Quinoa Muffins

adapted from Everyday Foods (Martha Stewart)

I've been intrigued by quinoa (pronounced "KEEN-wah") for some time. It is a grain similar to rice or couscous, but with lot of protein and vitamins. It's one of the new healthy "power foods." I saw Martha Stewart make these muffins on her show and decided this was the best recipe to try quinoa for the first time. You can buy it at most grocery stores (I bought mine at Giant). It comes in a box like rice or couscous. I doubled the raisins and added cinnamon. I would probably add more cinnamon and maybe some nutmeg next time. And maybe some dried cranberries too....

Ingredients

Makes 12

1 cup quinoa
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used 2 tablespoons plus water)
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins (I used 1 cup)
3/4 cup whole milk (I used 1%)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon (I added)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan, bring quinoa and 1 cup water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cover, and cook until water has been absorbed and quinoa is tender, 11 to 13 minutes.

Spray muffin pan with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, raisins, and 2 cups cooked quinoa; reserve any leftover quinoa for another use.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, milk, egg, and vanilla. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, and stir just until combined; divide batter among prepared muffin cups.

Bake until toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool muffins in pan, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 5 days (they really don’t last much longer).