Sesame Soy Muffins

Lately, I've been obsessed with savory muffins. 

Pretty strange for a girl who a) has a bit of a sweet tooth, and b) doesn't really like muffins.

But, then, most of my muffin exposure has been to wheat ones:

• The ginormous over-sweet, greasy ones from the big box stores, where every muffin in the assortment kinda sorta tastes the same.
• The slightly dry ones manufactured in bulk and delivered to your favorite coffee shop. And, they all kinda sorta taste the same, too.
• The homemade ones that, well, end up kinda dry and overcooked because the dear person who made them was chasing her kids around the kitchen and averting household crises while baking.

Nope.  Not a fan of muffins.

Until.

Until spouse 1.0 needed to go GF, and I needed to find ways of providing grab and go breakfasts for him.

Even then I resisted muffins. Too many bad associations. And, who wants to clean muffin tins? And mine was 20 years old and made of a really scary aluminum.

But, the grab & go allure of muffins eventually wore my resistance down. As all GF bakers surely do, I gave in and started making muffins.

And, I worried that all those sweet, convenient morsels would lead to Spouse's destruction.  If he became diabetic from all my muffins, I'd have to give up making muffins.

Enter the savory muffin.

Now, most folks expect muffins to be sweet. Savory muffins really freak people out:

Me to Taster 1:  This is a sesame quinoa muffin. I'm experimenting with savory muffins, so it's OK to tell me what you really think.
Taster 1: It's good, but it needs something to make it sweeter. Maybe some agave syrup?

Me to Taster 2: I'm experimenting with savory muffins, so it's OK to tell me what you really think.  This one is a sesame soy muffin.

Taster 2: It's... it's... like food.  Maybe you should add a sauce to it? Like mangoes or something?

Someone with a more fragile ego would have given up somewhere around here.

But, I had a muffinly vision, and was not to be thwarted. The goal: A muffin gently evocative of a hearty and pretty fried rice. 

Sesame Soy Muffins (Gluten Free)

Dry ingredients:
90 grams brown rice flour (3/4 cup)
30 grams almond meal (1/4 cup)
3/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp ginger
A few grinds each of sea salt & pepper
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp xanthan gum

Wet ingredients:
25 grams (1/4 cup) soya powder mixed with a scant 3/4 cup water  (or just use a generous 3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk).
1 tsp pepper infused rice vinegar
42 grams sesame oil (3 TBSP)
1 large organic egg
1 tsp GF organic tamari sauce
1 cup cooked black rice, slightly packed
1/2 to 2/3 cup frozen petite peas, thawed
2 TBSP finely grated organic carrot

Topping
2 to 3 TBSP sesame seeds, lightly toasted

1. Preheat oven to 400 (f). 
2. Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin.  For these muffins, I use muffin liners, and spray the liners with a spritz of organic grapeseed oil.  
3. Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl.  Optionally, whisk in about 1 TBSP of the sesame seeds.
4. Whisk together the first 5 wet ingredients in a medium or large bowl until thoroughly blended.
5. Whisk in the rice, peas, and carrots.
6. Whisk the dry ingredients
7. Evenly distribute the batter among the muffin cups.  Dampen fingers and slightly smooth out the tops.
8. Top with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds.
9. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick tests done. Don't overbake.

Notes:

• I used Lundberg Japonica, but any black (or mostly black) rice should do.
• Substituting tri-color quinoa for the black rice makes a really pretty muffin with a lovely texture.
• To make pepper-infused vinegar, just put some small dried chili peppers in a jar, add rice vinegar,  cover and let it set in the fridge for at least several days. 
• If you don't want to make pepper infused vinegar, just use plain rice vinegar. Maybe add a tiny pinch of cayenne or an extra grind of the black pepper to compensate.