Monday, February 18, 2008

AFAM - Pomegranate and ginger muffins


For February, Sra of When My Soup Came Alive is hosting A Fruit A Month, and has chosen the pomegranate as the star.

The pomegranate is another unusual and beautiful fruit, with its soft curves and smooth, magenta skin hiding its treasure of ruby jewels. My earliest memory of pomegranates comes, not from actual knowledge of the fruit itself, but from reading The Horse and His Boy by CS Lewis. Even though I had never seen a pomegranate, I was intrigued by how exotic it sounded, and (wrongly) imagined that it might be something like a fig.

I only tried pomegranates for the first time about 12 months ago after seeing them used in cooking demonstrations at The Harvest Picnic. This is only the second time that I have cooked with a pomegranate. Fortuitously, I had bought one on a whim with the dragon fruit before I knew about the subject of this month's AFAM - fate had played a hand! I might have missed this event altogether if I hadn't seen the gorgeous pomegranate salad from The Happy Cook at My Kitchen Treasures.

For my entry, I have made pomegranate and ginger muffins, the recipe for which I found after a quick Google search at Plain Cook.com. If you are interested in this recipe, you can find it here.

These muffins are pleasant tasting, with the sharp, crunchy pomegranate seeds and the chewy sweet heat of the crystallised ginger making an interesting contrast to the soft, "vanilla" background of the muffin itself. They are also attractive to look at due to the ruby pomegranate seeds and golden ginger pieces. Best of all, these muffins are a doddle to make, as the recipe permits the use of oil instead of butter and there is no need for an electric mixer.

Thanks to Sra for hosting AFAM this month. You can check out the roundup of terrific uses for pomegranates in cooking here.


12 comments:

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Pomegranate and ginger? Superb! I just posted on orange and ginger muffins today, so these are coming next. Thanks!

Ivy said...

These nuffins are perfect. We have a lot of pomegranates in Greece and you can do so many things with them.

Peter M said...

Bakeries, muffin stands and coffee shops would be wise to offer pomegranate muffins.

Tasty and healthy...they'll make a fortune!

sra said...

Cakelaw, this post made v enjoyable reading. It's a very unusual combination of ingredients - I'm glad fate drew you to this event.

Ivy said...

Here I am for a second time today. This time you have been tagged by me.

http://kopiaste.blogspot.com/2008/02/and-award-goes-to.html

Cakelaw said...

Hi Susan - glad to be of assistance! Hope they work out well for you.


Hi Ivy, How lucky you are! I still think pomegranates are regarded as rather rare and exotic here (although they are easy to buy when in season).

I agree Peter - and so much better tasting too.

Thanks for hosting Sra - I am glad I found out about the event in time.

Thanks Ivy! This is my very first blog award.

Anamika:The Sugarcrafter said...

Passing by your blog and impressed by your posts. Lot to learn .Glad I dropped by. Greetings to you from Botswana !

Cakelaw said...

Thanks for dropping by Anamika.

Laurie Constantino said...

Crystalized ginger, one of my favorites, check. Pomegranates, another favorite, check again. And all put together in a single muffin? Third times a charm - this is a really great recipe!

Cakelaw said...

Hi Laurie - this one is definitely a keeper.

Rosie said...

Truly adorable muffins cakelaw with pomegranates what a great treat!!

Rosie x

Cakelaw said...

Thanks Rosie - they taste pretty good too!