Strawberry Pineapple Muffins with Chia Seed

Strawberry Pineapple Muffins with Chia Seeds

I decided to take advantage of the sweet and juicy pineapples that are in season here. The Farmers Market had some gorgeous ones for only 2 bucks a piece. I also had some strawberries up in the freezer from a little bit of spring harvest I had hidden away. 

I also discovered this really cool place across the street from the Farmers Market that sells nothing but herbs and spices. I hit the jackpot with several things that I can't grow in the garden. For one is the Chia Seeds. They were only 2 bucks a scoop and much fresher that what is sold in the supermarket.

Shortly after bringing home the pineapple I sliced it up and ran it through my juicer twice. After squeezing as much juice as possible I put the pulp back in the juice and stored it in the fridge in a quart jar. I call it pineapple sauce and it is awesome to use in a lot of different things. The first thing I did was make a few smoothies and then moved on to combining it with my favorite Greek Yogurt for some popcicle treats.

So for some reason I woke early this past Sunday Morning. Maybe it was because there was no rush to go anywhere, but it was one of those peaceful and quiet mornings and I had a craving for muffins. I had to play around with the recipe a bit. The first batch sunk in the middle....to wet. I fixed it and the rest came out gorgeous and tasted perfect!! They went great with my coffee before I headed out to the garden.

Ingredients

Makes almost 2 dozen

Preheat Oven 375 degrees

1/2 cup organic whole milk

1/2 cup whole Greek Yogurt

2 eggs

1/2 cup homemade pineapple sauce

1/2 cup local honey

1/4 cup organic sunflower oil

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I had my homemade)

3 cup organic unbleached all purpose flour

3 tbsp. Chia Seeds

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

2 cups organic strawberries, chopped 

Directions

Combine and mix all of the wet ingredients first, except the strawberries. In a separate bowl combine all of the dry ingredients and whisk together. Add the dry to the batter and beat well. Stir in the strawberries by hand. Put muffin cups in your muffin tin and fill 3/4 in each cup. Bake on 375 for 20 to 25 minutes. Check with toothpick to see if it comes out clean. 

Happy Gardening!

Pammy

Canning Salsa Verde Tex-Mex Style

Tomatillos peeled and washed

As much as I love making salsa with ripe red heirloom tomatoes, I have to confess that the flavors of freshly harvested tomatillos combined with the right ingredients makes Salsa Verde my very favorite above all else. Salsa Verde simply means green salsa in Spanish.

 I've made this salsa using green tomatoes and it is good, but it just isn't the same as when made with tomatillos. When you live as close to the Mexican border as we do here in SE Texas and because of the Mexican population, you find yourself  having sampled many dishes prepared traditionally by the Mexican people. Even at that us Texans seem to find the need to twist a recipe just a tad to change it ever so gently in order to turn down the heat. This is where the term Tex-Mex comes from.

Tex-Mex holds true even in the Mexican restaurants throughout our state.We have thousands of them and their culinary expertise knows how to cater to the cravings of Texans. I've always found it strange that in most of the restaurants that they actually serve very little of anything containing hot jalapenos. If you were to ever sit and eat with a native Mexican you find out quickly that they are all about those peppers! Whole peppers and on the side and every way possible to include them with their meal to be exact.

So, needless to say, this is exactly what I've done when making this Salsa. I guess most Texans like their food a little spicy, but we love ours hot. But of course not so hot that you wouldn't enjoy it! This is where you will find that I do not remove the seeds from my jalapenos or any other pepper at that when I can. The seeds bring in the heat, so if you can not take it by all means remove them.

Salsa Verde

You can also turn down the heat even more by adjusting the amount of peppers that you use. You must know that the jalapenos I've used are huge. One pepper turned lengthwise is nearly as long as my pint size jar. So the size of your pepper, the heat of the pepper and the seeds will make a huge difference in your recipe. I always suggest to start with a few less peppers to start. Once you taste your salsa before canning it up you can always at that point add more peppers if you like.

My Salsa Verde comes out perfect and closer to traditional Salsa than most recipes. Most people want to add Cilantro to their Salsas. Although we really enjoy Cilantro here as well, I don't believe it belongs in the actual Salsa. It really belongs in some freshly made Pico De Gallo served as a side dish to be spooned on the top of your dish by the individual eating it. The Pico De Gallo is a fresh Mexican type of salad that consists of raw diced onions, tomatoes and freshly diced cilantro. I like to squeeze a little fresh lemon and add a pinch of white wine vinegar to my Pico..

What really belongs in the Salsa instead of the Cilantro is freshly ground Cumin. This is the spice used most for traditionally made Salsa Verde and it makes all the difference in the world to the Salsas exuberant flavor. So here we go....enjoy!

Ingredients

Makes 6 Pints (with a little extra for the fridge)

40 Tomatillos

10 large hot Jalapenos

1 large onion

4 to 6 cloves garlic

1 tbsp. canning salt

2 tsp. cumin

1/2 cup white vinegar

1 large juicy lime fresh squeezed

Directions

This one is very easy!! Simply clean and chop everything and put it all in a stock pot. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for about 1/2 an hour. Stir frequently to ensure nothing is sticking or burning to the bottom of the pot. This also helps blend everything very nicely. Add it to the blender or food processor a little at a time and pulse just a little. It is best when still just a tad chunky and not to liquefied. Taste it at this point to see if you would like to adjust the salt or the heat. I was very please with it just as it was. Ladle into hot sterile jars, clean rims, add lids and screw bands. Process in hot water bath for 20 minutes.

Fun Growing Luffa Sponge

I just peeled open my first successfully dried Luffa Sponge. It was the first huge Luffa measuring in at 16 inches long after dried. It was shocked full of seeds too so there will be no problem growing more next spring.

 The Luffahs are a little tricky to dry properly in our hot and humid S.E. Texas, but it can be done. I can't seem to let them go as far as turning brown on the vine because they want to go mushy and moldy on me. But from what I am experiencing if you let them get totally huge like this one, I was able to cut it off the vine and bring it indoors.

I have a room on the north side of the house where I leave the ceiling fan on 24/7. It stays fairly dry in there and gets warm, but not hot. I layed the freshly harvested Luffa out on a paper sack on a table under the fan. It took nearly a month to dry, but as I picked it up and felt how light it had become I could also hear the seeds rattling inside as I shook it. The skin on the outside had turned totally brown and crispy.

Out of the first 4 I picked, I had success with one drying beautifully. That's okay though because the vines are still totally loaded with huge luffahs. Sometimes it is simply a matter of trial and error in our climate and hopefully I'm getting the hang of it.

I do believe that the three vines I've grown will be more than enough natural and organic sponges to enjoy in my bath and share with friends too. I'm already planning on some pretty gift baskets to share this year for Christmas. I've also been thinking about experimenting with some homemade herbal bath salts to add to the fun.

Happy Gardening!

Pammy