Lemon Verbena Zucchini Muffins

Yum! Delicately lemony, these tasty muffins are perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. I love them with soup or salad. 

Good news for new Lemon Verbena lovers - you can use either fresh or dried herb in this recipe. 

If you have dried leaves harvested last year, or purchased in bulk or boxed as tea, those will work. All you have to do is soak them for a while in the milk. That's the secret to getting all the flavor and ease of eating, too. 

If your plants are growing now, go ahead and harvest about a dozen fresh leaves and pop them in the blender with the eggs, etc. Here, let's get a batch going now:

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Lemon Verbena Zucchini Muffins 

Mix these 6 dry ingredients together in a big bowl:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 TBS baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sugar

Mix these 7 wet ingredients in a blender or food processor:
2 eggs 
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
2 tsp lemon extract OR 2 TBS lemon zest (grated rind)
1 cup packed zucchini with liquid (grated fresh, frozen or canned)
12 fresh Lemon Verbena leaves OR 
1/4 cup dried Lemon Verbena leaves, crumbled, soaked in the milk for 10 - 20 minutes before blending

Mix wet mixture into dry mixture, and scoop into 12 muffin tins or one loaf pan. 

Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes for muffins and 30-45 minutes for loaf.  They're done when a knife or toothpick inserted into the center come out clean. And you'll also know by the delightful, lemony odor filling your kitchen!

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