Baking Powder Biscuits

One of the first things we were taught to make in Grade 8 Home-Ec. A great, versatile standard. If you add a little extra milk, (on purpose or by accident) to make a stickier dough, you can either drop them onto the top of a bubbling stew to make dumplings, or drop them onto a greased cookie sheet for "drop biscuits". Add cheese and bacon! Add chopped green onion or chives! Add sugar and bake in round "cakes" to make scones! You can even use the baking powder biscuit as a pizza crust in a pinch. Perfect with soup or stew for dinner, or for breakfast, hot and fresh with jam or to hold an egg and ham sandwich.

2 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 cup of butter or hard margarine

3/4 to 1 cup milk

Lightly grease a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 375*F.

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium sized bowl. Cut the butter in with a pastry blender. If you don't have a pastry blender, you can use a couple of knives to cut at the butter, or just use your fingers, kind of squishing the flour and butter together until the butter is broken up into little flour covered pieces and the mixture sort of resembles oatmeal.

Add the milk- start with 3/4 cup, and add a bit more if needed, gently folding it into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until it holds together. (*if you use whole wheat flour, it will take more milk than with white flour) Dough should be in a lump together but not sticky. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and gently roll out to 2 inch thickness. Either cut into circles (or hearts, or shamrocks or Christmas trees...) and place on prepared baking sheet. You can gently gather the scraps together and recut it. OR (as I usually do) just cut the rolled dough into 12 squares and place on cookie sheet. 

Bake for 15-25 minutes, until biscuits are risen and golden brown.

If you add too much dough and it's quite sticky, just drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, dividing it into 12 mounds. Bake as indicated until risen and nicely browned.

VARIATIONS: 

To make dumplings for stew, add 1 cup to 1  1/4 cups milk to make a soft, sticky dough. Drop by Tablespoons onto hot stew. Cover and let the stew simmer for 15-25 minutes until the tops of the dumplings are firm to the touch. To make dumplings in the Slow Cooker, cover the top of the slow cooker (under the lid) with a clean tea towel. This keeps the condensing steam from dripping back onto the dumplings which keeps them from getting cooked properly on top.

Cheese Biscuits: Add 3/4 to 1 cup of grated cheese with the flour, either before or after you cut in the butter.

Cheese and Bacon Biscuits: Add 3/4 cup of grated cheese and 1/2 cup of cooked, chopped bacon before you add the milk.

Cheese, Bacon and Onion Biscuits: Add 3/4 cup of grated cheese, 1/2 cup of cooked, chopped bacon and 1/3 cup of chopped green onion before you add the milk.

Easy Scones: Add 1/2 cup of sugar to the flour mixture, and increase the butter to 1/4 cup. Divide the dough in half, after the milk is mixed in, and shape it into two 6 inch circles. Score the circles with a knife, cutting each into 6ths. Brush the tops and sides with a little milk or cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake as directed for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.

Sunny Girl Porridge

I like porridge. Cream of Wheat, oatmeal, Red River Cereal or Sunny Boy... love 'em all. The problem with being off gluten, is that Cream of Wheat is out. Regular oatmeal, which seems to give me a reaction, is also out. The nutty brilliance of Red River Cereal or Sunny Boy, because of the added wheat germ, likewise nixed. What then?! I gave Oat Bran a try, and found that it didn't affect me the way mealed oats did, and it was nice and very reminiscent of Cream of Wheat. First hot cereal victory! Then I thought of adding flax to it, and after perfecting the formula, I have a delicious porridge that reminds me of both Cream of Wheat and the hot flax cereals. Thought this snowy spring morning would be a good time to finally share the recipe here. A lovely hot breakfast cereal that is guaranteed to keep you warm and happy inside until lunch. 

1/3 cup oat bran
1/8 cup (2 Tablespoons) ground flax
1/8 cup (2 Tablespoons) whole flaxseed
1/8 cup (2 Tablespoons) raisins (or dried cranberries) optional
1 1/3 cups water

Put all ingredients into a small saucepan. Stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, stirring frequently, and let simmer for 5 minutes. Doctor it up with a bit of milk and sugar. Equally delicious with almond milk and a sprinkle of Splenda.

