weeknight. With no kneading required, these gems offer a wonderful riff on pizza night. These are also excellent served straight out of the fridge as a snack or reheated mid-day to break out of the lunchtime sandwich doldrums. To appease any picky eaters, you can split the mixture in half before it goes in the muffin tin and mix certain ingredients like olives into only one-half.

Pizza Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs
3/4 cup low-fat milk

1/4 cup barbecue sauce of choice
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1 cup chopped cremini or white mushrooms

1 cup finely chopped red onion

1 cup chopped pepperettes or pepperoni, medium heat or hot

1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives

1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1 1/2 cups store-bought marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, oregano, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, lightly beat eggs and stir in milk and barbecue sauce.

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until all the flour is moist. Stir in mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, onion, pepperettes or pepperoni, olives and sun-dried tomatoes.

Divide mixture among 12 standard sized greased or paper lined muffin cups and bake for 25 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Let cool at least 5 minutes before unmolding.

Warm marinara sauce in the microwave or on the stovetop in a saucepan and serve with pizza cakes. 

Jalapeno Garlic Cornbread Muffins

Featured Ingredient: Chili Peppers

Here’s some hot stuff: In the March issue of Alive magazine, I put together a feature on chili peppers. One of the things I quickly learned when researching the topic is just how versatile they are in the kitchen.

Take for example these jalapeno garlic cornbread muffins. The chili adds just the right amount of tempered kick making these a wonderful addition to the dinner table. They are even better with a whisper of butter.

Does anyone else have any ideas for using chili peppers in muffin tin creations?

Jalapeno Garlic Cornbread Muffins

1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
2 tablespoons sugar of choice
1 tablespoons fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 large free-range eggs
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
3 garlic cloves, grated or very finely minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C).

In large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, gluten-free flour, sugar, thyme, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

In separate bowl, lightly beat eggs and whisk in buttermilk, jalapeno, garlic, and oil. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and fold in cheese.

Divide batter among 12 standard-sized greased or paper-lined muffin cups. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out nearly clean, about 18 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before unmoulding.

Multigrain Cherry Muffins

Featured Ingredient: Multigrain Cereal

The muffin tin man is back. Between working on my second cookbook (more on that later), a bicycling trip to Myanmar (totally awesome) and an overwhelming amount of recipes that needed to be developed for magazine articles, I haven’t had a lot of time or energy to post recipes on this blog. But going forward, I am going to make a better effort to post muffin sized recipes on a regular basis.

I thought I would start off with a wholesome and delicious muffin. Think of these cherry infused multigrain muffins as cereal in a muffin shape. They taste like a juiced up bran muffin.

You want to use a multigrain cereal that is meant to be served as a hot cereal. For this recipe I used the Grains & Nuts cereal from Bob’s Red Mill. I believe you could also use brown rice farina with good results.

The only thing that makes these better is a generous spread of local honey.

Multigrain Cherry Muffins

1 cup multigrain hot cereal, dry

1 cup milk of choice

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or spelt flour

1 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup coconut sugar or other sugar of choice

1/3 cup melted coconut oil or other oil of choice

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup dried cherries

In a large bowl, combine cereal and milk. Let sit at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a separate large bowl, stir together flour, ground ginger, allspice, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Stir egg, sugar, oil and almond extract into cereal and milk mixture. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir gently until combined. Fold in cherries.

Divide mixture among 10 greased or paper lined muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out almost clean. Let cool before unmolding. 

Gone Fishin'

Sorry that it has been so long since my last contest and recipe post. With all the recipe development I'm doing for magazine articles it can be a challenge to find enough time to whip up recipes for this blog. The next post will be a few more weeks to come as Tabi and I are off to Burma (Myanmar) at the end of the week for a cycle touring trip. I can almost taste those papaya salads now.