Recovery Exercise - Wholemeal Muffins

My go-to Wholemeal Muffins

All psyched up after yet another jam success, I experimented with Apple Jam. It is, after all, apple season. I love the local apples – juicy, slightly tart and very crunchy. I found a recipe for Caramel Apple Jam on the internet. Some people had left comments about the recipe, saying it was too sweet, while most found it delicious. Just looking at the recipe, I decided there was way too much sugar. I cut it down to half, but the jam was still way,way too sweet. I can't imagine how the creator of this recipe could claim it to be good, and others too. The only other thing I can think of is that the covertor system is faulty.

While working in cup measures is convenient, I sometimes find it subjective. But, a kilo of sugar is a kilo of sugar everywhere. So I decided to click the button which said 'Metric' and voila, the recipe in grams. The conversion to grams couldn't have been too far off its equivalent in cups, but perhaps I should have left well enough alone, and gone ahead in cups. The recipe is, after all, American, and their measurements are usually in cups.

So I ended up with sweet, sweet jam, with a hint of apple. Not great. I could see CS and the kids not eating it. I really didn't want to throw it out, and so in a moment of inspiration, I decided to throw it into my standard Wholemeal Muffin recipe. I merely substituted the sugar and honey with the Apple Jam. Result? Fantastic. Just perfectly sweet with a hint of the apple, cinnamon and nutmeg. Here's what I did:

Wholemeal Muffins (adapted from Betty Yew's Kitchen Secrets)

120g wholemeal flour
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup oatmeal
2 tbsp wheat germ
1 cup milk
1 large egg
3 tbsp corn oil
4-5 tbsp Apple Jam

Sift the wholemeal flour with baking powder and return husks to bowl. Add the salt and oatmeal and wheatgerm. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg, add the milk and jam. Stir until well combined. Quickly stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Don't be tempted to overmix. Pour into baking cups or paper lines in a muffin tray. Bake in preheated 220C oven for 20 minutes, or till skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool and serve. Best eaten fresh from the oven.

If by some strange chance you don't have overly sweet jam in your fridge ;), use 1 tbsp sugar and 3 tbsp honey.

Plum & Basil Jam

Fresh flavours all bottled up - plum & basil jam

It's been a while since I made jam, the last being the strawberry jam. Figured it was time to make another one. I regularly gawk at all the lovely fruit at the market, and vow to look for suitable recipe to preserve the little beauties. I either forget, or the fruits go out of season by the time I find a good recipe. However, I came across a kind of generic recipe which I am keeping as my go-to jam recipe. The rule of thumb would be to buy approximately 1.5kgs of prepared fruit i.e. if you buy pineapple, make sure there's about 1.5 kgs fruit left once the heavy crown and skin has been cut off. Some fruits have a high pectin content and therefore does not call for commercial pectin. Stone fruits have a lot of pectin in their skin, so do not remove the skin when you make the jam. (Pectin is the stuff that makes your jam gel and well, become jammy). Some of the fruits that are high in pectin are apples, currants, oranges and plums; medium pectin content are found in blueberries, raspberries, cherries and rhubarb while low-pectin fruits include apricots, peaches and strawberries.

There seems to be a lot of scientific calculations where jam making is concerned, turning people off at the prospect of a failed result. But basically what you need to make jam is fruit, sugar, pectin (found in the fruit or store bought) and acid (lemon juice). It needs to come to a full boil for 1 minute to bring it all together. If the jam is too runny, don't worry about it – it will taste great over ice cream or pancakes.

So I set off to make plum jam as the fruit vendor had these lovely purple plums for sale. I like the purple ones as they have a slightly tart skin. I decided to throw in some basil leaves in there too. I like the taste of basil, and wanted to see what the result would be like. Leave them out if you don't like them.

The combination possibilities are endless – mango & pineapple, plum & blueberry, peach & blueberry.... see what moves you. Note that this is only a guide and the 'jammy' texture will highly depend on what fruit you're using.

Purple plums 1.5 kgs

Sugar 1 ½ cups

Lemon juice 2 tbsp

Basil, a handful

Wash the plums well, halve and stone them, then cut into chunks. Put them into a large bowl with the sugar and lemon juice. Set aside for about an hour. Pour the whole lot, juices included, into a large pot over medium high heat, and stir frequently for about 20 minutes. Skim off foam. If you like, mash the fruit with a potato masher. Add the basil leaves. Let it boil over a medium heat for about 30 minutes. Do the cold plate test. (Drop a little jam onto a cold plate. The jam should remain a 'ball' which will wrinkle a little when you push it with your finger). Cool and store in airtight containers.

If you intend to keep it for a long time, you can bottle it. Be sure to follow the steps to sterilise and store in bottles, or the jam may spoil. Personally I do not do this as I don't have the equipment, so I make smaller quantities.

Chocolate & Macadamia Nut Spread

I seem to be making a lot of spreads these days. I guess today I was just moved to make this mock Nutella, and as luck would have it - I had all the ingredients on hand. It's been on the 'want to try' list for a while, but just could not find hazelnuts. Even our favourite nut seller at the Nan Men market didn't have them. (Actually, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of nuts at that market, opening up just endless baking options).

What I did have on hand was macadamia nuts. So I decided to substitute the hazelnuts with macadamias.

