Cauliflower Sourdough Crumpets #BreadBakers

These cauliflower sourdough crumpets are cooked in butter, which gives them wonderful golden outsides, perfectly complementing the tender insides made of sourdough starter and tiny cauliflower bits.



I’m always looking for easy recipes that use up sourdough starter discard so when I found this one on the King Arthur Flour website, I couldn’t wait to try it. Like every recipe I’ve made from the KAF website, it did not disappoint. But that got me thinking. What else could I add to the original to add flavor and nutrition without affecting the look of the crumpets?

And so these cauliflower sourdough crumpets were born. I made them one afternoon when my husband and I had somehow skipped lunch and it took the two of us mere minutes to demolish all five crumpets, with and without cheese. The flavor of the cauliflower is subtle but definitely there. In short, we loved them. I have a feeling they will be on regular rotation whenever I have sourdough starter to discard. 

Cauliflower Sourdough Crumpets

Many supermarkets carry ready-made cauliflower “rice” in the refrigerator section of their produce departments but it’s easy enough to make at home. Grate the cauliflower florets or pulse them in a food processor until they resemble small pieces, similar in size to short grain rice. This recipe is easily doubled but, as written below, it makes 5 crumpets.

Ingredients for five crumpets

1/2 cup or 70g cauliflower “rice”

1 cup or 227g sourdough starter (unfed/discard)

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

3/8 teaspoon baking soda*

Butter for greasing English muffin rings and pan

*If your discard starter is particularly sour, you might want to increase the baking soda to 1/2 teaspoon.

Method

Steam your cauliflower “rice” for about three minutes and then press it to get rid of as much liquid as possible.

Put it in a large mixing bowl and set it aside to cool.

Add the sourdough starter to your cooled cauliflower, along with the sugar, salt and baking soda. Stir well to combine. The batter will start to bubble up almost immediately. 

Heat your nonstick griddle or large frying pan over medium-low heat. 

Lightly grease five English muffin rings (1" high and 4" across) and place as many as will fit flat on your pan. I cooked mine in two batches, three and two. Melt a pat of butter in each then use a pastry brush to cover the pan inside the rings with the butter. 

Divide the batter evenly among the buttered rings. I used a 1/4 cup measuring scoop to fill each ring up about halfway. 

Cook for about 5 minutes, until the tops are set and full of small holes. Run a knife around the edge of the rings and carefully lift them off. Use a spatula to turn the crumpets over and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until they are golden on the other side as well. 

Remove from the pan and keep warm while you repeat the process to cook the rest of the crumpets.

Serve the crumpets warm, spread with butter. They are also excellent with some grated cheddar on top, which really goes great with the cauliflower. 

Enjoy!

This month my Bread Bakers group is sharing breads made with vegetables. Many thanks to Renu of Cook with Renu for hosting! 

• Butternut Squash Sourdough Bread by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Carrot Sandwich Bread by Ambrosia
• Cauliflower Sourdough Crumpets by Food Lust people Love
• Cranberry-Pecan Pumpkin Bread by What Smells So Good?
• Garden Harvest Vegetable Bread Loaf by Making Miracles
• Potato Rosemary Focaccia by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Purple Pain de Mie by A Messy Kitchen
• Spinach Spiced Sourdough Discard Bread by Cook with Renu
• Tomato Garlic Biscuits by Palatable Pastime
• Vegetable Focaccia by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Zucchini Bread by Sneha's Recipe

#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 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.

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Mustard Honey Buttered Carrots #FoodieExtravaganza

Mustard Honey Buttered Carrots are slightly sweet with a lovely sharpness and, of course, shiny with just the right amount rich butter. They make a beautiful side dish, served hot or at room temperature. 

I love putting carrots in things – like soups or stews or even cakes and muffins – but rarely make them a star in their own right. I think of them more as an ingredient in mirepoix than something to fill a whole bowl with.

Maybe it’s because my younger daughter is not such a fan of cooked carrots. On the odd day that I did prepare carrots as a side dish when she was little, I served her portion raw and she was happy to munch them that way. 

All that changed when I started buying baby carrots. They are always sweet, always tender and they also look beautiful. What more can one ask of a side dish? 

