Introduction
It all began at a friend’s place. As I was invited for dinner, he had prepared one of the best meals that I have ever eaten – salad, beef, you name it. As for me, I went there expecting a bottle of whisky, two glasses and some peanuts to munch on while we were discussing his latest business venture. To say the least, this experience completely shattered one of my long-held perceptions of this friend of mine, who was as macho as a man can get.
Cooking for a while now has been a woman’s domain – or so I thought, until now!
Holding on to a fixed (read: dumb) view such as this one is like confining ‘creativity’ to only the female part of the human race.
Creativity in Cooking
The question that I asked myself after all this was whether ‘cooking’, which is such a mundane task for some of us, could be considered ‘creative’. Yes, of course!
How do we know this?
Walk into a restaurant known for its taste in presentation and take in the aromas as well as the uniquely presented dishes. If you are an aspiring chef, you will have several of those “I didn’t think of that’ moments. However, creativity can only be measured by one thing: expression.
For cooks or chefs, their recipes will tell you how well versed they are in the art of preparing fine cuisine. Their own little jazz performance, if you will. Of course, one does not just prepare a recipe just like that – it comes from years of preparing a dish, and then finding ways through experimentation by which one can ‘add value’ to the taste and nutritious value of the dish. Thanks to the internet, one can source recipes according to their preferences.
‘Healthy’ Wheat Muffin Recipe
Now, here is a healthy Wheat muffin recipe that you can try out:
Not only does this wheat muffin recipe help you with weight loss and keeping well, you can be sure that they will taste good whether made sweet or spicy.
Ingredients
1 1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
Half a teaspoon baking powder
Half a teaspoon baking soda
Half a cup dairy alternative milk or water
Three tablespoons liquid sweetener (maple syrup, agave nectar, apple juice concentrate, etc.), or water (use water if you’re making savory muffins)
One tablespoon of canola oil
One teaspoon of vanilla (omit if you’re making savory muffins)
Preparation
Step One: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Step Two: Lightly oil your muffin pan.
Step Three: In a medium-size bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
Step Four: Mix the wet ingredients in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup and pour into the dry ingredients. Stir together until batter is wet, but be careful not to over mix.
Step Five: Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups and bake for 18-20 minutes.
Step Six: Gently loosen muffins after they have cooled down for a few minutes (if it is necessary to loosen). Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for another 5 minutes. This recipe makes about 12 wonderful muffins.
NOTE
For sweet muffins, it is fine to add 1/4 cup chopped and soaked (for a couple of hours, or overnight). Do not worry about soaking raisins though.
For a more savory muffin, you could add a tablespoon or so of Italian seasonings, fresh chives, fresh, minced garlic, and/or 1/2 cup soaked sun dried tomatoes.
[As prepared by Kirsten Nissen and Derrick de Lay at VibrantVegan dot com]
Conclusion
It is no surprise that my pal understands the true meaning of creativity, which is to not be restricted to just being in the movies and music, but in all aspects of his life. Yes, he is truly the ladies’ man but while I could not care less, it doesn’t stop me from begging him to make another meal.
