Food Adventures {The Great Recipe Swap | Pumpkin and Feta Muffins}

 The other day as I was eagerly awaiting my lunch, in the form of a lackluster microwave meal mmm mmm not so good, I began to daydream of all the yummy things over which I wished I could be delighting. Immediately I wanted to rush home and make quite a stir in the kitchen, but it seemed as the countdown to my frozen feast inevitably dwindled down so did my culinary curiosity.

In serious need of inspiration, I immediately thought of you, my darling blogger friends, who provide said inspiration on the daily! By the time I was forcing down chicken à la king (okay, not really, I would never), I had come up with a brilliant idea, or so it seems in theory, why not host a recipe swap and at the end (next Monday!) let you vote on which one I shall make and share! Via a blog post and pictures of course because a virtual dinner party does not a party make!

Would you be game my loves?  I'd love to hear from you and perhaps find new blogs along the way!  If you'd like, just add a link to your recipe, or even better a link to your blog post, below! Here we go!

The First Ever Great Recipe Swap...(yay I'm so excited!)
p.s. I'm pretty fearless when it comes to the kitchen, you name it I'll attempt it, unless there is a lot of blood involved then I may very well pass out and become dramatically squeamish so please my dears, do me a favor (kindly considering!) and show me what ya got;)



Now it wouldn't be any fun if I couldn't play too so here's my entry...

{101 Cookbooks}

My affinity for all things pumpkin never ceases to fail.  As soon as I hear the slightest mention of this fantastic squash variety, whether savory or sweet, my mouth begins to water.  I especially adore adventurous takes on what could easily be tried and true.

Pumpkin and Feta Muffins

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups / 9 oz / 255g cubed pumpkin or butternut squash, 1/2-inch cubes
salt and pepper to taste
1 large handful of baby spinach, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped parsley or cilantro
3 tablespoons sunflower seeds kernels
3/4 cup / 1 oz / 30g freshly grated Parmesan
100g / 3.5 oz / 1/2 cup cubed feta
2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup / 180 ml milk
2 cups flour (see headnote!)
4 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

Preheat oven to 405F / 200C, with rack in the top third. Use the butter to grease a 12-hole muffin pan and set aside.

Sprinkle the olive oil and some salt and pepper over the squash. Toss well and turn onto a baking sheet or roasting pan. Arrange in a single layer and bake for 15 - 25 minutes or until cooked through entirely. Set aside to cool.

Transfer two-thirds of the squash to a large mixing bowl along with the spinach, parsley, sunflower seeds, Parmesan, two-thirds of the feta, and all of the mustard. Gently fold together. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and milk together and add to the squash mix. Sift the flour and baking powder onto the squash mix, top with the salt and a generous dose of freshly ground black pepper and fold together just until the batter comes together, be careful not to over mix.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan, filling each hole 3/4 full, top each muffin with a bit of the remaining squash and feta (see photo up above). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops and sides of the muffins are golden, and the muffins have set up completely. Let cool for a couple minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack. I like these muffins cooled a bit, served just warmer than room temperature.

Makes 12 muffins.