Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Pomegranate Arils Ginger Muffins


Costco is selling in their cold fruit and veggie room a twin pack box of fresh pomegranate arils in 8 ounce bowls (with resealable lids included!) from POM for $7.99. Considering the fruit itself is pretty pricey, having the arils all set and ready to go effortlessly was worth the price. I tried sprinkling them in yogurt, but they were a little crunchy. Not bad, just a little odd. Since the Best Used By Date was closing in fast, I checked the POM website for recipes and found "POM Ginger Muffins" I tried a batch this morning and they were surprisingly good. The seeds softened and worked well in a muffin wardrobe.
I did a few things differently from the recipe -- I substituted 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour for part of the flour, used skim milk and an Omega 3 egg, skipped the orange peel, and a tablespoonful of Penzeys Crystallized Ginger chopped for the candied ginger. I like to snack on the ginger and didn't want to see half my jar disappear. Actually I liked the amount used, more would have been too much. I'll definitely make it again, maybe bumping up the whole wheat flour to 1/2 cup and substituting safflower oil or at least using some to replace part of the butter as one reviewer mentioned. I hate to think I'm undermining the superfruit's effort with 1/3 cup of butter.