Lemon Zucchini Muffins #MuffinMonday

Fresh and fluffy, these lemon zucchini muffins have the added crunch of poppy seeds. I also baked them with stoneground wholegrain flour in addition to the all-purpose stuff, which gives them a little extra oomph of flavor. Delightful!

Summer is winding down here on the Island. That word is always capitalized in all local publications, as if there could never be any question about which island they are writing about, despite Jersey being one of several here in the English Channel.  I am completely charmed each time I see it.

Last weekend the National Trust for Jersey had an open day at several of their heritage sites. Rather ironic that as National Trust members, we could have enjoyed any of the sites free all year round but chose to go on the one day a year entrance fees are waived for the whole public.

We chose to visit one of the last working flour mills on the Island. It’s in a gorgeous woodland setting, if you look one direction, yet not far from a busy road, just across a field of grazing sheep, in the other. The mill is powered by a natural stream and manned by volunteers in period costume.

I had a delightful conversation with a lady pretending to make Jersey wonders (or des Mervelles -a local fried bread, similar to doughnuts) for the entertainment of visitors. (She admitted that they were actually salt dough and wouldn’t be fried.)

Best of all, they were selling the stoneground wheat flour at the very reasonable price of £3 for 1.5kg or to convert units, $3.70 for 3.3 lbs. So far I’ve used it in pizza dough (fabulous!) and in these excellent muffins. Feel free to leave me suggestions for future bakes with stoneground wholegrain flour, please!

Lemon Zucchini Muffins

If you don’t have access to stoneground wholegrain flour, you can substitute more all-purpose flour, adding perhaps a 1/4-1/3 cup more so the batter isn’t too wet. Wholegrain flour absorbs more liquid than all-purpose flour. Check out this whole wheat conversion graphic for more details.

Ingredients
7 3/4 oz or 210g zucchini, stems removed
3/4 cup, firmly packed, or 150g dark brown sugar
Zest 1 large lemon
1 1/3 cup or 167g all-purpose flour
1/2 cup or 60g stoneground wholegrain flour
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil, plus extra for greasing the muffin pan
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease a 12-cup muffin pan.

Grate the zucchini and dry it as much as you can by wrapping it in a clean cloth and squeezing. This weight of zucchini makes about 1 cup grated, before it’s compacted by squeezing.

In a large mixing bowl, zest the lemon onto the brown sugar then use a spoon to press the zest into the sugar, releasing its natural oils. You are doing it right when the fragrance of lemon is powerful and cheery.

Add in the two flours, poppy seeds, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk till combined.

Add in the squeezed zucchini and stir with a fork to break up the clumps.

In another mixing bowl, whisk the oil, eggs and lemon juice. Fold your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients until just combined.

Divide batter into the prepared muffin pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and puffy. Remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes in the pan, then transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other great muffin recipes my Muffin Monday friends are sharing today. A special thank you goes out to Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm for her help with behind the scenes work.

• Banana Muffins with Peanut Streusel from Passion Kneaded
• Lemon Zucchini Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Oatmeal Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Pizza Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• The Best Banana Muffins from Making Miracles

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Lemon Zucchini Muffins! 

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Baked Smoked Oyster Spread #FishFridayFoodies

This baked smoked oyster spread is creamy with the perfect hint of smoky sea and spice, delicious atop toasted baguette circles or crackers. If you really want to push the boat out, serve it with chilled brut Champagne or dry sparkling wine.

Jersey, our current home and the largest of the Channel Islands, has had an oyster industry going back more than 200 years, shipping billions of them to the UK, starting in the early 1800s. Like lobster, once upon a time, oysters were a cheap staple, eaten regularly by inhabitants of large cities, like London. Both harvesting and consumption of oysters took a downturn though and the industry was all but abandoned by the end of that century.

Fortunately for us, the decline in oyster farming has been revived on the island. They are one of our favorite treats in the world, freshly shucked at home, with just a small squeeze of lemon juice and a drop or two of hot sauce.

When fresh oysters aren’t available, and frankly, sometimes even when they are, we love smoked oysters wrapped in bacon then baked till crispy. Known as angels on horseback, they are a constant on our Christmas Eve menu. After enjoying this baked smoked oyster spread, my husband suggested it be added to the holiday line up. It’s that good!