Serves 1.

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Pancakes For One

I'm really liking Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Biscuit and Baking Mix. As I'm just cooking gluten free for myself, it seemed prudent to downsize the recipe on the package, and so I have. One serving size (37g of dry mix) is 1/6 of the package's pancake recipe. This gluten free pancake has become a breakfast, lunch and, in a pinch, a supper staple for me. When I'm going to be away from home for the day, I've made the two pancakes into a peanut butter and jam sandwich in case I need a snack or an option at lunch. The pancake sandwich travels well. I've also forgotten to add the oil to the batter on occasion, and the pancakes were no less delicious or light and fluffy.(you can subtract 120 calories and 14 g of fat if you leave out the oil) Enjoy.

1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Biscuit and Baking Mix
1 egg
1 Tablespoon vegetable/Canola oil
1/4 cup water

Whisk all ingredients together until just mixed. Cook on lightly greased hot griddle or frying pan until bubbles form and surface puffs up. Flip to cook other side until lightly golden brown.

Makes 1 large pancake, or two 4 1/2 inch pancakes.

Nutritional Analysis: (pancakes alone, without butter, syrup, or other toppings)

Calories: 320
Total fat: 20 g
Cholesterol: 190 mg
Sodium: 455 mg
Carbohydrates: 25 g
Fibre: 4 g
Sugars: 2 g
Protein: 10 g

Egg-In-A-Hole

This is just eggs and toast kicked up a notch. Good for the day after the toaster breaks,  for special breakfasts or just to mix it up a bit. 

You will need: an egg, a piece of bread, a cup or cookie cutter, soft (or softened) margarine or butter, oil/spray oil for the pan/griddle, salt and pepper.

What I do: Punch a hole in the middle of the bread. I use either a glass/cup that fits nicely within the parameters of the bread's crust OR a cookie cutter: heart shape for Valentine's Day, Tree for Christmas, Shamrock for St. Patrick's Day etc.

Heat your frying pan or griddle as for pancakes. Not too hot.

Butter both sides of the bread and the cut out piece.

For a soft yolk egg, place buttered bread (with the hole) and the cut out piece in/on your pan. Cook the bread with the hole until it's lightly browned- just lightly. Turn the bread over & spray the pan where it shows through the hole in the bread (or drop a small piece of margarine/butter in the hole) so the egg doesn't stick. Break the egg into the hole. Season with salt and pepper if you like. Cook this second side (with the egg in the middle now) until it's well browned. Flip the bread & egg, and cook the first side for a short time to cook the top of the egg and finish browning the bread. MEANWHILE, keep an eye on the toast/cut out piece. Cook both sides until nicely browned.

For a harder yolk egg, place buttered bread (with the hole) and the cut out piece in/on your pan. Spray the pan through the hole in the bread (or drop a small piece of margarine/butter in the hole) so the egg doesn't stick. Break the egg into the hole. Season with salt and pepper if you like. Cook the bread and egg until bread is nicely browned. Flip the bread and egg over, and cook the second side until the bread is toasted and the egg is cooked. If the bread is getting brown but the yolk is still too soft, lower the heat and/or cover the bread & egg with a pot lid. Remember to keep an eye on the cut out piece! Just toast it on each side until it's nicely browned.

Twisted Peanut Butter Muffins

The Fall '10 What's Cooking (Kraft Foods magazine) came the other day, and there was a recipe for peanut butter muffins that I thought looked good. As I lay in bed this morning I contemplated these muffins for breakfast, and decided that plain peanut butter muffins might be a bit boring. "What goes with peanut butter?" I asked myself. Bananas, chocolate, and jam sounded good to me, so I mixed up a batch of muffins and divided the batter three ways to try them all! I think my favourite is peanut butter and jam. They were quite delicious for breakfast, still warm, with coffee. Yum!


Twisted Peanut Butter Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (Kraft light) crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup hard margarine
1 cup skim milk
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 375*F and prepare a 12 cup muffin tin- grease, or line with paper liners.

