Arroz con Frijoles Muffins

Think of these as a bean and cheese burrito turned into a muffin.  Never mind that I cheat a little by using Asian sauces as a topping. 

Arroz con Frijoles Muffins

Dry Ingredients

24 g. white rice flour

66 g. brown rice flour (or, omit white rice flour and use 90 g. brown rice flour)

30 g. almond meal

3/4 tsp garlic

1/4 tsp cumin

3/4 tsp dry basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp chipotle powder

2 tsp dried minced onion

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

Wet ingredients

2 oz. tomato paste

4 oz. water

2 eggs

54 g. olive oil

12 g. agave syrup

1 Tbsp lime juice

Add-ins

1/4 cup frozen bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup frozen petite peas

1/4 cup frozen corn

70 g. cooked brown rice

130 g. refried black beans

Topping

goat cheese

sriracha sauce

green dragon sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Whisk together dry ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. 
3. Whisk together wet ingredients.
4. Gently mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients using a silicone spatula.
5. Gently stir in the add-ins.
6. Let batter sit to hydrate while you line 36 mini muffin cups. Spray muffin liners with coconut or other spray oil.
7. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 to 7/8 full. Top with a small amount of cheese and a few drops or a small drizzle of sriracha, green dragon, or both.
8. Bake about 10-12 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Let sit in the pans about 2 minutes, then gently remove to wire rack to finish cooling.

Oh, Crap Muffins

Friday. My day to bake a little something in the morning then volunteer in my friend's kindergarten class  A nice day.  I like Fridays.

7:30 AM: Maybe a variation on my fried rice muffins. Spanish rice style. Top with cilantro pesto. Yumm. But, first, coffee and a little more book time...

8:25 AM: Oh, crap. How am I going to get that fly out from between the patio door and the screen door out without him getting in the house? Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Dagnabbit, stop clinging to the screen and go away! Yeah, I can prevail over flies. Wash hands. Apron...

8:36 AM: Oh, crap! Spouse 1.0 needs to leave in 20 minutes, and I haven't even started assembling ingredients. OK, quick breakfast burrito for him, then make the muffins. Now, where did I put my iPad?

8:53 AM: Oh, crap! DAVID!!! You gotta get outta here!!!!  Here. Eat this. Muffins when you get back.

9:08: 1 cup of cooked rice. Oh, crap! That doesn't look like even a third. Cook some quinoa? No, black beans! Yes, black beans!

9:10: Oh, crap! no black beans. (rummage, rummage rummage...) OK. Red beans. Mix dry ingredients. Now, get the muffin tins ready.

9:22: Dang, I hate it when the coconut oil spray drops on the floor, I really do need to organi... OH, CRAP!!! The sprayer doohickey's bent! IT WON'T STOP SPRAYING!

9:25: Well, if the can explodes, at least it'll do it outside in the trash bin.

9:27: Oh, crap! Oil on the kitchen floor. And, spray oil, no less!

9:53: OK. good enough for now. Clean more while the muffins are baking. Now where did I put the olive oil spray? Oh, crap, I can't be out!  I never run out! Oh, here it is. 

9:54: Muffins in the oven, floor still hazardous. I know! Put the non-slip undermat from a throw rug over the worst of it. Oh, crap, that's dirty. Need to get new undermats.  Well, it'll keep us from breaking our necks for now. Hopefully.

9:56: Oh, crap, it's getting late.  Still need to pack my lunch. And put notes on the floor so Spouse 1.0 doesn't slip and kill himself when he gets home. Yikes, what a mess! OK. Breathe. No problem. Still plenty of time.

10:17: Wow, a bit crumbly, but actually pretty tasty.  Oh, crap! I should be in the shower already.

10:43: OK, showered, dressed, no makeup. Ready or not, here I com...  Oh, crap! Still need to put muffins away. And set out some for Spouse 1.0. And pack some for Melanie.

10:48: Oh, crap, I'm late.

Not sure what I'll call these, but for now, I guess it's "Oh, Crap Muffins."

Mixed Fruit Muffins

I love Elana Amsterdam's recipes.  This one started off as the Apricot Muffin recipe from her book Paleo Cooking from Elana's Pantry.  And, you might ask, if I love the recipe so much, why did I change it until it's hardly recognizable?  In short:

• I don't love measuring, so I convert to weight wherever possible.
• I love apricots, but not all the time.  Sometimes it's fun to just mix things up a bit.
• Sometimes my dried fruit gets to be a bit too dry and needs pre-moistening.
• I don't love dragging the food processor out to make a small batch of muffins, so I've found a different way that's easier for me.
• I like mini muffins.
• I like nuts on top.