Baked Smoked Oyster Spread

This recipe is adapted from one on the St. Jean’s website, where according to the original, it can be served baked or cold without baking. I highly recommend the baked version. My little cast iron skillet is 8 inches or 21cm across. Use a similar sized baking pan or oven ready skillet.

Ingredients
1/2 cup or 70g black pitted olives
1 (3 oz or 85g) can smoked oysters
1 clove garlic
2 green onions, white parts removed, plus extra for garnish
8 oz or 227g cream cheese
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1-2 dashes Tabasco or your favorite hot sauce OR 1 small red chili pepper

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and remove the cream cheese from the refrigerator.

Drain and roughly chop your oysters, saving a couple teaspoons of the oyster oil for greasing your baking pan. Drain your olives and slice a few in circles for garnish. Roughly chop the rest.

Mince the clove of garlic and finely chop the green onions. Mince the chili pepper, if using. Set aside a little bit of the green onion for garnish.

In a large mixing bowl, use a fork to soften the cream cheese. Add in the mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic, green onions, and hot sauce, if using, or chopped red chili pepper. Mix well.

Fold in the chopped olives and smoked oysters.

Grease your baking pan or skillet with the reserved oyster oil. Spoon the mixture into baking dish and top with the sliced olives.

Bake in your preheated oven until dip is bubbly and golden, about 20-22 minutes. Garnish with the reserved green onion.

Serve hot with crackers or toasted slices of baguette and knives for spreading.

Enjoy!

This month my Fish Friday Foodie friends are sharing recipes with oysters, along with our group creator and host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out the other oyster-ful recipes below:

• Baked Smoked Oyster Spread from Food Lust People Love
• BBQ Oysters from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• HOW TO: Shuck Oysters + A Few Serving Ideas from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Smoked Oyster Pate from Karen's Kitchen Stories

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

Pin this Baked Smoked Oyster Spread!

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Lemon Honey Olive Oil Bundt #BundtBakers

With a rich and almost sticky crumb, this lemon honey olive Bundt cake is made with tart yogurt, then drizzled with a definitely sticky honey glaze, for a sweet treat lemon (and honey!) lovers will devour.

Finally, it’s the first season of the Great British Bake Off that I don’t have to keep mum on social media about since it’s showing in the US (Netflix) as well as in the UK on Channel 4. Not that I have taken advantage, though, because I’d hate to be a spoiler for anyone who has missed an episode.

I will say this, I was super excited to see this week’s show when the first challenge was cake with a cultured dairy product, like yogurt or buttermilk. I LOVE baking with both. Somehow, even without the addition of butter, baked goods with yogurt, buttermilk or even sour cream, taste buttery to me. And the cultures are healthy for us to eat. Win-win.

Lemon Honey Olive Oil Bundt
This recipe is adapted from one on the now-defunct blog, Sixteen Beans, which I found quoted on several other sites. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the original post, even on the Wayback Machine, but if you have a few hours to go down an internet rabbit hole, the author, Kyleen has some beautiful recipes and photographs on there. She’s very talented and I only wish I knew what she was doing now!

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups or 368g plain whole milk yogurt
2/3 cup or 156ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing the pan
1 cup or 240ml (340g) honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Zest from 1 large lemon
2 1/2 cups or 312g flour, plus extra for flouring the pan
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

For the glaze:
1/4 cup or 60ml honey
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare a 10-cup Bundt pan by greasing and flouring it.

In a large bowl whisk eggs lightly. Add yogurt, olive oil, honey, vanilla, lemon juice and zest, whisking till combined.

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ginger.

Sift the dry ingredients into the other bowl and whisk till just smooth and no lumps remain – do not over whisk.

Pour the batter into your prepared Bundt pan. (In case you are curious, mine is the
Nordic Ware Chrysanthemum Bundt Pan - apparently discontinued now.)

Bake for 60-70 minutes, until a tester comes out clean or your internal temperature reads 210°F or 98.8°C on an instant read thermometer. Cover the cake with foil if the top is getting too dark toward the end. I should have covered mine sooner!

Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes; remove from pan and let cool completely.

To make the glaze, bring honey, brown sugar, and butter to low boil in a pan.

Cook 1 minute or until the glaze thickens slightly. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Enjoy!

For this month’s Bundt Baker group event, our lovely host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm, challenged us to bake a Bundt sweetened with honey. Check out all the other honeyed Bundts in the list below.

