I have to confess that it is many a year since I last made a muffin.  After today’s result I’m not sure why.   It’s a blustery winter day,  a great day for washing the woollies, but also chilly and grey.    Just felt like a bit of comfort food and as it was mid morning figured it was a good time to think about making something for lunch.   I am a fan of savoury baking,  so tossed between muffins or scones.  Muffins won.   Muffins are one of those recipes that you can easily substitute ingredients,  and as you may have guessed by now,  I just can’t help myself when it comes to substitution.   Sends one of my friends crazy.  The best thing about it though is that you can go with whatever you have in the fridge.    So, this is what was in my fridge, and in my muffins:

SCRUMPTIOUS SAVOURY MUFFINS – makes 6 seriously delicious texas size muffins

1-1/2 cups self raising flour – oh no,  we never have self raising flour – sub ordinary flour plus 1-1/2 scant teaspoons baking powder

2 cups grated tasty cheese –  yay, we had tasty cheese, but feel free to sub any cheese you like

50g salami – you could use ham, bacon, whatever you love, but we had salami, pepperoni salami, which gave the muffin a little kick. If you like that little kick but your ingredient doesn’t have it, then you could add a bit of chilli

1 carrot grated – feel free to sub any veges,  grated zuccini would be good

1 banana shallot – ok I don’t expect you will always have a banana shallot on hand.  For some wonderful reason they seem to be in season and readily available here, and l am loving them.   Sub with plain onion, chives, spring onion, you get the drift….

3/4 cup milk –  you might have to experiment with a substitution here,  half milk/half cream would make a richer muffin

1 egg – great!  A muffin recipe that doesn’t demand that you have a big stock of eggs on hand.

1/4 cup mango chutney – now I had mango chutney in the cupboard so that’s what i used,  but I can see a myriad of opportunity here to experiment!

Preheat oven to 200 deg C. Grease a 6 cup Texas muffin pan,  or just get out your 6 cup silicone pan – it doesn’t need greasing, but best at this stage to put in on the oven tray.

Sift flour (and baking powder if using plain flour) into a large bowl.  Add cheese, diced salami, grated carrot and diced shallot.  Grind lots of pepper over and some salt.  Up to you how much salt you use,  I don’t use a lot maybe just a few grinds.  Mix lightly with a fork (not too much – just so they are mixed together).  Whisk milk, egg and mango chutney in another bowl until well combined.  Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients – mix lightly, just until there is no more dry mixture left.  Overmixed muffin mixture will make your muffins tough.   Spoon into the muffin pan.  (You could make smaller muffins, i.e. use a 12 pan).

Bake for up to 20 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.  They might take a little shorter, or even a little longer.  Don’t worry.  Just wait patiently until (a) the skewer trick works and (b) you can smell the delicious aroma of the muffins throughout the house.   Keep in pan for a few minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool.

Easy!  And Mr MWCED had 2!

A wonderful accompaniment is always a cup of tea.   Tried a new tea today, and am in love.  

It is a Madame Flavour tea, White with Rose.   A delicate taste, with a hint of rose aftertaste.   Now onto my 2nd pot and likely another later this afternoon. Well, ok, maybe that is overload,  but irrestible.   Am also in love with my teacup.  A friend gave me two of these a few years ago for a birthday present, and until the other week they were sadly sitting in the cabinet.  Not now.  It makes my tea all the more enjoyable to use a beautiful cup and saucer.