Lemon Chia Seed Muffins.

These are my new favorite muffins and have been for 6 months now (it's now May when I'm actually posting it). I love lemon. And I love the health benefits of chia seeds. The combo is a match made in heaven. Shayne even likes these, and he's not a huge lemon fan. Ya done it again Mama Pea. Thank.you.

"Slightly sweet, moist and just lemony enough, they are classic, but won't hinder any drug tests."
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (i use almond)
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup unbleached organic flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/3 cup coconut oil
2/3 cup agave nectar and/or maple syrup
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine milk and lemon juice and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chia seeds.

To the milk mixture, add coconut oil, agave or maple syrup, applesauce, vanilla, lemon extract and lemon zest.

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined.

Fill each well of a muffin tin that has been lightly greased or line with muffin cups 2/3rds of the way full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until slightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Tender Barley Cornbread.

This cornbread is awesome. Super healthy and super fast. It's our new staple. I just ground barley up in my food processor instead of buying overpriced barley flour. Plus, I love the texture the little pieces that don't get quite so ground give.  When it's all done baking, while it's still warm, I spread a little agave nectar, maple syrup or honey on top to sweeten it a little more.

3/4 cup yellow stone-ground cornmeal
1/2 cup barley flour (grind some barley in the blender)
1/3 cup whole wheat flour (regular or pastry flour)
2 tablespoons sugar (or a tad shy of 2 T. agave nectar)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup non-dairy milk
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

Preheat the oven to 425*F. Whisk together the cornmeal, barley and whole wheat flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Add the milk and applesauce and stir just until mixed. Scrape into and 8" x 8" nonstick baking pan and smooth the top. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Cut the hot cornbread into squares. (or put in sprayed muffin tins)

Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes, pg 195

Banana-Ginger Pancakes.

I love a good breakfast for dinner, and these were a hit. Although the Sweet Potato Hash with Peppers from the same cookbook was not. I knew it wouldn't be... my family is not a fan of sweet potatoes unless I'm sneaky about them {which I did with the leftovers... pureed them up with some black beans and they devoured them as black bean burritos}. Coco actually ate a few bites... but that's really not a good indicator since she's back and forth all the time.

1 ¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 ¼ cups vanilla soy milk
3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed bananas
Vegetable oil cooking spray

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, ginger, and salt. In another bowl, combine the agave nectar, soy milk, applesauce, and vanilla. Add the liquid to the flour mixture. Mix until just combined (the batter will be lumpy). Add the bananas.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then coat with cooking spray. Pour ¼ cup of batter onto the hot skillet. The pancake is ready to flip when tiny bubbles appear on the top and burst, and the pancake is lightly browned on the edges. Flip the pancake and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes, until the underside is lightly browned. Adjust your heat so that the pancakes cook for about 1 to 2 minutes per side.

Texas Governor's Mansion Sweet Potato Muffins.

I actually remember the very first time my Mom made these muffins. I was home from college, sitting on the bench at the kitchen table in our old house, entranced by the smell of these things... bit into it and thought... I.was.in.heaven. I told her they were awesome and she said she found the recipe in the paper and they were served at the Texas Governor's Mansion. If they were good enough for George W., they were good enough for me. I think I ate 4 of them. Good thing my brothers weren't there and there were 4 to be had.

I thought about them the other day and was bummed that the original recipe called for buttermilk, egg and oil. That didn't discourage when I remembered how I can sour even soy or almond milk with a little bit of apple cider (or lemon juice) like I do in Our Favorite Cupcakes. The egg I have already experimented on with flaxseed. I did use coconut oil, because of all my reading with GreenSmoothieGirl.

Now it is on.

They were amazing... and really took me back to that kitchen bench. Yum. You don't have to love sweet potatoes to think these are awesome. Even Shayne liked them - and he hates sweet potatoes. (Although I think I'm slowly breaking him of that hatred)

I did all my calculations doubling the batch. Just do it and freeze half. There's nothing like pulling out some already to eat muffins out of the freezer for a snack, lunches or another dinner.

4 cups whole wheat flour

4 teaspoons + 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon cloves

2 cups almond milk

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons flax meal

6 tablespoons water

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup maple sugar

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup applesauce

4 cups sweet potato, shredded & lightly packed

Preheat oven to 350*.

Sift in a bowl together the flour, baking powder (4 teaspoons), baking soda, salt and cloves. Set aside.

In a small measuring cup combine almond milk and apple cider vinegar, set aside for 5 minutes.

In a small bowl mix and let congeal the flax meal, baking powder and water.