Ingredients:

• 80 to 90 grams total dried prunes, dates, & apples (whatever proportion suits your fancy)
• Small amount of hot water
• 28 grams coconut flour (30 grams if Trader Joe)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 112 grams melted coconut oil
• 4 large eggs
• 7 drops liquid vanilla stevia, optional
• About 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Chop fruit in small pieces, place in small glass container, and cover with just barely enough hot water to cover. Let sit for about 20 minutes.
2. Drain excess water from fruit.
3. Line mini muffin tins with 24 liners.  Spray liners with coconut oil spray.
4. Place fruit in medium stainless mixing bowl. Add coconut oil. Using a stick blender, pulse until fruit is very finely chopped, almost pureed.
5. Pulse in eggs and stevia.
6. Pulse in coconut flour and salt. Let set 3 to 5 minutes so coconut flour can thicken.
7. Stir in baking soda.
8. Fill muffin liners about 3/4 full.  If you have extra batter, line a custard cup and pour the batter in the custard cup.
9. Top with nuts.
10. Bake at 350 for 10 to 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out almost clean.
11. Cool thoroughly. Refrigerate leftovers.

Maple Pecan Muffins

I'm learning that it doesn't take much to turn a pancake into a muffin.  And, for me, muffins are infinitely less tedious.  Who has time to stand there babysitting pancakes 3 at a time?

This recipe started out as the pancake recipe from the back of a bag of FunFresh Foods almond flour. 
The first thing I did was convert from measuring by cup to going by weight. (I really can't stand dealing with messy measuring cups!)
Here's a summary of the transformation from pancake to muffin:

Pancake	Muffins
180 g almond flour	90 g pecan meal 60 g almond flour 30 g cashew meal
82 g agave nectar	82 g maple syrup
1/2 tsp baking soda	3/4 tsp baking soda
n/a	1/4 tsp xanthan gum (optional)
n/a	28 g melted coconut oil
n/a	4 to 8 grams Teff grain, chia seed, rice flour, whatever
n/a	chopped pecans for topping

Here's what stayed the same:

2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
116 g. water (4 ounces)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 (f).
2. Line 24 mini muffin cups with liners, then spray with coconut oil or other non-stick spray.
3. Use wire whisk or fingers to mix pecan meal, almond flour, cashew meal, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt  in a small bowl until well-combined.
4. whisk maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla in a medium bowl together until well-combined.
5. Whisk in the eggs, then the water.
6. Whisk in dry ingredients. I do this in stages to ensure more even incorporation.
7. If the mixture looks too runny, stir in the Teff, chia, or whatever.  Teff has a nice nutty flavor, and adds a little bit of poppyseed-like crunch.  If you don't like that texture, then just add a little of whatever you like.  It will still be a bit runnier than normal muffin batter, but that's OK.
8. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 to 7/8 full.  If you have a little batter left, just bake it in a lined custard cup (or two).
9. Bake for 12-14 minutes.  Tops will spring back when lightly touched, and a toothpick will come out with a crumb or two.
10. Remove from muffin tins and cool thoroughly on wire rack.  The texture is best at room temperature.

GF Blue Corn Sage Muffins

I'm not a vegetarian.  Never have been, though I was sort of a de-facto vegetarian in college.  And, Spouse 1.0 has a horror of the word "vegetarian".  It brings back memories of when he was a teenager and his parents abruptly went vegetarian and force fed him eggplant in 101 guises.

So, we won't tell him that this recipe came from a vegetarian e-zine.  He still has a hard time understanding that a vegetarian recipe that doesn't contain eggplant can be a yummy supplement to a carnivorous diet.  It's probably a PTSD thing.

Sort of like me & my mom's attempt to force feed me hillbilly delicacies. And, due to your delicate sensibilities, I won't tell you what those were.

But, back to the corn muffins.

They looked really good, especially with the adorable corn husk treatment.  I have corn husks.  Leftover from when I decided I was going to make tamales. (I never have, obviously.)

Problem is, the recipe was glutenacious and used cow products. But really, that's not a problem.  It was fairly easy to convert to GF and to sub in some lovely goat products we had on hand.

