The Color of the Day is Yellow

Like the sun that is not shining! Sorry, I'm just so ready for spring to get here. We keep having little teasers, but then it goes gloomy and overcast again.

Here is my attempt at yellow for the Poppytalk Spring Color Week .  I'm not sure what planet I was on yesterday when I made the comment about not having much yellow in the house.  My bedroom walls are painted yellow, and my bedding is gold.  I didn't choose that color combination; the walls were yellow when we got here.  You can't tell that in the photo though, can you?  I fiddled with the curves and levels, but didn't get very yellow.

This is predominately brown, but I liked the composition.  I'm having fun with this Spring Color Week event, because it's giving me an opportunity to push myself a little when it comes to staging photographs.  I look at the pictures they choose for the blog page and try to learn from them what makes a good photo.  Tomorrow the color is purple/mauve.  I wonder how much purple I have around here right under my nose.

I made a discovery that I want to share with you, and a recipe.  I've been trying to limit refined white flour, and so haven't been baking very much.  I love to bake and wish it wasn't such a problem for my hind end.  Anyway, while I was at the store last week, I saw some Bob's Red Mill Quinoa Flour.  I thought, "hmm, it's high in protein, lower carbs, and no gluten.  I'll try it."  I really didn't have high hopes, but I substituted the quinoa for white flour when I made a peach cobbler and it turned out really good.  It did have a stronger flavor than wheat flour, but it was acceptable, and the texture was so much better than what I was expecting. 

So I had to try something else; using the cupcake recipe on the back of the package as a guideline for wet/dry ingredients ratio, I made pimiento cheese muffins.  Again, they tasted good and the texture was like a muffin ought to be.  So this morning I wondered how cinnamon muffins would taste.  It's the best so far.  I tried spreading cream cheese on, but the crumb was a little too delicate to stand up to that.  So, it's way way more expensive than wheat flour, but for a little treat now and then that is a bit healthier, it's worth it.  And if it means I can bake something at least, then I'll make the substitution.  DH says I can't use it in his chocolate cake though; I told him I'm not making him any cake, so there.

I had a really weird thing happen while I was baking those muffins today.  I heard a loud crash in the kitchen, went in and discovered the muffin tin had exploded in the oven!  This tin only had batter in three cups.  It was the lining of an empty cup that exploded.  Have you ever seen such a thing?  I'm glad it wasn't the filled cups that exploded; that would have made a mess I didn't want to clean up.

I find it amusing that the photo I took just to show you what happened, actually turned out more interesting than the photos I was trying to make pleasing!  Why doesn't Poppytalk have a dingy grey day?  Oh, because that's not spring-like that's why!  Like the skies outside my window.  There I go again.

So the recipes.  I'm guessing on the pimiento cheese, because that was several days ago.

Pimiento Cheese Muffins

Preheat oven to 375℉.  Coat a muffin tin with oil or baking spray.
In a bowl put:
1 1/4 cups bob's Red Mill Quinoa Flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Whisk it together.  Make a hole in the middle, then add:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Mix it all up with a whisk.  Then mix in about a cup of shredded cheddar cheese and a 4 ounce container of diced pimientos. 

Pour into prepared muffin tin and bake for about 20 minutes, until pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Makes about 6 big muffins.

Cinnamon Muffins

Preheat oven to 375℉.  Coat a muffin tin with oil or baking spray.
In a bowl put:
1 1/4 cups bob's Red Mill Quinoa Flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Whisk it together.  Make a hole in the middle, then add:
1/4 cup melted butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk (I used part buttermilk, but didn't have much.  I think all buttermilk would improve the texture even more)
1/2 tsp vanilla
Mix it all up with a whisk. 
Pour into prepared muffin tin and bake for about 20 minutes, until pick inserted in center comes out clean.  It made nine muffins this time.  I really don't know why.