Sunday, February 12, 2017

Gluten-free Lemon Poppyseed Muffins Recipe, and a Question

 Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
No, they're not burned.

I read your minds, didn't I. But they're not burned, just a bit crispy on top, which is actually how I like them (nice cover, huh). I think the reason they're crispy is that they're not your regular gluten flour muffins. So they are a bit different, but they don't make your gut feel crawly (in case you have that feeling with regular flour, which I do), and they're quite moist and lemony, and very low sugar, which is what I was going for.

I found this recipe at www.lecremedelacrumb.com when I was doing a Google search for 'Super moist lemon poppyseed muffins.'

Super Moist Lemon Poppyseed Muffins Recipe - 
Gluten Free (or use regular flour)

I changed only two things about the recipe:
1. I substituted a gluten-free flour cup for cup 
2. I used 1/3 c. sugar rather than 3/4 c. You might want to go with 1/2 c.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and grease muffin tin or use silicone liners.
In medium bowl, cream together the following ingredients:

1/4 c. butter
1/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract (or almond. I used vanilla, should have used almond)
2 T. lemon zest (I used one large lemon)
1 T. fresh lemon juice
3/4 c. plain fat free Greek yogurt (Next time, although the recipe called for fat-free, I'll use the yogurt with the fat in it to make them even more moist).

Add the following dry ingredient mixture to the other ingredients.

1 1/3 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Stir in:

1 T. poppyseeds 

Bake for appx. 14 minutes, then move muffin tin to a rack to finish cooling.

Optional:

You can make an icing with:
2 T. soft butter
2 oz. soft cream cheese
3-4 c. powdered sugar
1-2 t. fresh lemon juice

I was trying to go for low sugar, so I didn't make the icing this time.


See the muffins on the plate?

The small CrockPot is actually being used to infuse olive oil with a natural colorant
 for another batch of soap

I'm not sure why I'm showing you our kitchen. Maybe it's because I've been cleaning and organizing. On the other hand, none of that stuff looks any different from this perspective anyway, and don't worry, I'm not going to open pantry and refrigerator and laundry and closet doors just to show you. Next week it will be going through the Christmas closet. Why is it so hard to throw out those things when there is definitely an excess? Believe me, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

 The string on the chair and the mouse on the floor
are property of Tommy and Smokey


 Table end of the kitchen
Just after Audrey arrived (October of 2016)
Audrey now has a happy home with Tiffany.

So here is the question:

Would you paint the kitchen cupboards white and put in a ceramic tile floor? Not that I'm going to rush into anything of course, but I really would like your opinion. The cupboards are the originals from 28 years ago, and they're good oak cabinets with nothing at all wrong with them. Is the white kitchen just a fad? The floor needs to be replaced regardless. Would you go with vinyl, hardwood, or ceramic tile?   

What I really should be thinking about is how to part with Christmas decorations I really don't need any longer. This is not easy.

***



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Judy

35 comments:

  1. Since I have a galley kitchen ( approx 8 x 12 or so ) I think that your kitchen looks wonderful.

    I would not paint lovely cabinets with good wood / just my opinion. I HAVE painted kitchen cabinets when my kids were young and I was in an older home...this was long before blogging. But they were cheap / crappy. I also painted paneling. I have also stripped furniture, repainted etc. long before it was all a thing in blogland or there WAS a blogland.

    But what I'd never do is paint over good wood. Just my opinion :)

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  2. I have the same cabinets as you do. Though I long for white cabinets, sometimes I think they are just a fad. I have a ceramic tile floor and the tile has a rough finish to it which always collects dirt. *sigh* I would say linoleum for easy care, though my husband always says ceramic tile for value.

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  3. Good questions. I had white-white cabinets in my last house (which someone else started and then backed out of the deal). They showed all the dirt, and although I am a very clean person, the white-white was very unforgiving, you know what I mean? We eventually had them re-faced with something like what you have here, which I love. We bought the house with the white cabinets in 1997, so I'm not so sure this is a fad. That's a long time ago.

    However, if I were to entertain having white cabinets again (and it's crossed my mind), I would go with the antique off-white cabinets with the darker "antique" color in the corners and crevices. I think that would be must more forgiving.

    As for the floor, I've had wood floors and ceramic tile floors in the last 4 houses (we have moved a lot). I much prefer the ceramic tile because of concerns for water spots on the wood floors. In all my kitchens, no matter what the floor surface, I put down an area rug to make it softer for my feet. The tile can be quite cold but I prefer it. Also regarding grout, get dark grout so there is no problem about the grout getting dirty and turning dark.