Mix flours, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in peanut butter and margarine with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (as for making biscuits or scones). Add milk and eggs, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. (batter will be lumpy)

Peanut Butter & Banana Muffins: add a large, not over-ripe banana, cut into small chunks. Gently stir in banana pieces to distribute them evenly throughout the batter. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until risen and golden brown on top. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack and cool completely before storing in airtight container.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins: add 3/4 cup chocolate chips to batter, stirring gently to mix them in. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until risen and golden brown on top. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack and cool completely before storing in airtight container.

PB & J:  Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Add a teaspoonful of strawberry jam* to the centre of each muffin-cup of batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until risen and golden brown on top. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack and cool completely before storing in airtight container. *cut down calories/carbs and increase fibre by adding a cup of chopped fresh or frozen strawberries.


Nutrition Facts (as supplied by Kraft Canada, for plain muffin made with light peanut butter) 
per muffin: 200 calories, 9g fat, (1.5g saturated fat) 30 mg cholesterol, 270 mg sodium, 26g* carbohydrates, 2g fibre, 11g sugars, 6g protein.
*add 2.5g carbs (for 28.5g carb) to PB&Banana muffin
*add 7g carbs (for 33g carb) to Chocolate PB muffin
*add 2-5 carbs (for 28-31 carb, depending on the jam you use-check the label) to PB&J muffin. Strawberry pieces will add about 1g carb per muffin.
*you can lower the carb count further by using Splenda artificial sweetener instead of sugar. Try 1/3 cup instead of 1/2 cup sugar. 

Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins

I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free"Biscuit & Baking Mix" for these. I am very impressed with the results. I bought the baking mix at Safeway in the baking section- near the flour and sugar. The package says you can use it with recipes that call for a baking mix, and so I did. When the kids were little I used to make a "master mix" from flour, lard, salt etc., and this was the base for pancakes, muffins, cakes... a wonderful time saver when I had 3 little twerps running around. I used the master mix recipe (the recipe for muffins that used the master mix) with the "Biscuit Baking Mix". I added oil, as this is just a flour mix. But I was impressed.

2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Biscuit & Baking Mix
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup frozen blueberries, not thawed. (or fresh, when they're in season)

Combine Baking Mix and sugar.

Combine egg, milk, vanilla and oil, and add to dry ingredients. Only mix together until just incorporated.

Gently fold in frozen blueberries.

Spoon into paper lined muffin pans and bake at 375*F for about 20 minutes.

Yield: 12 large muffins.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Mmm... coffee cake for breakfast. Company's Coming Muffins And More cookbook has a good recipe that I thought could be made better for you. I made it the night before so I wouldn't have to be up really early.

The night before you could mix the "topping" ingredients together in a small bowl, the dry ingredients together, and then the wet ingredients together- except for the baking soda. I would cover the butter/egg/sour cream mixture and put it in the fridge for the night. In the morning, the first thing I would do is add the baking soda to the sour cream mixture. Then I would turn on the oven and prep the baking pan. Now just mix the dry/flour ingredients into the wet, and follow the instructions for layering the batter and the topping in the pan and stick it in the oven. You've got about half an hour to shower now. Go!


1/2 cup hard margarine, softened
1/2 cup Splenda, artificial sweetener
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup fat free sour cream
1/4 cup low fat buttermilk

1/2 cup all purpose (white) flour
1 cup all purpose whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup Demerara sugar (beside the brown sugar at the store)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Cream margarine, Splenda and first egg together in a large bowl. Add second egg. Beat well. Add baking soda, sour cream and buttermilk. Mix well.

In a smaller bowl, mix flours, baking powder and salt. Add to batter. Stir to mix. Put half the batter in a well greased Bundt cake pan*.

Stir Demerara sugar, cinnamon and walnuts together. Sprinkle half over the batter. Spoon the second half of the batter here and there over the top. Sprinkle the second half of the cinnamon mixture over all.

Bake at 350*F for half an hour, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Serve warm. (or cold the next morning... or reheat for a few seconds in the microwave...)

