OUR DAUGHTERS may be adult women with homes of their own, but they love to eat when they visit, which is almost every day. They’re all health conscious — and a bit weight conscious, so my experiments with Splenda (sugar substitute) are appreciated So are the healthy additives such as oatmeal, whole wheat flour and wheat t germ. All that goodness is just fine, as long as the cnd result tastes good. Some of the alleged health foods I've tried elsewhere are ideal for calorie counters — they. taste so rank that the dieter has no trouble leaving all but the first bite. Here. are two new recipes that I developed this past week. The first -— Ham and Cheese Muffins ~ 1 made in a few minutes for Suzy’s lunch. She voted them ‘‘keepers”’ and had two jumbo ones with scrambled eggs. The second replaces another favorite combination — Apple Cinnamon. My freezer has four varieties of muffins just now. All keep well and are just as good as fresh- baked when reheated briefly in the microwave, The secret is not to zap them for too long. My microwave is very high powered so I reheat at . full ‘power just one, minute for jumbo blueberry or “ham and cheese, 1:10 for any of the Gatmeal combinations. Start with these times —- you can always cook a bit longer but there’s no saving an overheated muffin. Ham and Cheese Muffins 1 mix liquids in the biender but you can whip them with an elec- * tric mixer. 1 cup whole wheat flour Y2 cup white flour Y% cup wheat germ 4 teaspoons baking powder BUNGET BEATERS Y; teaspoon salt". Pinch dry dill weed 1 cup cubed ham — 4” dice Y% cup cubed cheddar cheese — " %" dice 2 tablespoons grated onion 1 cup milk 1 egg % cup oil In a large bowl, stir r everything but the milk, egg and oil. Buzz the liquids together in your blender until foamy. Stir into the dry ingredients, just enough to blend. The batter will be lumpy. Overmixing ruins muffins! Spoon into 6 jumbo muffin tins and bake 22 minutes at 400°F, Suzy and ! decided that ham and Swiss cheese would be a great combination, too, and we intend to try crisp crumbled bacon as an alternative to ham. We agreed that the onion was great and we could increase the amount (we're onion lovers), Mixed Italian herbs could be substituted for the dill. A light dusting of grated Parmesan cheese on top would be interesting, too. Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins 1 cup coarse rolled oats (buy in bulk) 1 cup buttermilk legg Lapple, pecied and diced ¥; cup applesauce (unsweetened) 2 tablespoons Splenda suger substitute or Y4 cup brown sugar (you can omit both and the muf- “fins are still delicious) T cup raisins (Sultanas) J cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder ¥2 teaspoon baking soda Y teaspoon salt 132 teaspoons cinnamon (Note: I’ve also made these with a teaspoon vanilla as well as the cinnamon — add with the wet in- gredients.} In a deep bowl, combine oats, buttermilk, and egg. Beat with an electric mixer. Stir in apple, ap- plesauce, sugar and raisins. Com- bine remaining ingredients on a sheet of wax paper, stirring with a rubber scraper to blend. Stir into wet mixture, just enough to blend — batter is very lumpy but no flour shows. Fill six jumbo muffin cups right to the top — these rise but don’t spread all over the place. Bake 22 Free public forum discusses menopause THE PSYCHOLOGICAL aspects of menopause and recent advances in meno- pause treatment will be discussed at a free public forum on Wednesday, May 19, at Centennial Theatre. By Anna Marie D’ Angelo News Reporter Panelists at the forum include Women’s Health Centre director. Penny Ballem, gynecologist Vera Frinton, family doctor Suzanne Montemuro and _ psychologist Lafern Page. “There is a lot of information out there because of a lot of studies going on (about meno- pause),’’ said Montemura, who has "a practice on the North Shore. “Some of the information con- flicts and some of it is confus- ing,”’ she said. Montemuro said the purpose of the forum is to try to present, and perhaps clarify, some of the con- flicting issues for people. “People can hear for themselves and decide for themselves what they want to do,’’ said Montemura. She said menopause is a dif- ferent experience for everyone. And the psychological aspect of menopause is. important to ad- dress. The presentation will also in- clude questions from the audience. The forum starts at 7:30 p.m. The forum is sponsored by Lions Gate Hospital’s Continuing Medical Education. Centennial] Theatre is located at 2300 Lonsdale Ave, CHEAPEST PRICES ON THE NORTH SHORE! LONSDALE CE on = MON.-FRI.10-8 SAT. 10-6 + SUN. 12-5 ff POTTS VIET TORTIE ELT PORES minutes at 400°F, eoe I freeze muffins while | still warm, using reusable bags. They reheat best when done one at a time. ees Hot dips and spreads are always popular, especially during the months where everyone waits while some idiot in a chef's hat blunders around the barbecue. My idea of basting at the burner in- volves a two-inch paint brush, but try to explain that to the weekend perfectionist. Anyway, before the guests begin eyeing the dog’s kibbles, pass the dip. This one comes from Suzy’s friend Geri and is quick to assem- ble. Geri’s Baked Artichoke Dip 1 cup rent mayonnaise l cup plain yogurt 2 8 oz. jars plain (not marinated) artichoke hearts, drained ¥2 cup grated Parmesan cheese Topping: Ys cup fine cracker crumbs 3 tablespoons butter, meited Combine dip ingredients in blender and process. Turn into a greased small casserole or, 8” square cake pan. Top with crumbs mixed with butter. 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