Quinoa Lover's Muffin

 I am on vacation in a very sunny and warm place.  The air and sun have completed defrosted me like a microwave.  From the inside out.
It was a well needed warm up.  I love the sun and heat, and mid-February in NYC is short on that.
Even on vacation though, my mind is on baking. 
Vacationing at my parents house in South Florida is a bakers dream.  My Mother has a big, beautiful kitchen with high windows and views of the palm trees and sky all around.  I could happily spend all day next to my Mother at the counter, creating and baking recipes. 
My kids though, cute in their bikinis, have been tapping their bare feet all morning at me. They are ready to jump in the pool.
Well, this muffin was a snap to make and baked super fast.  The quinoa gives this muffin a slightly grainy texture, almost like cornmeal, but tastes hearty like an oatmeal.  The organic brown sugar and currants give a slightly sweet flavor, just right for breakfast. It is a real quinoa lover's dream.

I shot a few pictures of these little guys, taking a nod toward our tropical setting.
I grabbed one off the cooling rack and headed to the pool. 
Sun and muffins?  Heaven!

Quinoa Lover's Muffin



Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a muffin pan with non-dairy cooking spray.

Makes 12 muffins

Prepare quinoa first:

1 cup of uncooked quinoa

1 cup of water

Put them in a pot together over medium heat, bring to a boil.  Cover the pot, reduce heat to low and allow to cook for 10-12 minutes. 

Meanwhile; In a medium bowl whisk together:

2 cups organic spelt flour

3/4 cup organic dark brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

In a seperate bowl combine:

1/4 cup olive oil

3/4 cup almond or rice milk

2 teaspoons best quality vanilla

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Then whisk in to flour mixture:

2 cups of cooked quinoa (save any extra for lunch or dinner later!)

3/4 cup of currants (or dried fruit of your choice)

Combine milk mixture to flour mixture stirring until just incorporated.

Pour batter evenly into muffin pan and bake at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes or until muffin springs back when pressed and/or a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove pan to a wire rack and allow muffins to sit for 5- 10 minutes.  Then remove muffins to cool on a wire rack completley.  Enoy in the sun if you can!  Any leftovers from the day, wrap individually and freeze in an airtight container.