*After I chose the Bundt pan and put it in the oven I realized that I might have trouble serving the cake. The pan was well greased, though, and it came out very well. The benefit of using the Bundt pan was even baking throughout, without the edges drying out before the centre was baked. The original recipe calls for a 9" square pan; If you use a square pan it should work, but it might take a little longer to bake. (45 minutes in the original recipe) Check it frequently after half an hour so you can catch it as soon as the centre of the cake is baked, before it gets too brown on the edges. You might find that an 8" square pan is big enough for this recipe, as replacing the sugar with Splenda reduces the volume of the batter quite a bit.

Per Serving:(1/8th)

Calories: 345
Fat: 19 g
Saturated Fats: 0.86 g
Cholesterol: 48 mg
Sodium: 415 mg (-74 mg if you omit the salt in the recipe)
Carbohydrates: 37 g, 1/16=19 g
Fibre: 2 g
Sugars: 29 g, 1/16=14 g
Protein: 9 g
Potassium: 15 mg

Per Serving: (1/12)

Calories: 230
Fat: 13 g
Saturated Fats: 0.57 g
Cholesterol: 32 mg
Sodium: 277 mg (-49 mg if you omit the salt in the recipe)
Carbohydrates: 25 g
Fibre: 1 g
Sugars: 19 g
Protein: 6 g
Potassium: 10 mg

(1/16th of the cake = 19 g carbohydrates, 14 g of those from sugars)

Fruity Oatmeal Muffins

Originally "Company's Coming Muffins & More" Oatmeal Muffins, these have had the fruit and fibre kicked up. Great for breakfast, a quick snack or even a fairly guilt free dessert. Try them with a little butter and honey.

1 cup (250 ml) whole wheat flour
1 cup (250 ml) rolled oats
2 Tablespoons (25 ml) brown sugar, packed
2 Tablespoons (25 ml) Splenda, artificial sweetener
2 Tablespoons (25 ml) Bob's Red Mill 10 grain cereal
1 Tablespoon (15 ml) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) cinnamon
3/4 cup (175 ml) raisins
1 cup (250 ml) chopped, cored, but not peeled apple (about 1 small)
1 egg
2 Tablespoons (25 ml) molasses, treacle or black treacle
1/4 cup (50 ml) Canola oil
1 cup (250 ml) skim milk
2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla

Preheat oven to 400*F.

Mix flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, Splenda, 10 grain cereal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, raisins and apple in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre.

In a small bowl, beat egg until frothy. Mix in molasses/treacle, oil, milk and vanilla. Pour into well. Stir only to moisten. Let stand 5 minutes.

Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups. Divide between 16 cups.

Put muffin tins into 400* F oven. After 5 minutes reduce oven temperature to 350*F. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, until tops are browned and bounce back when touched, or a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

Remove paper lined muffins to cooling rack. Let un-lined muffins rest for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan.

Makes 16 muffins.

Buckwheat Pancakes

Very "crunchy", but really good! Especially with fresh No Sugar Added Raspberry Syrup... Yummy!


1 cup Bob's Red Mill Creamy Buckwheat cereal
1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar or artificial sweetener
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 Tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 Tablespoons additional buttermilk if needed

The night before: combine buckwheat cereal and buttermilk, cover and store in fridge overnight.

Stir together flours, sugar (or sweetener), baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Add egg, oil and vanilla to buckwheat mixture; stir into dry ingredients. If batter is too thick, add the additional amounts of buttermilk.

Fry pancakes on a lightly greased griddle or skillet. When bubbles appear and top gets "dull" looking, turn the pancakes to cook the second side. If they're getting very brown on the first side before the bubbles have time to appear, the griddle is too hot, so turn the heat down and cook them a little slower.

Makes about 8 pancakes.

No Sugar Added Raspberry Syrup

I've been a fan of Bernardin's "No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin" for a couple of years now. If you like a little spread on your toast, you need to try this stuff. It's very easy to use, and with a little imagination the possibilities are endless! My favourite from last year was "apricot-mango jam"...

