A great start to the day

Dear SOS: While vacationing in Sunriver, Ore., we ate breakfast at a Portuguese restaurant named Cafe Sintra. They served a most delicious muffin called bom dia. Do you think you could get the recipe?

Thank you.

Kim Israel

Hidden Hills

Dear Kim: Manuel Dos Santos, owner of the Cafe Sintra, modified his wife Toni’s recipe for a carrot muffin by adding coconut, apple and walnuts.

Customers love it with their morning coffee, so they named it bom dia, or “good morning” in Portuguese. It’s a satisfying breakfast treat.

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Total time: 45 minutes

Servings: 18

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups grated carrots (about 3 medium)

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup grated Granny Smith apples, skin on (about 2 small)

3 eggs

1 cup oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

1. Mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Add the carrots, walnuts, coconut and apple and mix together.

2. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, oil and vanilla. Add the egg mixture to the large bowl and stir until just combined.

3. Bake in muffin tins with paper liners in a 350-degree oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Each serving: 316 calories; 4 grams protein; 33 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 19 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 35 mg. cholesterol; 198 mg. sodium.