Shabbat Morning

What do you serve when you get home from services on Shabbat morning? Some people enjoy a Kiddush at the synagogue. Then they come home to eat their main meal at around noon. Others, especially in Israel, are home by nine or ten in the morning, when it's just too early to eat a big meal.

We make Kiddush and then enjoy muffins, fruit and tea.

Why do I like muffins? They're quick and easy to make. They freeze well and they're healthy. With a little imagination, you can create endless varieties.

For instance, last Shabbat we had blueberry cornmeal muffins and fresh grapes. Why? Because I found a bag of blueberries in the back of the freezer, leftover from last year's crop. And because the grapes I found at the market – a large green seedless variety, were delicious.

What's on the menu for this coming Shabbat? With more hot weather this week, our bananas ripened faster than we could eat them. And I happened to have half a bag of chocolate chunks in the pantry. (Have you seen the Scharffen Berger Bittersweet Baking Chunks? Wow!) So it's banana-chocolate chip muffins and a fruit salad of fresh melon and new-season apricots.

Muffins "Any Which Way" (Dairy)

Create endless variations by starting with this basic muffin recipe. Use less flour if you're adding dryer ingredients (like dried fruit and nuts), and the full amount of flour if the ingredients are moist (like frozen berries). Use whole-wheat pastry or light whole-wheat flour if it's available. Otherwise you can substitute white for some of the wheat flour. When I use all whole-wheat flour, I use the lesser amount. Here are some ideas:

Blueberry: 1 ½ cups blueberries plus 2 teaspoons lemon zest

Raspberry: 1 ½ cup raspberries plus 2 teaspoons orange zest

Banana chocolate: 1 large banana, diced plus ½ cup chocolate chips

Date and Nut: 1 cup chopped dates plus 1 cup chopped walnuts

Apple Spice: 1 cup diced fresh apples plus 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Apricot Ginger: 1 cup diced dried apricot, ½ cup diced candied ginger and 2 teaspoons ground ginger

Corn: Substitute 1 cup cornmeal for 1 cup of flour and add 1 ½ cups corn kernels

2 ¼ - 2 ½ cups whole-wheat flour (see note above)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup sugar (white or brown)

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

1/3 cup canola oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-2 cups fruit or fruits and nuts (see above)

Line 12-18 muffin tins with paper liners.

Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.

In a smaller bowl or a 2-cup measuring cup, mix together buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla.

Gently mix the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Just before it's all mixed, add in the fruit. Mix the batter just a little more to incorporate all of the ingredients. Don't over mix or the muffins will be tough.

Bake the muffins for 20-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn the muffins out onto a rack to cool.

Makes 12-18