Another exciting thing I've tried with this pectin is syrup making. General rule of thumb: double the fruit and sweetener amounts with one box of pectin to make a syrupy fruit topping. Apricot was very successful, and today's raspberry seems to have worked. (the trial amount on my pancakes this morning would indicate complete success...)

Give it a try! It's really not as much work as you might think- and if you don't have sugar issues yourself, but have a diabetic friend or relative, there's nothing that would make a more thoughtful or well appreciated Christmas or birthday gift than a basket of homemade "no sugar added" jams, jellies and syrups!


7 cups raspberry juice*
1 box Bernardin No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin Crystals
2 1/2 cups Splenda artificial sweetener

7 - 8 1 cup (250 ml) canning jars with lids (jars with tin snap lids are recommended; they will need to be processed in hot water bath/ canner)

First, wash and rinse the jars and lids. Set oven to 225*F and set clean jars on rack in oven. They need to be there for 10 minutes to sterilize. (it will take at least that long to make the syrup, so you should be good.) Place the tin snap lids (not the rings) in a small pot; fill the pot about half full of water and set over high heat. Bring to a boil and keep simmering while you cook the syrup.

Follow the directions in the pectin box for "light jelly".

Basically: Measure Splenda into a bowl/ container and set aside- where you can reach it while you're stirring the juice.

Whisk pectin crystals into juice in your largest pot. A tall stock pot is wonderful, as jams/ jellies/ syrups tend to "spit" when they're boiling.

Bring juice to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. When juice is boiling, add Splenda. Stir/ whisk in and boil for 1 full minute.

Remove from heat, and skim foam off into a bowl (for the kids to eat on bread... ) Now, instead of "ladling into jars", I poured the syrup into my 8 cup Pyrex bowl- the one with the handle and the pouring spout... and then I filled the jars.

Remove jars, one at a time, with tongs or oven mit, then pour syrup into jars, leaving 1/4 inch space at the top of the jar. Using a magnetic canning tool, or tongs or a fork, lift a tin snap lid from the hot water and place it on the jar, securing it in place with the ring.

When all the jars are filled, place them in a canner, cover the jars with water, and boil the jars in the canner for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the jars, and without tightening the lids, set them on a towel to cool, upright and undisturbed for 24 hours. (well... that's what the instructions say... I can't promise I always leave them "undisturbed" that long...)

The tin lids should snap down, feeling a little curved under. They shouldn't "pop" up and down at all. If popping occurs the jar isn't sealed, and you must store it in the fridge.

Yield: 7 - 8 cups syrup.

*You could try using pure, unsweetened commercial juice, but I used juice obtained from fresh fruit: I put the raspberries in my largest pot and added water to almost cover the berries. You need water to keep the berries from burning on the bottom, but you don't want them swimming in it or the juice will be watery. I brought the fruit and water to a boil and let it simmer for 15 minutes or so, then turned the stove off, removed the pot from the heat and let the cooked berries stand until they were completely cooled. I then ladled the fruit into a jelly bag (a pillow case that I could do without was cut in half for this purpose several years ago) With a strong string, I tie the bag closed and hang it from an upper cupboard doorknob over a very large bowl. My jelly bag has 2 corners, so I catch one of the corners in the middle when I'm tying it up so the other corner is aiming down into the bowl. (this helps the juice drip to that point, and prevents a big mess all over the counter)

A Great Grain Pancake Idea

If you have a mixed marriage as I do, (1 Diabetic- me, + a bunch of regular people), and you have Anti-Grainites in the bunch, you might give this a try:

Mix up a batch of Basic Pancakes, then add 2 or 3 Tablespoons of multi-grain cereal (like Bob's Red Mill 10-Grain cereal) to the last bit of batter. I've found that with the Basic Pancake batter, I can make 8 x 4-5 inch pancakes for "them" add the cereal and get 2 or 3 pancakes for me.

I've used this trick when making waffles as well. Try it with whatever pancake or waffle mix you use- just make enough for the family, then add the cereal for yourself.

I've found E.D. Smith No Sugar Added Syrup to be not bad, (it was better when I added half a teaspoon of maple flavouring to it...) but I often have pancakes with no sugar added jam or peanut butter and jam (for the extra protein).

