Seeded Muffins

The essence of summer is captured for me simply by a field of sunflowers, raising or bowing their heads in adoration of the sun. It seems only fair that the seeds are bursting with goodness. My children generally get on very well with food, but having encountered occasional blips in their relationship, i have been challenged with finding other ways of packing recipes with good stuff. They love cakes of any description but the bigger the better. So large, fluffy, seeded muffins seem to do the trick. I started with a cheese base, and gradually added a variety of vegetables and complementary seeds, good for anytime.



courgette and sunflower seed muffins
makes 12 large/24 small

225g self raising flour
1 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn bicarbonate of soda
75 g strong cheddar (grated)
1 small or half a large courgette (grated)
30 g sunflower seeds
50g butter (melted)
1 egg
1 1/2 tspn wholegrain mustard or 1/2 tspn mustard powder
150ml semi skimmed milk

• preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan oven/gas mark 6
  
• sieve the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl, stir in the grated cheese, courgette and pumpkin seeds.
• mix the melted butter, egg, mustard and milk in a separate bowl,
  
• make a well in the centre of the dry mixture and stir in the wet ingredients.
• spoon into 12 large muffin cases or 24 smaller bun cases and bake for 20 minutes or 8-10 minutes respectively.
  

carrot and poppy seed
apple and pumpkin seed