    I hope this helps.

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  4. WHite cabinets? No. Show every fingerprint and if you ding them they chip and show it.

    Ceramic tile floor is not very forgiving if you drop anything. We had cork floors in the house we built 10 years ago. Nice on the feet. My daughter put cork in her kitchen redo which looks nice but also did white cabinets which as I said show dirt too soon.

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  5. Judy you may remember we had our 42 year old oak cabinets painted white. I love them! The light in your kitchen is beautiful. I've always liked your large map on the wall as well. We have hardwood floors throughout our home including our kitchen. Again, I love hardwood there. Good luck as you continue purging. We did as much as I could part with when we put the Christmas decor away. It's a great feeling making our home lighter. Oh, your muffins sure sound good. I've never cooked with GF flour. Have a great week. ♥

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  6. I might consider a change for the floors...but NOT the cabinets! I love the color of the wood. And I love the large map on the wall too! It adds so much warmth to the space! Hugs!

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  7. I love wood, especially oak, so I would leave the cabinets as they are. Tile floors are cold year round - something I would not like. Vinyl would be my choice of flooring.

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  8. First off- I love the sounds of those muffins and am saving the recipe.

    I don't think white cabinets are a fad. They have been around for years and years in all sorts of homes---from historical to new build. I have wood cabinets, too, but next time around I am going white. I like a bright-bright kitchen and white does that for me.

    Now- tile....I give it a NO. lol I have had tile in three of my 15 (owned) kitchens. It is hard on the feet if you stand a long time, IF you drop something glass is smashes to smithereens...not just a nice bang/crack in two sort of break....and it hard to keep the grout nice...AND unless you are doing a heated underlayment it is COLD in the winter in WI. However, if you like the LOOK of tile you can now get a laminate (kind of like Pergo) that mimics tile. I have wood floors in my kitchen and love them but then I don't have pets running to scratch them up either...which is another consideration. That was probably WAY more information than you were bargaining for, huh? lol

    Have a great week- Judy. xo Diana ps...Love that big map on the wall!!!!

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  9. I think your cabinets would be beautiful painted white, I don't think they are a fad. My neighbor had hers painted about 10 years ago and they still look great.

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  10. I like your natural wood cabinets and would keep them that way. Maybe try the ceramic tiles for your floor for a bit of a change. That large map is a big plus, by the way (says this maps librarian).

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  11. You are going to get lots of opposite opinions for sure. Our cabinets were Oak and the kitchen seemed so dark so we painted them 2 shades of green with a third shade of green on the walls. We've liked it. We recently replaced all our floors. Wood floors in the kitchen, family room and halls. Pictures at this link https://happywonderer.com/2013/08/20/before-and-after-2/
    Have fun making a decision on what to do.

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  12. Floor NOT ceramic, it is far to noisy and cold. Go for a very good quality vinyl, that looks like wood if you wish, that is what I did although my cupboards are cream. Your kitchen loks lovely to me and I would keep the oak cupboards Judy

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  13. Your kitchen is a bright and beautiful place. I love painted cabinets, and have had them for 12 or so years. However, white cabinets do show the dirt - every little spill that dribbles down and if you have frame and panel doors, the dirt in the crevices needs constant attention. Next kitchen I'm going to paint a darker colour on the bottom cabinets and have white on the top.
    I'd also nix the ceramic floors. Tile is so cold and hard. We had a ceramic tile kitchen once and my feet and legs became tired so quickly on it. The grouting lines are hard to keep clean, too. A smooth linoleum is good, or wood, which I prefer. (or laminate - there are some great options that can be waterproofed).
    The lemon muffins look delicious. I also reduce sugar in most of my recipes - there's just far too much!

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  14. I'd paint the cabinets, maybe a soft off=white. I love light painted kitchens and yours is so well arranged. As to floors, we always had tiles in France, but here I have a composite which looks like tiles but is not hard on the feet. Vinolay is good also.

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  15. I currently have older, wood cabinets and like the ease of just cleaning/polishing them. I've had painted cabinets and the paint tends to chip easily. I've had white cabinets which tend to turn yellow! I would leave the wood. As for flooring, I love the ease of cleaning vinyl. I just use a vinegar/alcohol/water mix to mop with.
    Thanks for the great recipe and your kitchen is lovely. Best wishes with the paring down of Christmas decor!

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  16. Ok, so we live in a nearly 100 year old house with white kitchen cabinets, that indeed turn yellowish...I would put in a wood floor, jmo. I loveeeeeeeeeeee your kitchen and loveeeeeeeeeeeeee the old stove. smiles

    I saw a magazine that had beautiful white top cabinets and blue bottom ones, very antiquie looking.