Basic Pancakes

A good, basic scratch batter. You can kick it up by replacing the oil with applesauce and adding a half teaspoon of cinnamon and a finely chopped apple, or make blueberry pancakes by adding a cup of blueberries, or- use your imagination!

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tablespoons oil

Preheat your griddle, skillet or frying pan. (I use a flat griddle- one that lays across 2 burners on the electric stove, or a 10 inch skillet, and I turn the stove to setting "3" or "4" out of 10.)

In a medium sized mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a small mixing bowl, beat together egg, milk and oil.

Gently mix the milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir just to combine. Mixture may be a little lumpy, and that's alright.

Lightly grease the griddle/ skillet and spoon batter onto hot cooking surface. (I use a gravy ladle for spooning the batter, at about 1/4 cup batter per pancake)

Cook on first side until bubbles form on the uncooked surface of the pancake and the top gets dull looking, and loses it's shine. Then flip pancakes over and cook until the second side is brown. (just give them about 3 minutes , then check the bottom by flipping one over to see how brown it is getting.)

Serve hot with butter/ margarine and syrup or jam.

Makes about 12 - 4 inch pancakes.

Orange Cranberry Muffins

My favourite "snack" at McDonalds was the Orange-Cranberry Muffin. When I found the Orange Muffin recipe in Company's Coming Muffins and More Cookbook, I was happy. When I tried it with cranberries and without sugar, I was over the moon! Substituting olive oil for the margarine and using part whole wheat flour makes it even better. These freeze pretty well, and are a wonderful breakfast or coffee break snack.

1 whole unpeeled orange, washed and cut up
1/2 cup (125 ml)no-sugar-added orange juice
1/2 cup (125 ml) chopped dates
1 egg
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons (80 ml) olive oil (OR 1/2 cup/125 ml  hard margarine, softened)
1 cup (250 ml) all purpose flour
3/4 cup (175 ml) whole wheat flour
1/4 cup Splenda artificial sweetener
1 1/2 teaspoons (7 ml) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
1 cup (250 ml) dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 400*F.

Measure flours, Splenda, baking powder and soda in medium sized bowl. Make a well in the centre.

Cut orange into 7 or 8 pieces. Remove seeds. Combine orange pieces and juice in a blender. Puree. Add dates, egg and olive oil to blender. Blend.

Pour orange mixture into the well in the dry ingredients. Stir just to combine. Gently mix in cranberries.

Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Place muffin pan in the oven. After 5 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 350* F. Bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle of one comes out clean.

Makes 12 large, 16 medium muffins.

Note: This recipe also made 3 mini loaves, which were nice when sliced and served with coffee or tea.

Golden Corn Cake

In the summer of 1990 my Grandma Brown was on her way to visit my Uncle and his family in Toronto. She made a pit stop in Winnipeg for a day, and we had a good time catching up. While she was there, I asked if she could remember a good recipe for corn cake- or "Johnny Cake", as my Mom used to call it. I thought- I grew up with this because my Mom grew up with it, so who better to ask then my Mom's Mom?! Grandma asked if I had anything to start with, and I pulled out my Fanny Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook. She quickly fingered this recipe, making a few changes, ("I'd made that a cup instead of 3/4, and that a cup instead of 1 1/4...") and we were golden. Cake that is. Golden Corn Cake.

This is the best eaten warm with butter and golden syrup. At Bible College they used to serve it with pancake syrup, and I learned to like it with peanut butter and pancake syrup. Diabetically speaking, it's very good with a low sugar jam, (I like strawberry with this) but if you like the E.D.Smith No-Sugar-Added syrup you might give it a try with peanut butter and syrup.

