This was an experiment that sorta, kinda worked.
I read a recipe on a food blog that I should have book-marked and wish I could remember. The writer made chocolate, lava-muffins, using a packaged muffin mixture and adapted the recipe to suit her vision. The end product looked absolutely delicious.
It got me to thinking. I hate mucking about in the kitchen, weighing out and measuring and discovering, only after I've already been to the shops, the recipe calls for flour different from that which I have. Or, as is most often the case , finding, when I open the cupboard, some ingredient I was positive I have, is in fact, finished.
I am more about eating than cooking. Certainly there are times when it's fun to cook up but most of the time, all I want is something tasty, quick and easy.
I read a recipe on a food blog that I should have book-marked and wish I could remember. The writer made chocolate, lava-muffins, using a packaged muffin mixture and adapted the recipe to suit her vision. The end product looked absolutely delicious.
It got me to thinking. I hate mucking about in the kitchen, weighing out and measuring and discovering, only after I've already been to the shops, the recipe calls for flour different from that which I have. Or, as is most often the case , finding, when I open the cupboard, some ingredient I was positive I have, is in fact, finished.
I am more about eating than cooking. Certainly there are times when it's fun to cook up but most of the time, all I want is something tasty, quick and easy.
Neither time nor inclination
Lately I've spent the bulk of my time working on my street photography website, www.jozifolk.com that has taken off like a moon rocket. As a result, there was neither time nor inclination to spend lengthy periods in the kitchen. But, at the same time, I grew tired of slapped-together, peanut butter sandwiches.
So, muffins, pre-mixed in a packet, sounded wonderful. According to the manufacturer's instructions, all I needed to add was two thirds of a cup of cooking oil, two eggs and one and a half cups of water and, 20 minutes later, I'd have a dozen fresh muffins.
But what if I cooked them in the microwave?
I bought a packet of muffin mix for a paltry R10 (somewhere around $0.80!) and, armed with righteous thoughts, sallied forth to the kitchen where, I discovered, there was no vegetable oil.
So, instead of vegetable oil, I used 1 3/4 cups of milk. I figured I may as well go all out and roughly chopped up an onion into the mix.
The article about microwaved, chocolate, lava, mug muffins emphasised an EXTRA EGG ALWAYS BE ADDED to the number of eggs listed on the packet. I did this.
When the mixture was ready I spooned it into a a mug until three quarters filled and sprinkled grated cheese on top.
This was then nuked in the microwave for two minutes and tested if cooked by stabbing it with a thin-bladed knife that, when removed, was clean.
As cooking proceeds, the muffin rises! The mixture towered over the rim of the mug. It is better to only half-fill the mug.
No prizes
 |
| The oven-baked version |
From an aesthetic point of view, these microwaved, mug, muffins will never win any prizes. Their texture is denser than expected but they are good, very good! They are incredibly filling and satisfying.
I kept the remaining mixture in the fridge and later baked nine muffins in a 180c (350F) preheated oven, again with grated cheese sprinkled on top.
If the truth be told, the oven-baked muffins looked better and had a better texture but the taste was the same.
I wouldn't trot out the microwaved, mug versions if the arch bishop called to say he was in the neighbourhood and planned to pop 'round for tea but, as a quick, tasty, filling snack, when you're busy and tired of peanut butter sarmies...
My recipe:
Ingredients
1 packet of savory muffin mix
1 3/4 cups of milk
3 eggs (the packet called for two)
I kept the remaining mixture in the fridge and later baked nine muffins in a 180c (350F) preheated oven, again with grated cheese sprinkled on top.
If the truth be told, the oven-baked muffins looked better and had a better texture but the taste was the same.
I wouldn't trot out the microwaved, mug versions if the arch bishop called to say he was in the neighbourhood and planned to pop 'round for tea but, as a quick, tasty, filling snack, when you're busy and tired of peanut butter sarmies...
My recipe:
Ingredients
1 packet of savory muffin mix
1 3/4 cups of milk
3 eggs (the packet called for two)
Ground pepper to taste
1 roughly chopped onion
Method:
Beat the eggs and milk together.
When well-combined, pour into a bowl containing the muffin mix, onions and pepper. (Add cooked bacon bits, ham, mushroom or other stuff you think will be tasty)
Mix together until combined but do not over mix.
1 roughly chopped onion
Method:
Beat the eggs and milk together.
When well-combined, pour into a bowl containing the muffin mix, onions and pepper. (Add cooked bacon bits, ham, mushroom or other stuff you think will be tasty)
Mix together until combined but do not over mix.
Spoon into a microwave-proof mug until the mug is half-filled.
Cook on full power for two minutes (you may have to adjust cooking times according to your microwave. Test by stabbing the cooked muffin with a knife, or toothpick etc. When cooked, nothing should stick to the stabbing instrument.)