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  17. Your muffins sound delicious, especially with icing! I think white kitchens are here to stay, they are so bright and clean feeling. I would go with hardwood, they make so many easy care durable ones these days. I have ceramic tile which I love because I paint in my kitchen and I can easily remove drippings, but it is cold in the winter. Good luck!

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  18. This sounds like a wonderful gluten free recipe. My son is visiting and he only eats gluten free. I Love your kitchen and especially like the world map on the wall. Now I want one!

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  19. I can tell you that I have had white cabinets since 1989 and I will never have white cabinets again. Keeping them clean is an impossible task they show every Touch of every fingerprint. I really love your kitchen cabinets. And wish I had them. That said do what you like to look at I never go with what is an or what anybody else likes its what pleases you when you look at it. The only thing I would change in your kitchen if I owned it as I would put tile or wood on the floor. I like either one. Not real wood fake wood. I love my ceramic tile floor and my kitchen. I love anything with poppy seeds and lemon in it. I think your home is absolutely lovely

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  20. I think it all depends on what you like. I've had these dark brown things forever and I would probably keep them if the wood was something pretty. It isn't. I've wanted white cabinets for about 25 years now and I'm hoping to paint them this year. While I usually lean towards dark, my house is small and the kitchen is pretty close to tiny, I guess it's tiny-ish, and I want it bright in there. The white cabinets will help. We're going with white on top and a darkish gray on the bottom ones. With all we have to do around here, it'd probably be easier to move. We did put laminate flooring in years ago. It looks like hardwood but isn't. I do like it. The problem is you aren't supposed to get them wet. That's not easy in the kitchen. :) I'm sure whatever you decide will be lovely! Have you considered staining them a different color? I'll come up there and bring Claudia with me. She's the interior designer daughter (and please don't call her an interior decorator unless you want the lecture about the difference between the two...LOL). She's already told me which walls can come down in my house, what we need to do to reconfigure the kitchen and master bathroom, as well as which colors to use.

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  21. I like your wood cabinets with your stove. Also, I got ceramic tile and I now know I would rather have linoleum. We had linoleum put in out little house bathroom and it is much easier to keep clean. The same goes for my granite counter tops that I though I had to have. They are hard to clean and it is hard to tell when they are dirty. I wish I had gotten one of the upgrades of formica.

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  22. Personally, I like with wood cabinets and would not paint them white.

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  23. So many comments....instead of reading them, I'll just state my opinion. My kids both painted their cabinets white. They do look good and have had some chipping. We left ours natural wood and did new hardware ....the oak always looks good. We had a ceramic tile floor. Very nice for the dogs and dirt, but drop something and it breaks....we had trouble with chipping and breaking tiles. Our legs got tired on the hard tile. I'd go wood.....I know they make much nicer vinyl too. I love your kitchen....love the map!

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  24. Your cabinets are beautiful. I'm partial to the warmth natural wood adds to a room. I wouldn't do ceramic (or quarry) flooring for the reasons mentioned above. There are some beautiful vinyl and laminates out there that are much more forgiving underfoot. I LOVE that antique (?) stove--it is a work of art.

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  25. White kitchens have been around for ever, if you look through old magazines and photos.
    I like white kitchens, but they might be hard to clean if painted. Newer cabinets are treated these days, so they are easy to wipe. I wonder if there is paint like that. I like wood floors, but I have old adopted cats that people declawed. In my last home the cat scratched the wood floor just by accident. I recommend small grout lines in the wood, not cracks in the kitchen. I had that once before, and it made it hard to clean the wood floor. Now my floor has small grout lines. If you do paint, you could paint the island a color, and the rest white.

    A stone floor could look real pretty in your kitchen whether you paint or not, but it is cold where you live. You could then just paint the island a favorite color that looks nice with oak. Are the floors heated already? It would look English.

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  26. Judy, There are all kinds of new wood type floors. Brick like and stone flooring is so nice too. I would not paint the oak cabinets they go with your cupboard and table. No offence, please...but I would remove the wall paper border and maybe paint another color. I think back to my bathrooms in town, I had those borders in them. They are kind of out dated. I love that old stove you have. Wow. I bet your house smells good all the time. Making soap...is something I have always wanted to do. Blessings, xoxo , Susie

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  27. The muffins sound yummy. It is hard to get rid of things because they have pleasant memories attached to them. Love you kitchen and stove! I'm going to say yes to your question because I would love to have white cabinets and I do love a tile floor.

