The Eatin' of the Green - Quinoa and Pea Muffins

The leprechauns made breakfast for Spouse 1.0 today.  Green, of course.  And, now that I refuse to let them cook with green food coloring, the leprechauns really have to get creative. Or just plain weird.

They weren't entirely happy with the green-ness of the green lentil muffins, so they started thinking about green pea flour, lait du pois, and quinoa.

And, while I've generally resisted the cliche of "green eggs and ham", the leprechauns asked, "What if we used some lait du pois in some scrambled eggs?"

Those darned leprechauns.  They know that when it comes to cooking, baking, and software testing, I just can't resist the question, "What if...?"

There's a peculiar rush that comes over me after the grains and vegies are cooked and I start gathering the flours, leavenings, seasonings, and wet ingredients... Yeah, those leprechauns.  They really know how to tempt and conscript a girl.

So, here's what the leprechauns came up with today:

Quinoa and Pea Muffins

Vegetables and grains
4.5 to 5 oz frozen chopped spinach, cooked and squeezed very dry
1/4 cup finely minced onion, lightly sauteed in a dry nonstick pan
1 cup cooked quinoa
3 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley

Dry ingredients
90 g. brown and/or white rice flour
30 g. green pea flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp granulated garlic, or to taste
1/4 tsp sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Wet ingredients
3/4 cup lait du pois (pureed peas -- see post from 3/13/12)
42 grams sesame oil
1 egg
2 tsp lemon juice

Topping
Finely chopped pistachios or lightly toasted sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 400 (f) and line a muffin tin with 12 muffin liners.

1. Saute onion in olive oil until onion translucent. Set aside.
2. In same skillet, cook spinach. Cool and squeeze until very dry. Let cool.
3. Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
4. Whisk wet ingredients together in a medium bowl.
5. Add vegetables and grains to wet ingredients and mix well.
6. Stir in dry ingredients, and add more water or lait du pois if needed to get a nice batter consistency. The batter will look light and fluffy, and I think I hear a slight crackling sound as I stir it.   Don't over mix.
7. Spoon mixture into muffin liners, then top with chopped pistachios.
8. Bake 13-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
9. Cool in pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.

And, as you might guess, this really makes a baker's dozen.

Serve with naturally green scrambled eggs and green tea.

Naturally Green Scrambled Eggs

2 eggs
3-4 Tbsp lait du pois
Pinch freshly chopped parsley
3-4 Tbsp Pecorino Romano
Salt & pepper to taste

Mix everything and gently scramble. Watch to make sure the eggs don't overcook and lose their lovely green-ness.

Result: The muffins are good enough, and will probably taste better after they set a few hours. Most cooked grain muffins do.  The eggs taste just plain weird to me, but Spouse 1.0 is so happy to get any kind of scrambled eggs that he issued his usual verdict: It's good. I like it. (Grunt.)