Honey Apple Dessert Bundt from Sneha's Recipe

Honey Babka from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Honey Elderflower and Marmalade Bundt Cake from Nunca es demasiado dulce

Honey Flower Bundt with Coconut and Spelt from PatyCoCandyBar

Honeyed Apple Bundt Cake from Making Miracles

Jolly Holiday Spice Bundt Cake from Simply Inspired Meals

Lemon Honey Olive Oil Bundt from Food Lust People Love

Pear Honey Rosemary Bundt Cake from All That's Left Are The Crumbs

Sweet Honey Cornbread Bundt Cake from Patty's Cake

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

Pin this Lemon Honey Olive Oil Bundt! 

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Cheddar Poppy Seed Bread Sticks #BreadBakers

Crunchy and savory, these cheddar poppy seed bread sticks make the perfect munchable for snack time or even happy hour, with a cold glass of beer or wine of any color.

Here in the Channel Islands, we are blessed to have several well-stocked grocery stores, as long as the weather is fine, that is. One really starts to realize the limitations of living perched on a rock in the middle of the English Channel when storms come through and ships with fresh supplies are canceled for a few days. That’s when my deep freezer really comes into its own.

Along with all of the frozen foods, I also keep a stockpile of spices, nuts, flours and seeds in there. When our original Bread Bakers host for this event, Archana of The Mad Scientist's Kitchen proposed bread with seeds as our theme, I was excited. In Dubai, my home for six years until this past April, it is illegal to own poppy seeds. My current freezer has not one but two bags of the crunchy black seeds.

Cheddar Poppy Seed Bread Sticks

To make these bread sticks, I use a stand mixer but you can certainly do it by hand if you have the muscles to knead bread dough.

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g all purpose plain flour
1 teaspoon dried instant yeast
2/3 cup or 156ml lukewarm water
Pinch sugar
2 1/2 oz or 71g extra mature cheddar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 teaspoon canola or other light oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Method
Finely grate your cheese and set aside a few tablespoons or so for sprinkling on the bread sticks before baking.

In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, measure in the yeast and add the lukewarm water, the pinch of sugar and a tablespoon of the flour. Leave to proof for a few minutes.

When the mixture starts to foam up, sift in the rest of the flour and the salt, then add the bigger pile of cheese to the bowl. Mix well until a dough forms.

Knead in 2 tablespoons of the poppy seeds.

Keep kneading, either by hand or with your bread hook, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Form a ball of the dough and lightly grease the bowl with the canola oil. Roll the dough ball in the oil to coat.

Cover the bowl and place it in a warm spot for about 45 minutes so the dough will rise.

When the dough has just about doubled, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare two baking pans by lining them with baking parchment or silicone liners.

Punch the dough down and tip it out onto a clean work surface lightly sprinkled with flour. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces.

Roll each out into a long thin stick about 12 in or 30cm long, transferring the finished sticks to the baking pans as you go.

Brush the sticks with the melted butter and sprinkle them with the last teaspoon of poppy seeds and the reserved grated cheddar cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until nicely golden and puffy. They turn really lovely and crunchy as they cool.

If you have any melted butter leftover, give them another dab. No worries if you don’t. They don’t really need it but I hate to waste melted butter! I had enough to do maybe half of the sticks.

Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Check out all the great seeded breads my fellow Bread Bakers are sharing today!

• Amaranth and Honey Bread from What Smells So Good?
• Brioche Buns from Simply Inspired Meals
• Cheddar Poppy Seed Bread Sticks from Food Lust People Love
• Dinner Rolls With Seeds In Paper Tea Cups from Sneha's Recipe
• Everything Sourdough Bagels from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Gluten Free Amaranth Crackers from Anybody Can Bake
• Gul Poli-Tilgul Poli - Jaggery and Sesame Seeds Stuffed Indian Flatbread from Cook With Renu
• Nordic Stone Age Bread from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Poppy Seed Rolls from Ambrosia
• Seeded Sourdough Boule from Bread Therapy
• Seeded Turmeric and Leek Levain from A Messy Kitchen
• Sesame Scallion Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Wholewheat Poppy Seed Dinner Rolls from Sizzling Tastebuds

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here.  Links are also updated after each event on the BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin these Cheddar Poppy Seed Bread Sticks!