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  28. Those muffins look wonderful, Judy! As far as the cabinets go, it is really whatever would make you happy. White is classic. I love painted cabinets, but that is a personal preference. Which makes you happy when you think about them?? There are some really pretty vinyl floorings now that would be easier on the feet than tile. Wood (real wood, not the engineered/laminate kind) is always amazing. Once again, it should be whatever delights your soul! BTW I LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. that giant world map! Make yourself happy. ;) blessings and hugs ~ tanna

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  29. Wow, Judy, you asked a question and did you ever get answers! I love the look of your kitchen and I would not change the cabinets.

    At some point we will need to redo our kitchen (43 years old) due to structural changes that we need to make. I will use that as my opportunity to get rid of the antiqued green cabinets we've had since the 1970s. But we will be going with wood. I just think it looks warmer and I think that's important in a climate that is cold for most of the year.

    For flooring, I would choose vinyl (there are an amazing amount of patterns out there, as I found when we replaced our bathroom flooring!) or wood. Not ceramic tile. As others have said, it is cold, hard, and unforgiving. Not easy to clean either.

    Just my 2¢ worth, and the muffins sound wonderful! I will be trying your recipe; thanks for sharing. I do have some gluten free recipes on my blog, so if you haven't seen them and are interested, click "gluten free" in the label cloud!

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  30. I had a white kitchen in a house we built in 2000..Loved it.I've heard good and bad about painting cabinets..A lot of work to prepare them..Chipping afterward..I like the warmth of wood...Love your stove.
    Ceramic is easier to keep clean..Hardwood shows every water spot but is warmer..I have hardwood now but my kitchen is very small..I'm always wiping up something and I don't cook..I have high gloss wood floors..big mistake..A rustic wood floor would look great with that stove...Maybe too dark with your cabinets though...The ceramic I had in my white kitchen didn't show anything..Vinyl is less expensive and warm but doesn't do much for you when you want to sell your house..
    Do what makes you feel happy!!

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  31. Your cupboards are similar to mine and I love the colour; I changed the knobs and handles for a newer look. Our youngest daughter had a whole kitchen redo and she went with cream coloured cupboards and although nice, you lose the warmth from the wood tones.
    As for flooring, I've had ceramic and the coolness to walk on didn't bother me but the chips from things being dropped did. I've had hardwood in two kitchens now and like it best. You get dings in the wood from dropped stuff but they add character and don't bother me much. My husband laid the hardwood throughout our whole house and it sure saved a lot of money. The prefinished flooring is so nice - growing up we stripped and waxed a whole house on our knees. :-(
    Happy Valentine's Day Judy.

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  32. No, I would not paint the cabinets. (I hate to paint.) They look perfectly fine as they are. If the floor needs to be replaced, I would choose a hardwood. Yes, I do like wood, though I also have a lot of painted stuff. I like an eclectic look apparently. Your kitchen looks like one I'd be perfectly content in, except I'll bring my own muffin. Love the map, too, but that must have been at Instagram.

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  33. Hey Sweetie! My input would be that it's very hard to paint cabinets to where they will hold up well. We have painted cabinets & the lower ones - especially around the sink & dishwasher are peeling often. Our goal is actually to do real wood cabinets down the line. That being said - I think that white cabinets are SO pretty for a farmhouse kitchen. I think it's a classic look and not a fad. So I think you could go either way & it will look nice, because natural will keep holding up. But white cabinets with pretty ceramic tile wood look floor would fit your house SO pretty & give that fresh farmhouse look. So basically I'm no help. Lol!
    I can't wait to see what you decide to do!

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  34. You have such a beautiful kitchen. I love your cabinets and for the tile floor you have to be careful about it chipping and dropping plates and glasses. The muffins look and sound so good. Thanks for sharing the recipe at C&C with J&J.
    Happy Valentine's Day. Enjoy the week.
    Julie

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  35. I love the durability and wash ability of tile, BUT I picked out a 12 x 12 square and 6 x 6 square of nice quality thick tile. We also laid 1/2" thick cement board underneath and it is HARD. After about half an hour in the kitchen my feet are already tired. As we like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen it is not so good. Maybe if I had gone with a smaller and thinner tile it would be better. I really wanted wood floors and am seriously thinking of ripping out the tile and laying wood. As for white cabinets. I personally love the look and would rather have to do a paint touch up every couple of years then to think about all the crud that is on them that I can't see.
    Have you ever thought about painting the walls white? That might help brighten up the kitchen.

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