1 cup yellow corn meal
1 cup all-purpose flour (I substitute whole wheat flour for added fibre)
1/4 cup sugar or artificial Sweetener
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoos salt
1 cup milk (you might need to add an extra tablespoon or two if you use whole wheat flour)
1 egg, well beaten
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 375*F. Mix dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Add milk, egg and oil. Stir just until mixed. Spread in greased 9" pan / 1.8 L baking dish for 15- 20 minutes, until top is golden brown.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Breakfast Pudding

This recipe is from my French magazine, "Madame" (the September issue). I reread it several times, thinking my French must be faulty... but no, it is indeed cooked oatmeal with an egg added. Being quite sceptical, I tried it, and was delightfully surprised. I was expecting scrambled eggs and oatmeal, but what I got was creamy, tasty porridge with a hint of cinnamon. What a great way to start the day. Now you can have your oatmeal, and some protein too! I'd advise assembling all the ingredients before you start, as once the water boils it goes quite quickly.

Per Serving:

1/2 cup/ 125 ml water
pinch of salt (1 ml/ 1/4 teaspoon for 4 servings)
1 Tablespoon/ 15 ml dried cranberries or raisins (optional)
1 egg
1 Tablespoon/ 15 ml (skim) milk
1/8 teaspoon/ .5 ml cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon/ .5 ml vanilla
1/3 cup/ 75 ml quick oatmeal (not instant)

1/3 cup (skim) milk
2 Tablespoons/ 30 ml chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon/ 5 ml sugar or Splenda to taste

Bring the water, salt and raisins (if desired) to a boil over high heat.

Whisk together the egg and milk. Add cinnamon and vanilla and mix well. Stir the egg mixture into the water. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir in the oatmeal. Simmer until the desired consitency is obtained, about 5 - 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with 2nd amount of milk, walnuts and sugar/ sweetener as desired.

9 Grain Pancakes

The Texture Police at my house thought these were a little too crunchy... but I thought they were brilliant. They have a nice nutty flavour, and topped with some no-sugar-added syrup or jam, they were just the ticket for a Saturday morning breakfast.

1 cup Rogers 9 Grain Cereal
2 cups low fat buttermilk
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon Splenda artificial sweetener or granulated sugar

Measure 9 grain cereal and buttermilk into a large bowl. Let stand 10 minutes.

Add eggs and vegetable oil. Mix well.

Measure flour, baking powder, baking soda and sweetener, and distribute evenly over surface of milk mixture. Fold dry ingredients into wet, just until blended. If batter seems too runny, let it stand for 5 minutes; the grains will soak up more of the milk and it will thicken up.

Bake on hot, greased skillet or griddle until browned on bottom with little bubbles breaking on the uncooked top. Flip pancakes to brown the second side.

Serve warm with your favourite toppings.

Hippy Bars

This started life as an Oatmeal-Raisin bar... but I needed something with tons more fiber and protein that would be a good snack for summer treks. I'm very pleased with it. If you're allergic to peanuts, try substituting mashed banana or unsweetened applesauce for the peanut butter. These bars have a lot of fibery substance and a wonderful flavour. I found powdered soy protein at our local Nutter's; look for it at a health food or bulk store. If you can't find any, or want to leave it out, try adding the 1/4 cup all purpose flour that I took out when I added the protein powder.

50 ml (1/4 cup) hard margarine
50 ml (1/4 cup) no salt/ no sugar added peanut butter
125 ml (1/2 cup) corn syrup or honey
250 ml (1 cup) quick (not instant) rolled oats
125 ml (1/2 cup) Red River cereal
500 ml (2 cups) Rogers 9 Grain cereal (scroll down a bit)
125 ml (1/2 cup) Splenda, artificial sweetener
175 ml (3/4 cup) Compliments 5 Fruit Medley (raisins, cranberries, dried blueberries, and cherries) or other chopped dried fruit
1 sour apple, cored and diced (with peel)
150 ml (2/3 cup) bulk protein powder
2 eggs
10 ml (2 teaspoons) vanilla

Preheat oven to 350*F. Line a 9 x 13 inch pan with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray.

In microwaveable bowl, combine margarine, peanut butter and corn syrup. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes, or until melted together.

While the syrup cools a bit, mix together the cereals, Splenda, fruit and protein powder.

Mix egg and vanilla into syrup mixture. Stir well to blend.

