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The final recipe in our spring brunch menu are these strawberry rhubarb muffins, full of good-for-you grains and naturally sweet, but moist and satisfying. For this brunch, we had two of our friends contribute an easy, nutritious recipe using local ingredients, and we cooked it together. This recipe is from Sarah, our friend and a champ in the local Indy food scene, who is a fabulous cook and baker. It’s the kind of recipe I’m always looking for: a wholesome muffin that’s not too heavy but doesn’t taste flat (which is my problem when I try to make things too healthy). With the hazelnuts and the ginger, they’re complex in flavor, and the strawberry balances out the tart rhubarb.
Since this brunch was also intended for Mother’s Day:
1. You now have the entire menu, if you’re so inclined to try it! In this menu, we used local eggs, asparagus, strawberries, rhubarb, honey, and bee pollen, which should be available at your local market, depending on your location. (Ours even sometimes has local goat cheese.)
2. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank our moms! For giving us childhoods where we were free to be creative and get lost in books and art projects, for making sacrifices for our good, and for continuing to love us every day even when we made mistakes or weren’t particularly loveable. We love you!
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 cup rhubarb (2 large stalks)
- 1 cup chopped strawberries
- ½ cup chopped hazelnuts (toasted if possible)
- ½ teaspoon grated ginger root
- 2 cups wheat bran
- 1 cup oat bran
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup milk
- ⅔ cup plain yogurt
- ⅓ cup melted butter
- ⅔ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a standard size muffin pan.
- Mash one banana. Wash and chop 1 cup rhubarb and 1 cup strawberries. Chop ½ cup hazelnuts (toast them in a dry skillet for a few minutes until lightly browned if time allows). Peel and grate ½ teaspoon ginger.
- In a large bowl, combine 2 cups wheat bran, 1 cup oat bran, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. In a smaller bowl, combine 2 large eggs, ⅔ cup milk, ⅔ cup plain yogurt, ⅓ cup melted butter, ⅔ cup honey, and 1 teaspoon vanilla; mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients (including banana) into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until just combined. Add the strawberries, rhubarb, nuts, and ginger and stir to combine.
- Fill the muffin cups with batter. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the muffins in the pan for a few minutes, then remove them and serve warm or cool fully on a wire rack.
