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Try sweet potatoes in muffins -- but no marshmallows

Recipe: Nutrient-rich little muffins are full of flavor

Muffins in pan
Flaxseed meal is the final touch.
(Photos: Kathy Morrison)

So maybe you have extra sweet potatoes around this weekend. They might even be roasted already. If so, you're halfway to making some great little muffins that will start the week off with a big dose of nutrients, especially vitamin A.

If the only sweet potatoes in the house are resting under a bed of marshmallows in a half-consumed casserole, well, go get some more fresh sweet potatoes. (They're in season, after all, and a good price.) These muffins are sweet enough -- as in not too much -- to enjoy without gooey topping.

Roasting the sweet potatoes is the ideal way to prepare them for this recipe, but I didn't want my oven tied up for so long, so I peeled and microwaved them, let them cool and then mashed them.

This produces a somewhat chunky mixture; if you want a perfectly smooth texture to your muffins, I advise pureeing the cooked potatoes in a blender or food processor.

The recipe here, adapted freely from one I found at goodinthesimple.com ,  makes 24 small, moist muffins. Cut the recipe in half (but use 2 eggs) to make just 1 dozen. Mix-ins such as dried fruit or toasted chopped nuts work well in this -- I used dried cranberries in half of my muffins. I'd avoid fresh mix-ins such as fresh blueberries, which would overwhelm the muffin with too much moisture.

Sweet potatoes
I cooked these five, and used all but 1/2 cup mashed.


Sweet potato muffins

Makes 24

Ingredients:

2 to 2-1/2 pounds orange- or red-flesh sweet potatoes, scrubbed

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup coconut oil or vegetable oil

1/4 cup unsalted butter

3 eggs

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup mix-ins, such as dried cranberries, chopped nuts or unsweetened flaked coconut, optional

1/2 cup ground flaxseed meal, for topping, optional

3 bowls
All the mixtures are ready to combine.

Instructions:

Cook the sweet potatoes ahead of time, by baking them unpeeled at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes (depending on size) until soft. Alternatively, microwave them. To easily microwave: Peel the potatoes, cut into 1/3-inch slices, and place in a large bowl with 1/4 cup water.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, leaving a small part open to vent, and cook on high 8 or 9 minutes total. Stop the microwave at least twice to check for doneness and stir the sweet potato slices.

Let cooked sweet potatoes cool until ready to bake. Peel if roasted. Mash or puree as desired, per note above. Measure out 3 cups sweet potatoes and set aside while preparing the rest of the recipe.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Melt the coconut oil (which likely will be solid this time of year) with the butter. If using vegetable oil, melt the butter first and stir it into the vegetable oil.

In a medium bowl, stir together the eggs, then add the butter-oil mixture, both sugars and the vanilla.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry mixture, then add the 3 cups sweet potatoes and stir until combined. Don't overmix; ingredients should be just moistened. Fold in any mix-ins if using them.

Two muffins
Neither of these variations turned out too sweet.

Grease two 12-cup muffin pans with oil spray. Divide the batter between the cups, topping with a sprinkle of flaxseed if desired.

Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. These muffins do not brown much, so don't use color as an indicator of doneness.

Remove pans from oven, let cool a few minutes and serve muffins warm.

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Garden Checklist for week of Feb. 2

During this stormy week, let the rain soak in while making plans for all the things you’re going to plant soon:

* During rainy weather, turn off the sprinklers. After a good soaking from winter storms, lawns can go at least a week without sprinklers, according to irrigation experts. For an average California home, that week off from watering can save 800 gallons.

* February serves as a wake-up call to gardeners. This month, you can transplant or direct-seed several flowers, including snapdragon, candytuft, lilies, astilbe, larkspur, Shasta and painted daisies, stocks, bleeding heart and coral bells.

* In the vegetable garden, plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers, and strawberry and rhubarb roots.

* Transplant cabbage and its close cousins – broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts – as well as lettuce (both loose leaf and head).

* Indoors, start peppers, tomatoes and eggplant from seed.

* Plant artichokes, asparagus and horseradish from root divisions.

* Plant potatoes from tubers and onions from sets (small bulbs). The onions will sprout quickly and can be used as green onions in March.

* From seed, plant beets, chard, lettuce, mustard, peas, radishes and turnips.

* Annuals are showing up in nurseries, but wait until the weather warms up a bit before planting. Instead, set out flowering perennials such as columbine and delphinium.

* Plant summer-flowering bulbs including cannas, calla lilies and gladiolus.

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