Add all wet ingredients; milk mixture, flax mixture, maple syrup, maple sugar, coconut oil and applesauce. Combine with dry ingredients and fold in the shredded sweet potatoes.

Fill in lightly sprayed muffin tins and bake at 350* for 20 minutes. Make sure they're cooked through by inserting a fork. I like it better then a toothpick because there's more prongs so it tests more of it :). Without any egg, it takes a little longer for them to set. Cool in tins.

Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Pecan Streusel.

I love, love, love Carrie's Pumpkin Pie Cake. Like, it's the best... I dream of it... But, I'm not able to enjoy it as much as I'd like with my 10% animal time. So, I was totally stoked when I saw this in my Veganomicon cookbook. I adapted it to my natural sweeteners, and with only a tablespoon of oil in the whole cake - I can now have me some pumpkin goodness any ole time I want to.

It's been a total hit with my family, my parents, and Julie & Stas. Although my Mom said she's cut out the cloves and half the ginger... that's where we differ - I loved it all, she hates cloves. Mom's are always the toughest critics though. Having asked to bring dessert when we went to their house for dinner, I knew exactly what to bring. Even though my family had almost overdosed on it just a day ago - it was time for another. I walked into their house and told my Mom not to have a heart attack... then I unveiled the cake... she saw the nuts... and was totally proud of me for including nuts - in baked goods - because I actually liked them. You see, I've always hated nuts... and despised it when she used them in her Christmas morning cinnamon rolls. She loves my sister and I enough to make some for us without them. But I have a feeling now, my sister is on her own - and my Mom's gonna bring on the nuts! I know this diet has helped me like things that I've never really liked before. So, I made it twice in one week... and am giving me a one week break before I make it again.

The cookbook describes it as... "How does moist, sublime, spiced pumpkin cake get better? A crummy mess of pecan streusel topping would get your vote any day." I couldn't have said it better myself.

Pecan Streusel:

1/4 cup whole wheat flour (all-purpose)

3 tablespoons maple sugar (brown sugar)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Cake:

1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

3/4 cup almond milk

3/4 cup applesauce (oil)

1/2 cup maple sugar (or 1 1/2 cups sugar & omit agave too)

1/2 cup agave nectar

3 tablespoons light molasses

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 2/3 cups whole wheat flour (all-purpose flour)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.

Prepare the streusel: In a small bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, and spices. Drizzle in the canola oil and mix with your fingertips until crumbs form. Add the chopped pecans and mix.

Prepare the cake: In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin, almond milk, applesauce, sweeteners, molasses and vanilla. Mix well. Add roughly half the flour, the baking powder, salt, and spices... and use a fork to fold everything together. Add the remaining flour and mix gently until combined. Don't use a hand blender for this, as pumpkin can get gummy if it's mixed too aggressively. Blending with a fork helps maintain the texture.

Pour batter into the prepared baking pan and spread in out with a spatula. Scatter the streusel on top as evenly as possible. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a knife inserted through the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven, let cool, and cut into squares.

VEGANOMICON
by: Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero
page 255

Almond-Quinoa Muffins

I originally wasn't going to post them because they were the biggest bomb when I followed the original recipe. I have never used the spice, cardamom, and should have known to omit it when I smelled it for the first time. To me, it smells like road trips as a family growing up because my Dad was always eating black licorice. And while I love black licorice... I do not like it in my muffins! I made them at night so Ava could put them in her lunch the next day. After I made them... I was repulsed...and I gave it to Shayne - my other taste tester. While he was not grossed out, he didn't think they should be a repeat offender. So, maybe Ava would like them. Not so. When I asked her if she liked her muffins, she gave me the same face I had when I first ate them.

Not wanting to give up on them all together, because they had great and healthy bones - I omitted the cardamom and doubled the cinnamon... pure yumminess!

1 cup almond milk, unsweetened

1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds

1/4 cup applesauce {or oil}

1/4 cup agave nectar or pure maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour {or all-purpose flour}

1/4 cup almond meal or almond flour {i ground the almonds in my blender}

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

{1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom - or if you like licorice muffins, be my guest}1 1/4 cups cooked quinoa

1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots or currants {I haven't tried it with these yet}

Preheat the oven to 350*F and lightly grease a non-stick 12-cup muffin tin. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the soy milk and ground flaxseed. Allow to sit for 1 minute, then whisk in oil, agave nectar and vanilla.

In a separate large bowl, sift together flour, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until just incorporated. Gently fold in the cooked quinoa and the apricots and mix until only the large lumps are gone.

Pour into the prepared muffin tin and bake for 20 to 22 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin tin comes out clean.



Veganomicon
by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
& Terry Hope Romero
page 227-8