I was extremely happy with the end result - for a first try. The consistency and the sweetness was just right. However, the aroma of the macadamias did not come through as I imagine hazelnuts would have. It produced a handsome quantity - enough to fill a large jar. Definitely more ecomonical to make your own than buying. Well, at least in Suzhou.

Macadamia nuts 2/3 cup
Condensed milk 1 tin 370g
Chocolate chips 1 cup
Honey 4 tbsp

Process the macadamia nuts till pasty. (If you can get the nuts to liquefy, this will result in a smoother spread). Set aside. Put the condensed milk, chocolate chips and honey in a large bowl and sit it on a pot of simmering water. (Double boiler would work great). Stir occassionally till the chocolate melts. Pour the chocolate mixture into the hazelnuts and blitz till the mixture is smooth. Transfer into an airtight container, cool. Enjoy!

Pineapple Jam

Chunky pineapple jam

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day - so say the experts. I agree - I find that if I don't eat a proper breakfast (with my all important cup of Joe), I'm sluggish, irritable, and tend to snack all day long. Breakfast has to be fast on weekday mornings with people rushing off to school and work. Bread with spreads like jam and PB is fast and filling. So I have to be on the ball where breakfast is concerned. No time in the morning for elaborate preparation. (I tend to be a little more relaxed on weekends, so I sometimes make pancakes or muffins).

So jam is a good thing. Slap it on some bread and we're in business. Etienne said he'd like some pinapple jam, so I set off to find a good recipe. As always, cyberspace is loaded with recipes. I needed one that would be good as a spread, and not the thick ones used for Jam Tarts. I stumbled upon Chop Chop A to Z and decided to go with that one. I halved the recipe, but will go with the full one next time. It did not yield a lot, and the way it tastes, I figure it'll be gone in no time. I also omitted the cinnamon and cloves. Thought that would taste too much like a Jam Tart jam. Cooking time was reduced to 25 minutes. I would also grate the pineapple next time, not just chop it.

This is a really good tasting jam and is a keeper. It was all fruit and packed full of zing and ka-pow! I could probably eat it with a spoon. The pinapple was from Hainan Island. That and the variety from Taiwan are one of the best I have ever tasted.

Try making it - you won't regret it.

Ripe pineapples 2 medium, peeled and grated
Sugar 1 cup
Lemon juice 2 tbsp

Place all the ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Once it comes to a boil, stir occassionally, and boil for 20-25 minutes till the jam thickens. Allow to cool and store in an air-tight container. You can also can it if you intend to keep it for a long time. (Not me!)

Strawberry Jam

Strawberries destined for the jam jar

All the ingredients neeeded for yummy Strawberry Jam

I am on a roll after the success of my Homemade Peanut Butter. Since the jam jar is almost empty, I decided to make Strawberry Jam. A couple of reasons - I've always wanted to try making jam but never got down to it; and strawberry season is almost over in Suzhou, so I'd better do it now or wait till the end of the year.

Again, it was so easy, it's mind boggling. Why did I not try this before? This is where I stop to thank all the foodies out there who share their recipes and inspire a mere mortal like me. So, Thank You, Xie Xie, Terima Kasih!

The jam was wonderful, and the perfect partner for the Peanut Butter. In future I may cut down on the sugar just a bit, as the strawberries were already on the sweet side.

You can find the original recipe here, along with other tips.

Fresh strawberries 500g, washed and hulled. Cut the big ones into smaller pieces
Sugar 350g
Lemon 1/2 juiced and zested
Sterilised jam jar

Place all the ingredients in a pot. Heat over low heat till the sugar dissolves. Turn the heat up to medium high and boil the mixture rapidly for 15 minutes. Stir occassionally to prevent burning. Skim off scum. Do the wrinkle test. Drop a ball of jam onto a cold plate. Push against it with your finger. If it wrinkles, this means the jam is ready. If not, boil for another 5 - 10 minutes and test again. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes and then fill into the sterilised jam jars.

I like my jam a little runny, so in future I will look for the 'soft wrinkle' stage. Remember that the jam will thicken as it cools, so don't judge by what it looks like while still cooking in the pot.

Homemade Peanut Butter

Rich, homemade PB

Would you like some bread to go with that?

Surfing the net, I've discovered that peanut butter is one of the easiest things to make at home. All dressed up at the supermarket, I had the impression that it was laborious. True, homemade peanut butter doesn't quite taste like the store bought ones, but in my opinion, it tastes even better. It's just all peanut, which makes it very rich. Imagine making Peanut Butter Cookies with this - heavenly! The cost? Just a fraction of what I pay at the supermarket, minus the additives and preservatives. China grows peanuts, and so it's pretty cheap and readily available here.

I came up with this recipe based on a few I'd seen in magazines, on the net, and read articles about. In the process of making, I improvised. I dare not say it's the best formulae yet, but not bad for a first try.

Raw peanuts 1 cup, roasted in a dry pan and skinned
Vegetable oil 1 -2 tbsp
Salt 1/2 tsp
Honey 2 tbsp

Blend the peanuts coarsely. Add 1 tbsp oil and continue blending. If mixture seems too dry, gradually add more oil. Add the salt and honey and blend till you get the consistency you desire. Store in an airtight container.