Oatmeal Summer Squash Muffins
Adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, Simply in Season
makes 12 muffins1 c. all-purpose flour*
1/2 c. whole wheat flour*
1 c. rolled oats
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
scant 1/2 t. mace1 egg
1 c. milk
1/4 c. oil
1/4 c. honey
1 1/2 c. grated summer squash or zucchiniPreheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine flours, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and mace in a medium-large bowl.
In a medium bowl, combine egg, milk, oil, and honey. Mix well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Gently fold in squash.
Fill lined or well-greased muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
*Note: feel free to use whatever flour combination you want — all whole wheat, all AP, whole wheat pastry, white whole wheat — just make sure it adds up to 1 1/2 cups in total!
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The annual zucchini proliferation is upon us! Last week alone I was given six large zucchini, which were in addition to the four I had bought at the farmer’s market the weekend before. Whew! Though we had zucchini and summer squash .. um .. the phrase ‘coming out our ears’ comes to mind, none went to waste.
After making stuffed zucchini, sauteed zucchini with tarragon, zucchini jalapeno pasta, zucchini puree, and savory zucchini and tomato bread, I decided a sweet preparation would be a good way to round out the endeavor. Hence came Oatmeal Summer Squash Muffins — a wonderfully moist muffin, lightly sweetened with honey, and seasoned with cinnamon and mace. Delicious!!
This muffin recipe is adapted from one of my favorite, most-used cookbooks, Simply in Season. The book is arranged by — you guessed it — season, and further by seasonal ingredient. I love this because it lends itself so well to shopping at the farmer’s market. The recipes feature one or two fresh vegetables or fruits; the other ingredients are typically ‘whole’, widely available, and suitable even for a tight budget. The preparations are simple, fairly quick, and many substitutions are offered to suit what is already in your kitchen. To me, it feels like a frugal how-to guide on cooking all the things your mother or your grandmother or great-grandmother used to make… it’s simply lovely!
Anyways, zucchini proliferation continues, and I continue to look for interesting ways to use zucchini — do you have any ideas?
Still Hungry? Try one of these:
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Comments
This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 at 9:51 pm and is filed under Grand Grains, Succulent Spices, Summer Squash & Zucchini, Veritable Vegetables. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
These look lovely. I’ve been meaning to bake some bread with zucchini as an ingredient. I’ll have to try these soon.
Mark Bittman had a recipe for zucchini stuffed with pistou last week in the nytimes http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/dining…) He got it from a vegetarian restaurant in Nice. I am eager to try that take on zucchini as well.
Thanks for the wonderful idea and recipe!
That does look like a great recipe! I like that you use honey as the sweetener! Will have to try these some time.
Claire - the pistou looks delicious. I bet borage would be especially lovely as the main herb
Saltpepperlime - I love honey as a sweetener; basically I dislike how white sugar makes me feel (I’ve always been sensitive to it), so am always looking for natural alternatives… my next experiments are going to be with agave nectar
That is EXACTLY how I feel about white sugar! I’ve never tried using agave, I’ll look forward to reading about your experiments!
Yum… The squash borers and the rabbit got all my squash this year. I may just have to get some at the market this weekend to make these!
Kathy - oh no! well, at least zucchini/summer squash seems to be the #1 giveaway vegetable for gardeners…
Love the sound of these muffins - zucchini *and* oats. I like zucchini raw and julienned or cut into matchsticks, in a sandwich with ricotta cheese, mint and lemon zest
Wonderful looking muffins, Jen! The tastes combo sounds yummy.
Sophie - ooh, your sandwich idea sounds delicious! I love ricotta on almost anything (though I am very picky about my ricotta!), and the lemon/mint/zucchini combination sounds lovely
Miri — thanks for commenting! they really are yummy, and not too sweet since the only sweetener is a bit of honey
These sound good! I am often the recipient of my parents’ excess squash and zucchini, so this recipe could come in handy.
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My husband only likes zucchini when it is baked in a bread. He also claims to dislike squash. So, with these two facts in mind, I can conclude that I can encourage him to like squash if I bake these muffins. That makes sense, right?! Thanks for sharing.
Tiffany - that sounds logical to me! if he really doesn’t like summer squash, these would work equally as well with zucchini — personally, I use them interchangeably, except when I want green flecks from the zucchini skin