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Hasselback Fondue Potato Bake #BakingBloggers

There are two stars of this recipe for hasselback fondue potato bake: First up are the new potatoes, sliced and roasted, opening up nicely so star number two, the cheese, can melt right inside. The finishing touches of wine and cream, not to mention quick pickled onions, make this dish one you’ll cook again and again.

Here I am channeling Nigella again. (Did you see the almond clementine cake in my last post? So good!) I think it is something to do with the weather turning just a bit cooler and I am motivated to share warming recipes. My apologies to everyone who is still in Indian summer mode, but it’s getting chilly here in the Channel Islands. We aren’t turning the heat on yet but I am certainly enjoying having the oven on in the kitchen again.

The first time I ever heard of hasselback potatoes was on one of Nigella’s shows, probably 10 years ago, and instantly they became one of my favorite dishes. Because who doesn’t love a roast potato that opens up for more butter and/or gravy? No one, that’s who.

Hasselback Fondue Potatoes

This recipe is adapted from one on the .delicious magazine website called hasselback potato bake.  It is described as “a love affair between crisp, roast potatoes and melted cheese – more specifically fondue.” Theirs also called for kirsch, which I know can be a traditional addition to fondue but I am not a fan. Add a sprinkle with the cream and wine if you are.

Ingredients
1 small purple onion, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Pinch sugar
Pinch salt
1 1/2 pounds or 680g new potatoes, scrubbed clean
1/4 cup or 57g butter, melted, plus extra for the baking pan
6 bay leaves
1/2 garlic bulb, halved horizontally
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 3/4 oz or 250g mature cheddar (or your favorite mix of flavorful cheeses)
1/3 cup or 78ml whipping cream
1/3 cup or 78ml dry white wine

Note: Substitute your favorite cheese for this dish. I used primarily a Welsh cheddar with garlic and herbs, called Green Thunder, plus really sharp extra mature cheddar to make up my required amount.

Method
Put the sliced onion in a small bowl. Pour the vinegar over the onion and add the pinches of salt and sugar and stir. Set aside to marinate.

Grate your cheese/s. If using more than one kind, mix them together now.

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and prepare your baking pan or casserole dish by greasing it with a little butter. Choose a vessel that fits your potatoes fairly snugly so they will stay cut side up without rolling around.

Rest each potato on a wooden spoon and cut slices all the way across, just down to the spoon.

Arrange the potatoes in the buttered pan. Use a pastry brush to coat them with half of the melted butter. Tuck the bay leaves and garlic in between the potatoes and sprinkle the whole dish with fine sea salt and a few generous grinds of black pepper.

Roast the potatoes in your preheated oven for about 30-35 minute, or until they are golden and almost cooked through. (Poke them with a fork to check.)

Baste the potatoes with the remaining butter and return the pan to the oven for another 15 minutes. The slits of the hasselback potatoes should really be opening up now, ready to absorb the delicious cheese, cream and wine that are coming!

Remove the baking pan from the oven and sprinkle on half of the grated cheese. Pour half of the wine over the potatoes, followed by half of the cream.

Set aside a few slivers of the pickled onion and scatter half of the balance on top of the cheese.

Follow this with the rest of the cheese, wine and cream, then top with the second half of the pickled onion.

Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and the whole dish is bubbling. If the cheese isn’t browned enough, you can turn the broiler on for a few minutes but do not step away, if you do. Cheese can burn quickly!

Top with the few reserved slivers of onion to serve, for a last pop of color and freshness.

Enjoy!

This month my Baking Blogger friends are sharing their favorite recipes with potatoes. Many thanks to our host Sue of Palatable Pastime for her behind the scenes work and this delicious theme. Check out all the tasty potato recipes below.

• Baked Cajun Potatoes by Anybody Can Bake
• Baked Potato Skins with Paneer and Veggies by Cook with Renu
• Easy Savory Sweet Potato Muffins by Recipe Pocket
• Egyptian Sanyet el Batates by Pandemonium Noshery
• Hasselback Fondue Potato Bake by Food Lust People Love
• Individual Quiches with Potato Crust by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Italian Potato Cake (Gattò di Patate) by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Oven Roasted Garlic Potatoes by Palatable Pastime
• Roasted Befteki and Potatoes by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Salsa Potato Stacks In Muffin Pan by Sneha's Recipe
• Wizarding World Roasted Potatoes by Simply Inspired Meals

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interested in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

Pin this Hasselback Fondue Potato Bake!

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