Add dry ingredients to syrup. Stir to combine, until cereals are well coated with syrup. Firmly press into the foil lined pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from oven, and invert pan onto a large wooden cutting board. (Place the board on top of the pan, then use oven mitts to flip the pan over onto the board.) Carefully lift pan off bars, and remove foil. Let cool 5 - 10 minutes, then cut into bars with a long knife. Makes 24 bars. Store in airtight container.

Per Bar:
155 calories, 5.3 g total fat, .55 g saturated fats, 17 mg cholesterol, 33 mg sodium, 8 g protein, 23 g carbohydrates, 8 g sugars, 3 g fiber, 21 mg calcium.

Blueberry, Banana and Bran Muffins

This recipe is presented as it appears in "Graham Kerr's Best", Copyright 1995 by The Treena and Graham Kerr Corporation. G.P.Putnam's Sons. These are awesome muffins. You've got to give them a try with the Yogurt Spread. Beautiful. Published here by permission.

Time Estimate: Hands-on, 20 minutes; unsupervised, 25 minutes.
Makes 12 muffins

2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 egg whites
1/2 cup nonfat milk
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup cake flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup wheat bran
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup fresh or frozen (not thawed) blueberries
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 ripe banana, sliced

Blueberry, Banana Yogurt Spread
yields 1 1/4 cups

1/2 cup mashed blueberries
1 medium ripe banana, mashed
1/4 cup plain, nonfat yogurt


Preheat the oven to 400*F. In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar and egg whites until frothy. Stir in the milk, molasses, applesauce and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, combine the flours, bran, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in the blueberries, almonds and cinnamon. Add the banana slices, keeping them separated and making sure each slice is completely coated with the flour. Gently add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Don't overmix- it took me approximately 40 stirs to incorporate.

Line the muffin tins with foil muffin cups. Fill each cup two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. The muffins really stick to paper cups. I believe this is due to the low- fat content of the batter.

The yogurt spread: While the muffins are baking, mix the blueberries, banana and yogurt together until well incorporated.

To serve: Place each muffin on its own plate- remember: only one per serving- and spoon 1 tablespoon of the spread on the side.

Tarte aux Epinards, (or Spinach Quiche)

The Guest Chef for today is my daughter Johanna, who writes from Switzerland, "Ok, I have a recipe for you. It's the third or fourth time I've made it, and it's pretty darn good. Even the girls (the two girls she's an Au Pair for) will eat it, green though it is. This'll feed 5 or 6 easily. One time I forgot to buy a pie crust, so I just stuck it together in a pan and made it a gratin, and it was just as good. So yeah....a recipe for you from Switzerland, that I got from a friend who got it from a friend."


1 pie crust (I buy one that's uncooked and rolled up)
600g epinards (spinach*, better to buy it frozen with milk already in it. otherwise you have to add more milk)
200mL milk
2 eggs
50-200g cheese (my friend made it with only sprinkled on top, but I use about 100g...and I use gruyere)
1 onion
salt, pepper, nutmeg to flavour.

1. pie crust in the pan, we use a round flatter thing
2. mix up the spinach, milk and eggs. I use a whisk to make sure it's all even.
3. cut up the onion small and add that, then add the grated cheese
4. season
5. pour spinach filling into pie crust.
6. bake in the oven for about 40 minutes at 200'C

*you probably want frozen, chopped spinach, drained and patted dry. I've never heard of "spinach in milk", so you'll need to add extra. I'd start with 1/4 cup, making the milk 250 ml instead of 200.

Welsh Cakes

This winner was submitted to the Princess Margaret Home & School Association cookbook, "Our Family Recipes", by Mrs. Campbell, School Secretary Extraordinaire. A good make- ahead, cook- up- fresh quick bread.


1 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 cups flour
6 Tablespoons milk (approximately)
1 cup currents

Mix all ingredients together.

Form dough into rolls. Cut into rounds (or roll out and use a cutter).

Bake in 350* F fry pan. Bake on each side until golden brown.

Serve warm with butter. You won't be able to eat just one!

(Rolls can be frozen and cooked at a later date.)