The "Glory" of Passion

Recently, I have become a much more committed user of Instagram.  I realized what, in all eventuality, others before me have discovered more instantaneously…that Instagram networks you together with like-minded people all over the world.  By the simple use of a hashtag, you can become connected to others who eat like you, cook like you, shop like you, decorate like you, plant like you and the plethora of other similarities that exist in any domain of the world.  It is one of those positive & most amazing feats of modern technology.

A part of this cyber population are even interested in some of my recipes.  This one in particular:

Morning Glory Muffins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C white flour
1/2 C spelt flour
1/2 C gluten-free flour mix (mine was the one from Costco)
*over the years, I have used many combos of flour - anything from all white to 1/2 white 1/2 whole wheat, all whole wheat, 3/4 whole wheat & 1/4 wheat germ/oat bran/bran - really, the recipe is pretty forgiving as to what flours you use.  I have only recently started experimenting with ancient grains & would not be able to give good directives for using any of those as of yet…sorry…*
Or...if you do not eat an over abundance of animal protein, like me, & sometimes wonder about your protein intake... you can sub 1 C of the flour choice for 1 C of protein powder.  I use fermented vegan protein powder myself, but any would work.  If you choose a vanilla powder, I would suggest cutting the sugar back by 1/4 to 1/2 C!!
3/4 C sugar (I use organic cane sugar)
2 tsp baking soda
2 heaping tsp cinnamon (we love cinnamon in our household!)
pinch of sea salt

2 C grated carrot
1/2 C raisins (always soak in a bit of boiling water while you compile rest of ingreds - there will be no comparison in the plumpness, if you do!)
1/2 C unsweetened med-grind coconut
1 apple, peeled, cored & grated

*Note also: new discovery!! Juicing pulp.  We have recently taken up the cause of juicing.  One of our faves is juice from ingredients very akin to this recipe.  Carrot, apple, pineapple, ginger & turmeric juice.  2 cups of the pulp from this juice works nicely instead of the grated carrot & apple.  So, if you are a juicer, give it a go!*

3 eggs
1/2 C veg oil
1 snack size unsweetened apple sauce = 1/2 C (I always keep those little snack packs of applesauce around - they are just too handy for baking)
3 tsp vanilla (it seems like a lot of vanilla, but trust me - it is a baker's secret to always double the vanilla in recipes)

In a large bowl, whip eggs, oil, applesauce & vanilla with electric or stand mixer, or aggressively by hand. Add all dry ingredients on top of the egg mixture & then mix all together only until well combined.  Add the carrot, raisins, coconut & apple mixing again only until nicely blended.

Spray a regular muffin tray with Pam.  I'm not a big fan of muffin papers, but use them if you must.  Divide the batter evenly into 12 - or 11 if you really want some grand muffins.  Pour a little water into that extra spot if you are doing 11 - It will save your pan & put a little moisture into your oven which is good for muffins.  Pop into the oven & bake for 20 - 25 mins.  If you have made larger muffins, they often need the extra 5 mins, but always keep an eye out, because muffins can come a long way in just the last min or two!!

Cool on a rack in the muffin tray for a few mins before you try to release and then for a few more minutes once removed.  It will be hard, as you will have already been craving a bite, from the unbearably good aroma all throughout the house…sit, relax, enjoy!!

It struck me this morning while I was mind-blogging…as I so often do…just how very long I have been using this recipe & the origin thereof.  At the same time, I thought about all the women that have influenced my passion for cooking & baking over the years.  I wish I could say that it all came solely from my mother as she should deserve all of the credit for trying.  She was an amazing & capable cook, as were all of my aunts.  At least two of my mother's sisters cooked for work camps & fed hungry labourers meals that were probably fit for big-budget restaurants.  I can just taste my Aunt Pat's jumbo raisin cookies, melting in my mouth, as I ride away on this mind train today.  Or see my Aunt Ethel effortlessly baking away, in her tiny kitchen, turning out several items to take to market.  However, when my Mom was trying, ever so hard, to interest me in cooking/baking, especially bread…oh, the beautiful bread she baked over & over & over again…bread that I showed no interest in learning how to craft…oh the frailty & ignorance of youth - I didn't have the time of day.  But, then, when I became a young married girl (I really was still a girl, married at 20) I did become interested in culinary endeavours.  Now, I was living in Regina, far removed from my Mom living in rural, northern Saskatchewan.  I could phone her for cooking advice & recipes, but now, had missed my window for being shown the fine details…of how a "pinch of this" & a "dab of that" really looks.

Anyway, God works in mysterious ways, & a neighbour of mine (about my Mom's age,)  in our first little home in Regina, took me in, under her wing, & began really teaching me how to cook & bake.  (Her name was Flo Niedermayer.  Yes, the same Niedermayer as the fabulous hockey players.  She was their grandmother.)  This alone was an amazing gift because she was a professional cook & cookbook author. She showed me how to make countless dishes:  cabbage rolls, perogies, meat pies, chicken cordon blue, baking turkey, gravies, salads, muffins, cookies..etc, etc, etc! All of this is an endeavour, but the real gift she left me with is passion.  Her passion for food & cooking was so infectious that it could not help but rub off on me.  And now, if only I could pay that same passion forward.  It is a great compliment & heartswell to me when I see my own children, now young adults, posting pictures of a dish they have made & are proud of.  Being able to cook, & cook well, is wonderful - but - having a real passion for that pleasure is a profound & simple joy.  To be able to take a day to day task & turn it into what Italians call la dolce vita (loosely translated is "the sweet joy of everyday life") is the real gift!!  The gift that I received, all those years ago, from Flo Niedermayer… Only now, sooo many years later, would I be cognitive enough to thank her.  And, as so often is the case - it's too late…therefore, I pass along this recipe & my love for her with these few words today.

