Muffins!! Applesauce, and Lemon-Peach-Berry-Cornbread! *Vegan*

I'm on a baking kick. It's pretty awesome :) You can't beat a house filled with the aroma of fresh-out-the-oven muffins! A couple recipes for some killer morning comfort food!

Lemon-Peach-Berry-Cornbread Muffins (adapted from a recipe from "Vegan with a Vengeance)

Ingredients (12 muffins):
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 tbs baking powder
1/3 cup sweetener (recipe calls for sugar, I use a mix of sugar and maple syrup. Ideally I'd use agave sweetener if on hand)
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup non-dairy milk (my fave is Hemp)
2 tbs soy yogurt
4ish tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 cup mixed berries and peaches, frozen bits are the easiest

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease twelve-muffin tin
2.In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sweetener.
3.In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, milk, soy yogurt, vanilla and lemon juice.
4.With a wooden spoon, fold the wet ingredients into the dry.
5.Fold in the frozen fruit, being careful no to over-mix.
6.Fill each muffin cup three-quarters full.
7.Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center of one comes out clean.

The key is using the soy yogurt to keep the insides moist!! Delish! This is also a recipe that could easily be changed to suit the fruit preferences of the diner :)


Applesauce Muffins (recipe from How It all Vegan... constantly tweaked..tried here with Raspberry )


2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup non dairy milk
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 cup fresh made applesauce

To make the applesauce:
3-4 cored, peeled, chopped apples
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup your fave sweetener
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, cover and cook on medium heat for 20 mins or until chunks are mashable. Mash with a fork or use food processor to blend.

Muffins:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large ceramic bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Make sure your dry ingredients are thouroughly mixed before adding anything wet!
3. Add the milk, vinegar, oil, maple syrup, and applesauce.
4. Mix together gently until "just mixed". Spoon batter into lightly oiled muffin tins.
5. I added a little dollop of leftover applesause to the top of each of my muffins pre-baking, for extra sweetness.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Test with a toothpick to see if done. Makes 6 BIG muffins, or 12 small muffins.



Stuff your face!!!

Spaghetti Squash Pizza

I love spaghetti squash. Love love love it. It's buttery, sweet, and amazing on it's own, and when combined with Italian spices, tomatoes, and served up in the place of cheese on a vegan pizza it's utter heaven! Here's how I usually do it up..apologies for the "approximate" measurements... I like to be pretty liberal with ingredients, changing it up a bit each time.

1 medium spaghetti squash, halved
~a couple teaspoons olive oil
~3 tsp Earth Balance, more or less depending on your butter taste preferences
1-2 14.5 oz cans Muir Glen Organic Canned Tomatoes with Basil and Garlic . This is also a preference. Two cans make extra tomatoe-y, 1 can makes a slight tomato tartness, a hint of Italy instead of a smack in the face :)
Crust of your choice - I like frech artisan french bread, or premade cornmeal pizza crusts.
Dried Basil and Thyme to taste (approx 1 tbs each)

1 - Preheat oven to 425 degress. Rub flesh of the halved squash with the olive oil. Place squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet and pierce the skin several times with a fork. Bake for 45 mins, turn squash over and bake for approx 10 mins more, until spaghetti-like strands can be easily forked from the flesh of the squash. Take squah out, let cool for a couple minutes then scrape spaghetti flesh into a bowl.

2- Raise oven temp to 475, or whatever temperature the pizza crust requires. Add tomato cans, Earth Balance, Basil and Thyme to spaghetti squash in bowl. Mix until butter is melted.

3- Evenly spread squash mixture on crust. Return to oven and bake until crust is slightly browned, about 12 mins, depending on your oven and crispy crust choice! I feeli like the most important part of a big pizza-like bake is checking on your pie. Every minute changes the consistency/quality of your outcome. Revel in the lush smell and keep an eye on your lovely dish!

Here's my last..

A wonderful, filling, rich, totally vegan meal paired nicely with a rich green salad and maybe some fresh fruit for dessert. YUM!

Applesauce Raspberry Muffins *Vegan*

I got the bug to bake today. It was cold, I was bored, and there were a stack of cookbooks staring me down, taunting me. I've been wanting to try my hand at these muffins for quite some time now. The smell of apples and cinnamon wafting through the house on crisp winter mornings in the mountains when I was a bit younger was...well...near perfect.

So! I looked up a couple of different recipes for vegan versions and settled on this one from How it All Vegan!


Applesauce Muffins

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 cup applesauce
3/4 cup raisins
2 tbsp raspberry jam (I added this into the mix for extra yum)

Assemble the players!


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large ceramic bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Make sure your dry ingredients are thouroughly mixed before adding anything wet! Add the soy milk, vinegar, oil, maple syrup, applesauce, jam, and raisins.

Mix together gently until "just mixed". Spoon batter into lightly oiled muffin tins. I added a little dollop of raspberry jam to the top of each of my muffins pre-baking, for extra sweetness.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Test with a toothpick to see if done. Makes 6 BIG muffins, or 12 small muffins.
And voila! The super, super tasty result! Moist and sweet and delicious with a little vegan butter....mmmmmmmmm


Maybe I'll make something like this for my fam on Christmas morning...they'll never know the difference!

