earl grey nib muffins

I love Earl Grey tea! The citrusy aroma while sipping a cup is very relaxing and comforting to me.

I was excited to try a new recipe for Earl Grey Muffins.

This recipe comes from a muffin shop in Tokyo, they just came out with a cookbook and as I flipped through the book, the recipe for the Earl Grey Muffins jumped out at me.

Here is the recipe if you'd like to try them. If you can weigh your ingredients to the metric, it will be more precise than the US measurements I have on the side. I added cacao nibs to it because I wanted a bit of chocolate and nuttiness in there.

Earl Grey Nib Muffins adapted from "She Knows Muffin" makes 6 muffins
150 grams flour (about 1.17 cups)
6 grams baking powder (about 1.3 teaspoons)
1 medium egg
80 grams sugar (about 0.62 cups)
50 grams butter, melted (about 3.5 tablespoons)
70 mililiter milk, room temperature (about 0.29 cups)
contents of 1 Earl Grey tea bag (about 10 grams or about 2.5 teaspoons)
1 handful of cacao nibs

In a bowl, sift the flour and baking powder. Set aside.
In another bowl, beat the egg and sugar together until almost fluffy.
Put the butter and milk into the egg mixture and stir.
Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and add in your packet of tea and nibs.
Mix well.
Divide evenly into 6 muffin holders.
Heat your oven to 180C (350F). Bake for 25 minutes.
Check the 2 middle muffins for doneness with a toothpick.
Enjoy!

NOTES: these muffins were so light and airy! The citrusy aroma from the tea is just right and the nuttiness from the nibs give it a nice crunch. If you have loose leaf Earl Grey, run it through a mill or food processor before adding it to your batter. The recipe only makes 6 muffins--which is perfect for us. If making 6 muffins is too much of a pain for you, please double or triple the recipe. I hope to try more recipes from this book soon!

blueberry-nib scones-updated

As I was flipping through an edition of "Donna Hay" that I had bought in Hawaii, I came upon a recipe for blueberry scones. By now, I think you know that I love scones, so you know that I just had to try this recipe.

As I started making them, I realized that they didn't print how much of the blueberries should be added. Should they be dried? Preserves? Did I read the recipe wrong? Nope, I needed to ad-lib. I came up with...

Blueberry-nib scones adapted from "Donna Hay--Issue 29"
2 cups (250g) flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
50g chopped unsalted butter
1/4 cup dried blueberries
1/4 cup cacao nibs
1/2 cup milk

Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together, cut in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the blueberries and nibs and mix a little more.
Add the milk and mix until just combined.
Let rest for 15 minutes.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface and with your hands press out to about a 1 inch thickness.
Using a 2-inch round cutter cut out 8 scones, re-molding dough to cut as needed. (If you use a smaller cutter, you can make more scones.)
Place on a lined baking sheet and bake at 180C (350F) for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

These were great. The nibs gave it a nutty flavor . You can eat it with marmalade like I did or by itself. I had mine with coffee, but I think a black tea (not the flavored type) would go well with it too, maybe with a splash of milk/cream.

UPDATE:received an e-mail from Donna Hay Magazine, it should be 1 cup of blueberries. (thank you!) received another e-mail from Donna Hay Magazine, it should be 250g of fresh blueberries (thank you!) I guess you can either use fresh or dried :)

hilo (part 2)

One of the fun things I like to do in Hilo is to visit the Farmer's Market downtown. There are many vendors selling organic fruits, vegetables, flowers and other food items.

The flower vendors are there everyday. On Wednesdays, some of the fruit and veggie vendors come out, but Saturdays are the best days to go--packed with vendors and buyers there is excitement in the air as you wander the little market. Parking is tight, so go early!

Shark's Nuts not only sells homegrown coffee and mac nuts, but also hand roasted or raw cacao. I got 8 oz. for US $10.

This is the best place to buy papayas too--6 for US$1.00! You won't find this price anywhere.

This woman was choosing a pineapple.

Here, another woman was picking out warabi (fern fiddleheads)

There was also mangoes and fresh organic rambutan--inside these prickly red compartments are juicy white fruits.

If you plan to visit Hilo, make sure to visit on either a Wednesday or Saturday! It is a nice place just to wander, you may even run into someone you know or make a new friend!

navitas

While browsing in the health food store, Down to Earth, I found a brand called Navitas--which means "energy" in Latin.

They sell the popular goji berries, maca and also cacao. I got a 16oz package of cacao nibs.

For those of you who don't have a health food store nearby, you can also find these on Amazon.com.

I can't wait to make something using these nibs!