This picture is the original recipe that I have adapted mine from, photocopied for me by Flo because I couldn't even afford to buy the book for myself…

Written in memoriam of Flo Niedermayer...

One Grain Two Grain...True Grain Good Grain

For whatever reason, people are always pressing me to regard which one of our two residences seem more like home to me.  My best answer is always to the effect of, "Wherever we are gathered as a family, I feel most at home."  Both houses represent (our home) to me, but the feelings that are really linked to making a house a home present most clearly when our kids are all around.

In the same way that I would boast about being raised in rural Saskatchewan or about what a beautiful & kind city Saskatoon is, to have raised our family in, I wouldn't back down about the life we are so grateful to live when we are in the Okanagan.  This little valley of wonders swells my heart daily with its beauty, quirky charm & colourful people - not to mention, its ever-increasing vineyard presence!

Yesterday, I ventured out, with a friend, to the little community just past West Kelowna called Summerland.  I wasn't just seeking adventure in a wayward form, I was on a mission.  Although, the sheer beauty of the short drive down Hwy 97 along the lakeshore is magnificent.  As you meander along the mountain highway toward your destination, you are overcome by the drastic contrast of the craggy rock veneer along the roadside.  And, as awestruck by the vast waterway tucked in-between the mountains filling your view.  The only downfall is to have to take your turn being the driver, as I had opted for, on this occasion.

The mission today was to make our way to a little Mom & Pop bakery I had heard of on Main Street in Summerland.  Its name is True Grain Bread.  They are committed to baking with, not only, locally sourced ingredients, to the best of their ability, but they are also using "modern wheat-free" varietals of grains.  This was very exciting to me & fits perfectly into my endeavour to eat good grains in my quest to lose weight for the wedding & feel better!!

Upon arriving in front of this little gem, you promptly feel like you may be in the right spot.  Or that you have possibly been teleported to a quaint little French town.  A retro bicycle equipped with flower basket greets you, leaning against the light post, & a quirky little sign motivates your thoughts for the day.

It is, however, once you are through the door that the real magic happens.  Shelves of grains & cereals, ready to be purchased for your culinary pleasure, are stacked below a glass wall. This wall separates, but does not obstruct your view, from the wooden craftsman grinder that takes the grain, & in the old & wonderful way, mills it into a useable baking commodity.  From there, your vision casts over a rustic table & shelves overflowing with the early-morning efforts of the committed baker.  Cookies, buns, breads, crackers, crumbs, cakes, muffins & mixes implode abundantly, if not neatly, packaged into cello bags for the fulfillment of your eyes.  The rest of your senses have already bursted with joy as you came through the door.  Your mouth is watering for the simple, yet magnificent, taste of bread & the walls of your stomach grind in want.  Other corners of the room boast the necessary accoutrements to bread & its cousins, the muffin, cookie, scone or croissant…with shelves of honey, bread dips, jams, jellies & a stack of local coffee beans with labels so fabulous, you could buy a bag for the sheer artistic effort.  You are, of course, offered a sample of the dark brew smoothed out by local cream to enjoy as you meander about making your difficult shopping decisions.  It does not disappoint with a taste every bit as delicious as its label would boast.

These are only the description of the wares that would be on racks for you to view & touch, likened to a jewelry store.  Behind the glass are the real treasures…baskets & neat stacks of strudel, cookies to be sold individually, cakes & sundries galore tempt your most solid commitment to willpower.  Behind the passionate staff are the slanted shelves filled with the crowning jewel of any bakery.  The loaves & loaves of breads…braided breads, hand shaped rustic beauties, small ones, large & mid-sized offerings, shining on top or sprinkled with seeds or grains…oh my heart, what a sight!!

Short ingredient lists make decisions easy for the ever-increasing savvy shopper. And it is the list of grains used by this Ontario native that caught my attention, in the first place.  He has sourced a grower for Emmer & more recently Einkorn & not only brags of his accomplishments but quickly appears with samples of the the grains themselves to show you & taste, if you will.  And, when you ask if you can special order items, he will tell you, with no apology, that he needs 2 days in advance because the breads are also leavened with sourdough cultures that need that time to grow.  I feel as if I have won the "good-grain" lotto jackpot in finding this little win, so close to home.  I have been endeavouring to make my own "good-grain" bread with a recipe from the Wheat Belly cookbook, & have been encouraged by the fact that my husband & myself are eating it, liking it, & getting used to it.  However, I am most emphatic about supporting a local artisan baker who, I feel, is so on the cusp of what's happening to our food, quintessentially…our bread.  And…is endeavouring to take a step toward something better!!  The size of the loaves pictured below would more rightly represent how bread baked with wheat, in its original form, would have looked.

I am sure I will develop favourites, but for now I am soooo excited to taste-test this cornicopia of flavour & True Grain goodness.  And…that test may start right now, as I have managed to tempt myself with a slice of bread as I proofread my own writings…Yum…can't wait…!!!