Friday, December 19, 2008

persimmon muffins anyone?

wow...so i finally understand the expression, "the best laid plans". i had every intention of blogging frequently throughout the holiday season...christmas cookies, pies, jams, candies..all were on the schedule. and i did, in fact, make some of these items..but blogging about it..forget about it.  now, do not get me wrong. i love blogging. regular readers know that i love to blab on..telling stories and sharing my favorite recipes. but this holiday season..oh my!..crazy is the only word i can think of to describe the past few weeks.

many of you know that i started a company last summer. we are a "green", eco-friendly lifestyle brand selling handmade items for home, garden & accessories. everything is from "reused, recycled, reimagined and/or repurposed" materials. we also offer organic bath and body care, organic dog treats and are in the process of launching an organic food line (for people!).

this company is near and dear to my heart..and i love every aspect of owning & operating my own business...but what was i thinking? i launched in july...a second later we were in the midst of holiday prepping and planning...major time suck. in addition, my entire family,and by entire i mean parents, siblings, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins,their kids etc are coming to napa for christmas. they all live either in southern california or oregon...and will be in napa from the 22nd through the 27th. this is the first time in my life christmas has not been spent in southern california. i am really, really excited but..c'mon!  in southern cal everyone comes to a family member's house for a meal and then goes home. here, they are at my house for breakfast, lunch and dinner...so i have been planning, prepping and organizing like a mad women for the past two weeks...trying to ensure i have not forgotten anything. i am so excited to host christmas...and know this will be a cherished memory for the rest of my life.
now, back to blogging...i miss it more than i can say...and thank you to all the wonderful readers who have emailed me asking where i was.  here is my promise to you guys...i will try and blog a couple of times between now and christmas...then i will spend a lot of time in january recapping the experience...and sharing the recipes from the month. i have been cooking or baking every chance i get and next week's menus include an italian food night, a mexican fiesta night, a traditional christmas menu...with a twist...and a seafood extravaganza...plus terrific desserts, appetizers and breakfast items. looking forward to sharing the dishes with you.
in the interim, i am currently staring at 5 massive bushels of persimmons picked last week from my tree. i have an extremely prolific tree and have spent the years since we moved to our farmhouse trying every possible recipe trying to use up the huge crop we get each year. i always make big batches of jam...this will be a january project. for christmas, i will be making persimmon cookies, bread, bars and persimmon muffins (recipe follows). the muffins are quick, easy and have become a family favorite so... christmas morning..here we come! enjoy, and please let me know if you try them...

persimmon muffins
1 1/2 c unbleached flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
2 large eggs
1 c persimmon puree
1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
1 c brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp brown sugar
preheat oven to 350 degrees. line a muffing tin with paper liners. place first 8 ingredients in small bowl and whisk together. using an electric mixer, beat eggs for 30 seconds. add persimmon puree, e.v.o.o. and brown sugar to bowl and beat until thoroughly mixed. add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. pour into prepared muffin tins filling each cup 3/4 full. in a separate bowl, mix together the remaining cinnamon and brown sugar...and sprinkle mixture evenly over each muffin.
bake approximately 25 to 30 minutes..until a wooden skewer stuck in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
place pan on cooling rack until muffins are warm and then remove from pan.

enough about me...how are your christmas or hanukkah plans coming? are you ready? let me know in the comments section of this post. and i am always on the hunt for new and different persimmon recipes..please share yours.
happy holidays!
diane
napa farmhouse 1885™
"live a green life of style"
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11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the muffin recipe Diane, they sound delicious. Good luck with your company.
Stay Green,
Sarah

Anonymous said...

Yum! Thanks for the muffin recipe. Good luck with all the cooking this week. You sound like you will be very busy.

Anonymous said...

You make me want to quit my corporate job and start my own business making jams in Napa Valley...

Anonymous said...

Hope you had a lovely Christmas.

Wishing you every success with your company in the New Year - Health & Happiness.

The colour of your jam is stunning. I don't have any recipes for persimmon. I planted a tree over three years ago, but it sadly didn't do well at all.

Napa Farmhouse 1885 said...

thanks sarah and aimee..let me know if you try the muffins...

Napa Farmhouse 1885 said...

hi rachel..and welcome...leaving the corporate life was the best thing i have ever done..am way happier and healthier...give it a try!

Napa Farmhouse 1885 said...

sally! sorry for the delayed response. happy new year to you and your family.(give your dog a hug from me) looking forward to our shared blog comments this year...

best,
diane

Jenn said...

We made these today at our house. They taste great although there is double the sugar in them from what i would normally use in muffins. Ever tried this recipe with less sugar?

Napa Farmhouse 1885 said...

hi jenn,
i have not experimented with reducing the sugar...although a terrific idea. i will play around with the recipe next year when persimmons are in season and update the post. thanks for the suggestion.
diane

Emily Burns Morgan said...

I made these tonight with just one cup of sugar rather than 1 and 1/2 and they tasted great! Plenty sweet, pleasantly spicy - altogether delicious. Thanks for the recipe!

Rosa said...

I'm so glad I found this recipe - DELICIOUS!!! My parents have a tree and gave us so many persimmons every year. Usually they go to waste. This year I asked for more! I've made these muffins about 5 times this holiday season for potlucks - parents and kids alike LOVE them. I've frozen the extra puree so I can make these muffins for a bit longer. I've also cut down on the sugar quite a bit and once forgot to put the sugar on top and it was still plenty delicious. Thanks again!