Gluten-Free Apple-Pear Muffins

tender and sweet apple-pear muffins

Today I have new muffin recipe for your gluten-free repertoire- with apples and pears. And a story. A story not about muffins or fruit or sunlit pastoral memories of picking apples with my grandfather (he wasn't that kind of grandfather). No, no childhood ramblings. A story instead that's more of a snippet. A conversation, actually. The dating game.

"I wish I knew you in high school," I tell my husband.

This is not news to him. I say it all the time lately, now that I am in my second adolescence, fifteen years past mid-life. I sketch for him study hall humiliations sharing a bottle of red table wine and mixed olives. I search for words to depict how it feels when a snickering jock punches your clutch of books with his fists, sending you to your knees to rescue the sprawl of English homework, algebra and biology books that emit the faint smell of ink and gum.

He hates to hear this. It troubles him.



"I would have played you my worn out Tommy album," I hypothesize. "I would have cooked you brown rice and tamari. We would have talked about books. Siddartha.

He smiles and adds, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." We toast Hunter Thompson.

"You wouldn't have liked me in high school," he says.

This isn't the first time I have heard this. It always puzzles me. Though he tells me this with less conviction now that he's been married to me for fourteen and a half years. I picture him in Levi's and an untucked flannel shirt. Beefy, brainy, sarcastic.

"I was angry," he mentions.

"Me too," I say, "but on the inside. And a geek. They called me Four-Eyes."

"That's original," he says, popping an olive.

"And Sandwich," I add.

He raises an eyebrow. "Sandwich?"

"Yeah," I sigh. "Because of my hair. Straight. Thin. Parted down the middle. Like this." I place the edges of my palms on either side of my face. "Sandwich."

"Assholes," he says as he shakes his head in disgust.

Suddenly I feel inspired.

"Let's date in high school! Let's share the movies we loved. The music. The books."

He laughs but I can tell he is visualizing it.

"For our first date," I tell him, "let's see Easy Rider. It rocked my fifteen-year-old world. Peter Fonda. Captain America. It launched me into rebellion."

I sit back, sip wine and glance at him sideways. I conjure my best rendition of my fifteen-year-old self.

"Hey, wanna see that new movie, Easy Rider?" I ask.

"It's rated R," he tells me. "We'll have to sneak you in. Or get you a fake ID."

Apple-Pear Multigrain Muffins Recipe

I had a craving for an apple oats muffin- so I used quinoa flakes in this recipe. Quinoa flakes give muffins a bit of oatmeal-like texture and heft (as in my Quinoa Pecan Muffins). I used a combo of several gluten-free flours because I like my flour mix to have a nutty, protein rich blend.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a twelve cup muffin tin.

You'll need:

1 cup peeled diced apple
1 cup peeled diced pear

In a clean separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients:

1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup millet flour or brown rice flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup quinoa flakes
1/2 cup tapioca starch or potato starch
1 tablespoon sweet rice flour or arrowroot starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon or gluten-free Apple Pie Spice blend
1/4 teaspoon allspice or cardomom
1/2 cup organic light brown sugar
1/2 cup organic cane sugar

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add in:

2 organic free range eggs or egg replacer for two eggs (I used Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with warm water)
1/4 cup light olive oil
1 medium banana, mashed well (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 teaspoon light rice vinegar
2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla
1/3 cup warm water

Beat to combine and continue beating for a minute or two until the batter is smooth. Add in the apple and pear pieces and stir by hand to combine.

Use an ice cream scoop or spoon to scoop and plop the batter into the muffin cups. The batter will reach the top of the cups- that's okay.

Sprinkle with organic cane or turbinado sugar, if desired.

Bake in the center of a preheated oven for about 20 to 25 minutes until the muffins are firm.

Cool on a wire rack for five minutes, then turn out the muffins from the pan to keep them from getting soggy. Continue to cool on a wire rack.

Wrap and bag for freezing- they reheat beautifully in the microwave (zap them only briefly).

Make one dozen muffins.

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