Mustard Honey Buttered Carrots

If you aren’t lucky enough to be able to find baby carrots in your local market, by all means use whatever sweet carrots you can buy. Cut them into sticks or coins but make sure not to overcook them.

Ingredients

1 lb or 450g baby carrots

1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to season, if needed

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon whole grain mustard

Chopped parsley for garnish, optional

Method

Scrub the baby carrots and trim the green stems, leaving a few inches on for color. Put them in a pot and cover them with water. Add the teaspoon of salt.

Bring the water to the boil and cook the carrots for 5-7 mins or until just tender. Drain, and discard any stems that have detached themselves. 

While the carrots are cooking, warm the butter, honey and mustard and whisk them together. (I used the microwave, a few short zaps will do it, but you can also use a small pot on the stove.) 

Drain the carrots and transfer them to a bowl. Immediately pour the mustard honey butter over them and toss gently to coat.

Sprinkle with a little salt, if desired but I find that the saltiness of the whole-grained mustard is sufficient for our taste. 

Transfer the carrots to a serving plate and make sure to pour any dressing left behind in the bowl over the top. 

Sprinkle with some chopped parsley for garnish, if using. Serve the carrots immediately hot, or at room temperature. 

Enjoy! 

This month's Foodie Extravaganza theme is honey to celebrate National Honey Month which is September. Many thanks to our host, Rebekah of Making Miracles. Check out all the honey recipes we are sharing:

• Honey Chicken Wings In Potato Baskets by Sneha's Recipe
• Honey Roasted Figs by Palatable Pastime
• Honey Soy Baked Chicken Thighs by Making Miracles
• Hot Honey Chicken Wings by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Mustard Honey Buttered Carrots by Food Lust People Love
• Sticky Soy Spare Ribs by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays by cooking and baking together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board.

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Dark Chocolate Coffee Muffins #MuffinMonday

Whether you need a pick me up for breakfast or a mid-morning snack, these dark chocolate coffee muffins would be perfect for either. Pour yourself a cup of coffee or a cold glass of milk and take a big bite of real coffee flavor complemented by the dark chocolate hiding near the bottom of each muffin. Oh, yeah!

I can hardly believe that it’s already the end of August. It doesn’t feel like it at all temperature-wise, but I know that soon (Please!) the weather will begin to turn colder and we’ll be able to switch off the air conditioner and open the doors again. I miss fresh air that's not more than 80 percent humidity.

It seems a whiney thing to complain about, not being able to open up my house, especially with all that is going on in the world right now. So I won’t. I will say that coffee muffins with dark chocolate almost make up for it.

What are you looking forward to in Autumn?

Dark Chocolate Coffee Muffins

Despite my best attempts, the chocolate morsels tend to sink to the bottom of these muffins. But I decided to see the positive and think of them as the dessert at the end of your snack muffins. This recipe was adapted from one on Serious Eats and makes 15 muffins.

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 100g granulated sugar
1/4 cup or 50g dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil
1 cup or 240ml milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons instant espresso granules
1 cup or 170g dark chocolate morsels (I use Nestlé Tollhouse)

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare a 15-cup muffin pan by lightly greasing it or lining it with paper muffin cups. I used a 12-cup muffin pan and three silicone muffin cups set in a small baking pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. It’s warm in Houston right now so my chocolate morsels were a bit sticky. If yours are the same, tip them into the flour mixture and use your hands to separate them and coat them with flour.

In another mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, milk, vanilla, and espresso granules until the espresso granules have dissolved completely. It turns a lovely café au lait color.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients bowl and fold until just combined.

Divide the batter between your muffin cups and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Leave to cool for a few minutes then remove the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

It’s Muffin Monday and we have lots of great muffins to share! Check out the links below. 

• Banana Nut Muffinss from Making Miracles
• Cherry Almond Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Chocolate Chip Sweet Potato Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Cinnamon Sweet Potato Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Dark Chocolate Coffee Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Lemon Lavender Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Small Batch Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Spiced 'Tree Pumpkin' (Persimmon) Muffins from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

#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 Dark Chocolate Coffee Muffins!

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