Well, Ben is still overwhelmed with his new project that he is out of steam to start writing again. I will fill in until he is recharged.

For this South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors, Marian prepared four recipes as usual. However, three of the recipes are old recipes which I had blogged about some time ago.

For starter, the seniors made a Hamburger Soup. This is a hearty soup with protein, grains and vegetables. It’s great as a brunch. The next item is also a good brunch item. It’s a Frittata with Spinach and Cheese. Marian also added some broccoli to this Frittata recipe. Instead of Parmesan cheese, Marian substituted with cottage cheese in this recipe. We encountered some difficulty in this kitchen when making the frittata because we could not find a right size frying pan. So, Stella was very creative in suggesting to bake the frittata in muffin tins as what you see above. It took about 15 to 20 minutes to bake in a 350F preheated oven.

For the side dish, the seniors made Roasted Sweet Potatoes. Sweet potatoes is a great source of beta carotene and thus a great source of Vitamin A and antioxidant. It is important to have some fat in your sweet potato-containing meals if you want to enjoy the full beta-carotene benefits of this root vegetable. That’s why roasting with some oil is a good way to prepare sweet potatoes. However, studies also review boiling sweet potatoes gives better blood sugar effects (including the achievement of a lower glycemic index, or GI value).

The orange colored sweet potatoes are also known as yam here. I was a bit confused when I first came over because back in Malaysia, yam is what we call taro here. Anyway, I prefer the yellow colored sweet potatoes for it’s firmer texture and sweeter taste.

For dessert and take home, Marian prepared a Pineapple Oat Bran Muffin recipe. We made the muffins in regular muffin tins and also the above mini loaf muffin pans. I like the mini loaf muffin pans as it looks so cute. This is a high fiber muffin that you can enjoy for breakfast or snack with coffee or tea without guilt.

Oat bran is the outer casing of the oat. Oats contain soluble fiber which slow digestion and extend the sensation of fullness. Soluble fiber is believed to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and possibly to reduce the risk of heart disease.

Ingredients

• 2 cups oat bran
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 540ml can crushed pineapple with juice
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 cup sliced almond

Source: Marian

Yields 36 muffins

P/S: the granulated sugar should be brown sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare muffin tins by lining with paper cup or grease well with butter. In a bowl, sift flour. Combine flour with brown sugar, salt, baking soda and almonds.

In a bowl, combine oat bran and buttermilk. Stir to combine well and let stand for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, add beaten eggs, pineapple with juice and melted butter to the bran and buttermilk mixture. Stir well.

Add the bran mixture to the dry ingredients.Stir just until blended, batter should be lumpy.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins, filing three quarter full.Bake in a 350F preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the muffins rest in the muffin pan for 5 minutes.

Remove to cool on cooling rack.