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Ginger Oat Bran Muffins

 

What do you get when you cross a ginger snap with an oat bran muffin?  You get a great muffin with all the health benefits of a fiber filled muffin and all the yummy taste of a ginger cookie.  It’s a win -win that is perfect for the fall season.   This ginger oat bran muffin is great to enjoy for breakfast, your morning coffee break or when you need a little something-something to get you through the day.   This muffin recipe makes 12 muffins.  Molasses is a unique ingredient in this recipe.  It is what adds that special flavor in ginger snaps, ginger cookies and gingerbread.  There are several varieties, a fancy molasses, a cooking molasses and a black strap molasses.  The black strap variety has the most nutrients, with the fancy molasses having the least.  I use the cooking molasses which still has lots of nutrients and minerals.  It is a good source of available iron and calcium. The cooking molasses also contains magnesium, potassium and selenium.  As you may already know from my other articles, oats contain a special fiber called beta-glucan, which has been proven to have the beneficial effect of removing cholesterol from the digestive track, before it can enter the blood stream.  The oats, oat bran, ground flax seed and cinnamon are great sources of fiber and help to stabilize blood sugar, which may be beneficial for people with diabetes, insulin resistant metabolic syndrome and obesity.    I like using unbleached flour instead of white bleached wheat flour because then the immune system in our gut does not have to deal with the bleaching agents in the flour.   You can enjoy the fall season with these guilt free treats and reap all their benefits from their nutritious ingredients.  The fresh ginger and orange zest, add an interesting layer of flavor. 

Ginger Oat Bran Muffins

1 cup unbleached flour

1/2 cup oat bran

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1/2 cup ground oat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt (optional)

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger

1 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon orange zest

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/3 cup molasses (fancy)

1 ripe banana mashed

1 egg

1/3 cup olive oil or real butter

3/4 cup water or milk

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line 12 muffin tins with papers, or grease well.  In a mixing bowl add all the dry ingredients including the spices.  In a second bowl mix together the wet ingredients including the mashed banana, eggs, butter, water and stir well.  Add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry and stir until just mixed, do not over stir or your muffins will be tough.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. 

Mocha Pudding Cake

This is a crazy cake for crazy times.  While this dish is baking an amazing thing happens.  The thin sauce you poured on the top forms into a pudding at the bottom of the baking dish and the cake batter you placed on the bottom rises to the top.  It is a chocolate cake with chocolate pudding on the bottom all in one pan.  This is an old-fashioned desert recipe that is a throwback to simpler times.   Dessert is a great comfort food and for chocolate lovers, this one is a real treat.  It required only basis ingredients and is quick and easy to make.      It is a cake recipe that does not use eggs, maybe that is part of the secret, of how it does the flip in the oven.  Cocoa powder is a good source of magnesium and an excellent source of anti-oxidants.  Cocoa it is known to reduce blood pressure and to be heart healthy. Researchers at Harvard Medical School, the Brigham and the Women's Hospital in Boston found that regular consumption of a standardized cocoa beverage improved blood vessel function, especially with the aged.  You might want to add a cup of cocoa with your Mocha Pudding Cake.  For some of us, you can never have too much chocolate.  Just remember, dark chocolate, without the excessive sugar, is the best choice over milk chocolate for health reasons.  Don’t like coffee?  Not problem, just use hot water instead.

Mocha Pudding Cake

1 cup all purpose flour

4 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons coco powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons olive oil, or butter

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons butter

1 3/4 cups strong coffee, can be decaffeinated, or instant

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Grease your casserole baking dish, I use butter.  Mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and baking powder.  Stir in the olive oil and milk.  It will be a very thick batter.   Spread the batter in the bottom of a casserole dish.  You can use a  9” round or a 8” square.  In a separate bowl or 4 cup glass measuring cup add and mix together the sugar, butter, cocoa powder and hot water.  Pour this mixture over the batter, leaving it to float on top of the batter.    Do not stir.   Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  You can serve it hot with cream or ice cream.  It can also be served cold, with the chocolate sauce spooned on top of whipped cream or ice cream.  The brown sugar can be increased to 1 cup depending on how sweet you like to live or how dark you like your chocolate to be.