Oatmeal = Winter Wonderful

Brrr!!! It's all of a sudden a bone-chilling winter in the Bay Area, which means rain, rain, rain. I've caught the nasty bug thats going around and haven't really felt it'd be adventageous to venture outside during it all. I need to be well in order to work! So, in between stringing together poetic sentences showcasing my talents as an employee (I'm STILL looking for a job), nursing this cold, and shaking the boredom out of my bones, I've been reaching into the depths of the pantry to rustle up some hot yummy winter meals.

Oatmeal is a staple in most homes, but one that I'd almost forgotten about. It wasn't a favorite of mine as a child, so its one of those meals I had to re-discover as an adult and have consequently grown to love. Some of the things I love about it: its cheap since I buy in unpackaged bulk, its EASY to cook, its good for you, and its so versatile!! This morning was gray, rainy, cold...and definitely an oatmeal morning.

Sprouted Buckwheaties Oatmeal (with goodies on top!)

The measurements and recipe are so easy, and easily tweakable.
Today I used:
2/3 cup WHOLE oatmeal (not instant) and "buckwheaties" mix. The mix was about 3 parts oatmeal to 1 part buckwheat.
1 1/5 cups water (you can also throw in some soy/hemp/almond/whatever milk)

Bring water to a slight boil, simmer grains for about 5-7 minutes.
Turn off heat, cover, let sit for 3-5 mins until water is absorbed. Makes one giant helping or two decent helpings.

Thats it! And here we have our blank canvas to work off of. Some organic maple syrup, crushed raw almonds, and dried cranberries made it delish and hearty morning meal!


Now, what in the world is a "Buckwheatie"?? A sprouted, dehydrated buckwheat "grain" (its actually closer to a fruit seed, and gluten free.)A little about the health benefits of buckwheat here. I borrowed the term from Juliano's Raw: The Uncook Book. I re-cooked them here, but if left raw, you can use them sprinkled on your fave faux-gurt, in salads, in raw bread alternatives, etc, etc, etc. Sprouting at home is one of the easiest, lazy chef things to do, as well as dehydrating if you have the proper equiptment. It will also unlock different health benefits you wouldn't find in unsprouted groats.
Sprouting Buckwheat Groats.
I made a gigantic batch probably months ago and have had them pantried ever since.


Speaking of dehydrating, one of my favorite things to add to my tea press-pot is dehydrated fruit! I've been on a blueberry and strawberry kick lately. Adding them to my green tea as its steeping adds just that much more flavor and antioxidant kick. I'm convinced the combo is helping to kick this cold out of my body!


Now bring on the day!

Potato Leek Soup

Dinner made by two, sans stovetop, at home, together!

Gather your ingredients:

3 large leeks
5 largish red potatoes
5-6 cloves of garlic
Olive Oil, or other cooking oil of choice.
1 Qt Veggie Stock
2 tbsp nutritional yeast (or more if you like. I estimate)
Soy/Hemp/Rice Milk - approx 1 cup
Dried dill - about 1 tbsp? more to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste

*Makes a LOT! About 8 normal person servings, or 6 hungry-guy portions, or 4 high-energy-vegan-bottomless-pit-stomach snacks.

-Wash leeks, remove all dark green parts.


-Chop leeks into bits about the size of a postage stamp or two.

-Wash and chop chop taters


Enlisting help that can keep ingredients on the cutting board is not mandatory.


-Peel and chop garlic.
-Heat over-sized skillet to about 250 degrees, with a small amount of cooking oil of your choice.
-Throw in your garlic and sizzzzle for just a bit.
-Add chopped taters, leek bits, stir around unti everything is mixed well. Let sizzle a bit.
-Pour in enough water (slowly! hot oil and water do not good friends make) to cover the bottom half of your ingredients. Cover skillet and let everything simmer, until water is just about evaporated. This will only take a few minutes. This GREATLY decreases your cooking time, as the taters and leeks absorb much more water this way before actually adding your veggie stock.

-Add in Veggie Stock, Dill, Nutritional Yeast, Salt and Pepper.


-Cover and let slowly simmer.

This is the point where our humble chefs, exhausted from a full days work, sit back and let the magic happen. The tastes are merging...the smell is wafting through the warehouse...the dog sneaks into the room nose-first...
What to do while your delicious concoction concocts? I like to remember all the little guys in my life.
That's right, I'm talking about my compost worms again!
These tenacious little squirmers do a lot for me, so I like to make life easy on them. Barrett tends to the prep dishes, I get to mince our trimmings for them.


Now, once the soup is good and ready, and you'll know by tasting, not by timing, bring out the trusty blend-o-matic.
-Ladle it about halfway full, and add about 1/3 cup soy (or hemp, or rice) milk directly to ingredients in blender. Hold that lid for dear life and liquefy! Repeat until no soup remains in skillet.


Congrats! Once all the soup is made into a nice, smooth, wonderfully aromatic bowl of earthy yumminess, you can pat yourself and your helper on the back, throw together some salad and iced tea, and enjoy!!