Best bites of spring: Rhubarb Crumb Muffins

One of my daughters is going through training to become a Stephen Minister with our church. This weekend is another marathon training retreat. All the trainees have generously agreed to provide snacks and treats for the group throughout the training sessions.

This morning it's my daughter's turn. As she is a full-time student and doesn't even get home from school until 3:30, and the retreat began at 5 PM Friday afternoon, she really didn't have any time to prepare a snack for her time.

So, being the awesome mom that I am, I made this batch of some favorite spring muffins of ours -- Rhubarb Crumb Muffins.

These muffins are always a hit in our house. I usually bake a double batch to go with Mother's Day brunch. And any leftovers get popped into the freezer for quick breakfasts on the run.

Here's the recipe:

Rhubarb Crumb Muffins (12 to 15 muffins)

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 large stalk rhubarb, finely diced (about 1 cup of fine dices)
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
1/3 cup oil
1 cup milk
crumb topping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (or 375 F convection)

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add rhubarb dices and orange zest and toss well.
• In a medium bowl, beat egg. Blend in extract, oil and milk.
• Combine wet and dry ingredients, just until combined (don't over mix).
• Spoon into prepared muffin tin.
• Top each with a spoonful of crumb topping (recipe below).

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until light golden and the muffins spring back when pressed.

Crumb Topping

In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup flour, pinch salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons soft butter. Cut together with a fork and knife. Blend in 1 to 1  1/2 teaspoons of water (just enough to form crumbs).

As a note, you can substitute half whole wheat flour for half of the white. I often do this and they still get gobbled up!

Enjoy your bite of spring!

What's your frugal specialty?

We all have our areas of great talent. Some of us are very clever with crafts. Others can sniff out a good deal at the stores. Still others seem to be able to repair or mend just about anything. And some can take a can of paint and transform a beat-up piece of furniture into a true heirloom.

Are you a fab garage saler/thrift shopper? Can you turn old sheets into comfy pjs? Do you know where to put your investments? Are you on top of every bill and receipt?

Many of us are clever cooks, creating memorable meals. Some of us are coupon queens, stacking coupons on sales with rebates, and walking away with free products regularly. And some of us do beautiful needlework, making lovely gifts, making over clothing, and adorning our homes.

So what is your frugal specialty?

You could probably guess that mine is keeping our grocery bill low. It's what I do best in the frugal realm. But it's not the only way to watch our pennies. There are so many more ways, just as valuable, but don't always get the recognition that they deserve.

Although groceries are my area of specialty, I have found it incredibly helpful to read and learn from everyone else. Sometimes I just never would have thought to try something, on my own. But upon hearing a new trick or idea from someone else, it sounds completely do-able. Or maybe I've wanted to try something, but really needed the confirmation from someone else's experience.

So, now I'm asking you, what do you do best to contribute to your careful use of resources? Can you offer up one solid tip that has boosted your abilities in your specialty, even higher? Crafty people speak up! Handy repair people, tell us about your biggest success! Shoppers who sniff out the best deals, tell us about your best score! Clever cooks, what have you cooked/baked that you once thought "had" to be bought? I am positive that I've missed many areas, so fill me in.