Our youngest son is turning seven today, which is so hard for us to believe! …
Joe and I celebrated our 12th anniversary last month and so we spent a day together in Frenchtown, NJ. We started by going for an 18-mile bike ride on the D&R Trail along the Delaware River and knew that we would be coming back hungry. We had never been to Frenchtown before but several friends had recommended the restaurant Lovin’ Oven so we decided to check it out.
We rode our bikes right off the trail and up to the bike racks outside of the restaurant where we walked with wobbly legs over to one of the last outdoor tables on their patio. We ordered our afternoon coffees and made our lunch selections.
After finishing our coffees and starting to feel that sort of deep-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach hungry that comes after a big workout – and an entire cup of coffee on an empty stomach – the waitress came out and apologized for the wait and explained that our orders had gone to the kitchen just after the orders for a huge party at the tables next to us so it might be a little while longer and would we like to enjoy a complimentary muffin while we wait? Yes, please!
Well, the muffins were delicious – possibly partly because I was super hungry but I’m pretty sure they were actually just very good. I asked the waitress if she knew what was used in the recipe because it felt like I could detect a subtle lemon flavor and something making them extra moist, maybe ricotta?
The waitress said that the baker had already left for the day and she wasn’t sure of the recipe. Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to try and replicate this flavor combination back at home in my kitchen!
I picked up some Klein’s Farm ricotta the very next day, then thawed out some strawberries that we had picked ourselves at Trauger’s Farm earlier this summer, and set out to make a Strawberry Lemon Ricotta Muffin to rival the ones we ate at Lovin’ Oven.
Now, I don’t claim to have recreated the exact muffin that we ate on our anniversary date but I’m really happy with the results of my kitchen experiment! Below is my recipe in case you would like to make a batch in your own kitchen!
AuthorMaria[cooked-sharing]
2 cups whole wheat flour
¾ cup cane sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp fine sea salt
2 lemons, zested
2 eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese
⅔ cup milk
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries, sliced or chopped
1
Preheat oven to 350°F.
2
Combine dry ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest - in a large bowl.
3
In a separate bowl, whisk eggs together with ricotta, milk, coconut oil, vanilla and lemon juice. Let stand for 5 minutes.
4
Pour wet ingredients into bowl with dry ingredients and stir until combined. Fold in strawberries. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!
CategoryMuffins, Nut-Free, Spring, Summer, Vegetarian
Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
¾ cup cane sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp fine sea salt
2 lemons, zested
2 eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese
⅔ cup milk
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries, sliced or chopped
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