Local Spring Food: Honey Lemon Rhubarb Muffins

Tangy meets sweet in your garden! These springtime muffins celebrate local bounty while making your taste buds dance.

While rhubarb can be available throughout the warmer months here in Canada, it's the first pick that signals the official arrival of spring food in the garden. Nicely coinciding during this time is the abundance of lemons; the last lemon pickings of the season from southern areas are available in grocery stores. Plenty of lemons + great supply of rhubarb = these gluten-free muffins with just a hint of sweetness from local honey. I've also added some local eggs, ground local flax seed, and local yogurt to shine the spotlight on Canadian farmers and producers while providing even more nutrition.

If you fancy the combination of honey, lemon, and rhubarb, consider making this recipe before the season is over—though you could make them using frozen rhubarb to enjoy any time. And yes, we can find lemons in our grocery stores year-round as well, but it's best to enjoy them when they're in season!

Recipe

With just a hint of sweetness from honey, each muffin offers rhubarb treasures with subtle lemon flavour. Perfect for a to-go snack or as a side on a breakfast tray.

Dry

• 1½ cups oat flour

• ½ cup coconut flour

• 1½ tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp baking soda

• ½ tsp salt, Himalayan or mineral, preferred

  
  

Wet

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 1¾ cups yogurt, plain, Greek or natural

• 1 tbsp lemon zested, plus juice

• ⅓ cup liquid honey

• 1 cup rhubarb, heaping, fresh or thawed from frozen, diced

  
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Mix dry ingredients together. Set aside.

3. Beat eggs. Add rest of wet ingredients and lightly beat together.

4. Pour wet ingredients into dry and fold together.

5. Fold rhubarb pieces into the batter.

6. In paper-lined muffin cups, add batter ¾ full to top in each cup.

7. Optional: top each muffin cup with a couple of rhubarb pieces and more lemon zest.

8. Bake in oven for 18 to 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

   
   

Your Seasonal Food Story

Our connection to seasonal ingredients reveals much about our relationship with the natural rhythms of the land. My story includes eagerly awaiting that first spring rhubarb harvest, knowing it signals the beginning of months of local abundance.

What's your seasonal food story? Do you anticipate certain local harvests with special excitement? Have you created traditions around cooking with seasonal ingredients? What childhood memories do you have of eating foods when they were freshly harvested? I'd love to hear about your connection to the seasonal cycles in your kitchen.

---

Subscribe to my newsletter for updates on major releases, new projects, and when fresh batches of content become available.

If you enjoy exploring your connection to food through stories and recipes, you'll appreciate my book. Your Canadian Food Story takes you on a powerful journey to explore food memories through the experiences of over 110 Canadians who share their cherished stories and recipes. This book encourages you to honour regional food, gather together, get creative in the kitchen, spark conversation at the table, and truly enjoy what you eat.

Follow along on social media for inspiration about seasonal cooking and food storytelling.

How has eating locally changed your relationship with food? Share your thoughts in the comments below or reach out on social media—I'd love to continue this conversation!