Rhubarb Cornmeal Lime Muffins

It's spring, there's rhubarb in the garden and not much else.  The heat this week is making me crave all kinds of summer fresh food but Mother Nature isn't quite ready to provide for us.  Don, Jos and I all love rhubarb.  We recently remodelled the back yard, moving gardens and sodding over the shady areas that never really grew much.  The one holdout in this yard of green grass?  Yep, the rhubarb plant.  Left untouched to keep providing us with yummy snacks all spring long.

These muffins are barely sweet if you skip the sugar sprinkled on top.  The cornmeal crunch reminds me of a savoury cornbread.  Packed in lunch bags to school and work, they held up for a few days covered on the counter.  Jos likes them best drizzled with a lime icing glaze- mix lime juice and icing sugar until smooth and drizzle on top.  If your yard isn't producing rhubarb, I've seen it at a lot of farmers markets lately.  Do yourself a favour and pick some up.

 

One year ago: Forbidden Black Rice & Mango Salad

 

Rhubarb Cornmeal Lime Muffins

½ cup maple syrup

¾ cup Greek plain yogurt

⅓ cup coconut oil, melted

1 large egg

3 tsp freshly grated lime zest, divided

2 Tbs lime juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup whole-wheat flour

½ cup barley flour

½ cup cornmeal, preferably medium or fine stone-ground

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp sea salt

1½ cups rhubarb coarsely chopped

2 Tbsp sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper liners.

Whisk  maple syrup, yogurt, oil, egg, 2 teaspoons lime zest, lime juice and vanilla in a medium bowl.

Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the yogurt mixture and fold until almost blended. Gently fold in rhubarb. Divide the batter among the muffin cups.  Sprinkle sugar evenly over the tops of the muffins (optional).

Bake the muffins until golden brown and they spring back lightly to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!