A Fail for Week 45 and Persimmon Muffins for Week 46

I wouldn't call it a fail, per se. However, dinner for week 45 would not be considered a triumph. We had 5-spice pork with roasted orange and broccoli. No need to post a recipe that I threw away right after dinner. I will say that the pork was tender and perfectly moist (yes, moist) but I hated the flavoring and the roasted veggies were not that great. I hate warm fruit and that includes oranges. Now we are fighting over who has to eat the leftovers next week.   

Thankfully, week 46 gave us a complete 180.

A few weeks ago Bountiful Baskets, our local produce co-op, was filled with persimmons, which are weird little Asian fruits. They are only weird because I honestly have/had no idea what to do with them. I couldn't quite decide what to make of them when eating them raw.

So there they sat. Alone and unloved on my counter.

Imagine my delight when I found a recipe for persimmon muffins in December's Food Network Magazine (seriously- one of my favorite Christmas gifts. Thanks, Mom!)

PERSIMMON MUFFINS 

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 very ripe persimmons (or 1 cup smooth applesauce plus 1/4 cup carrot baby food)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (didn't have lemon, so a splash of lemon juice?)
• 2 large eggs plus 1 egg white
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, or vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
• Brown sugar, for topping

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan or two 24-cup mini-muffin pans with paper liners. Cut the persimmons in half and scoop out the pulp into a food processor; pulse until smooth.

2. Combine the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and lemon zest in a large bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (it's fine if the batter is lumpy).

3. Divide the batter among the muffin cups, filling each three-quarters of the way. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes for regular muffins or 14 to 18 minutes for mini muffins. Cool slightly in the pan, then transfer the muffins to a rack.

Note: This made at least 18 regular sized muffins, instead of just the projected 12.

Rating: Jacob gave them a 5. I would give the muffins a 4.5. Delicious, interesting and very sweet. It was a fun twist on a traditional muffin. My only hope is to find out a way to make it healthier. 10 tbs. of butter? That is enough to put this into treat category instead of pretending that it is a good breakfast.