So, with special thanks to Vegetarian Times, we have this GF adaptation:

GF Blue Corn Sage Muffins

 Ingredients

• Several dried corn husks, soaked in warm water until pliable, lightly dried with paper towels.  I also oiled my hands with avocado oil and lightly rubbed them.
• 6 ounces organic butter
• 50 grams organic cane sugar
• 8.9 ounces of home-grown egg from kind friends, lightly beaten. (About 5 almost medium-large eggs.)
• 4 ounces goat milk
• 3.5 oz. goat gouda, grated
• 3.5 oz. raw goat ricotta - or generic goat cheese crumbles
• 120 grams GF all-purpose flour (e.g., Trader Joe's)
• 124 grams blue cornmeal (I like Los Chileros)
• 2 ½ tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3/4 tsp xanthan gum
• About 1 TBSP fresh sage, finely minced

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Grease 12-muffin tin with avocado oil.  Tear corn husks lengthwise into strips about an inch wide at widest point. Lay two strips overlapping in an ‘X’ in each muffin cup, with long ends jutting out above pan. In addition, line a custard cup with 1 muffin liner, and spray with olive oil. 
2. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, xanthan gum, and sage.
3. Cream butter and sugar with mixer. Add eggs, milk and cheeses, mixing well after each addition.
4. Spoon dry mixture into batter about one-third at a time, mixing just until combined after each addition.
5. Scoop most of the batter into prepared muffin tin.  This is tricky with corn husks sticking up all over the place. They don't really want to form muffin cups. But, it's worth the effort.  Trim off the tops of the husks that stick up too much.  Wet fingers and smooth the tops of the muffins, adjusting the amount of goo in each muffin cup until they're more or less equivalent.  Place extra batter in prepared custard cup.
6. Bake for 20 to 24 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and muffin springs back when lightly touched.

Almost as pretty as the ones from Vegetarian Times

Pesto and Goat Cheese Muffins

I don't usually buy mixes.   But, when a local discount store had Hodgson Mill GF pancake mix with flaxseed for an astoundingly good price... well... there are some bargains one just can't resist.

So, I took the mix on a recent trip and made Spouse 1.0 some pancakes in the hotel's kitchenette. They were good. He liked them.

Fast forward a month, and it's a busy weekday morning. I'm out of paleo bread and don't have much time. I open the cupboard, and there's the mix. Yeah.  I'll make him pancakes. But, pancakes require more babysitting than muffins. Well, why not use pancake mix to make muffins?  After all, that's what Bisquick was: Pancake mix that could be used for anything.

Hmmm. What to put in them?  I open the fridge, and there's some pesto that needs to be used up.  And,  there's some of that lovely roasted red pepper goat cheese that's getting really close to its use by date.

Yeah. Pesto and Goat Cheese Muffins.

Ingredients

160 grams GF pancake mix with flaxseed. (Or any other GF cake mix)
2 medium eggs (about 1.9 ounces each)
8 ounces goat milk
1-2 tsp sugar (to taste)
1 ounce avocado oil or olive oil
A big spoonful of extra thick pesto (maybe ~2 Tbsp?)
Leftover goat cheese crumbles (maybe about 1.5 ounces?)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 (f)
2. Prepare 9 muffin cups by lining with baking papers then spraying with olive oil.
3. Mix all ingredients together.   
4. Fill the prepared muffin cups to about 2/3 full. 
5. If desired, sprinkle the tops of a few of the muffins with a little extra pesto.
6. Bake until they smell good and a toothpick tests done. Probably about 12-20 minutes.

They weren't really this golden.  I'm not sure what my camera was thinking.

Tips

• Due to variations in egg weight or moisture content of the pesto or cheese, you may have to adjust the batter. Add a drizzle of goat milk if it looks too thick or a bit more mix if it seems too thin.
• Use a 6 cup muffin tin and 3 custard cups.  If you have too much batter, grab another custard cup.  The muffins made in the custard cups aren't as pretty as those made in the muffin tins, but they get the job done.
• I don't bake by time.  No matter how long a recipe says to bake, it's never ever that for me.  It's always a bit less or quite a bit more. So, mostly, I bake by smell and by toothpick.  When baked goods smell good, they're probably done or close to it. 
• To make extra thick pesto: Take about 1.5 to 2 cups of basil leaves and coarsely chop.  Put them in a mini-food processor and add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese, 1/4 to 1/2 cup pine nuts, a few cloves of garlic, and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Maybe a little sea salt if desired. Lightly pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped but not emulsified.  Add more oil as need, but keep the mixture thick, like streusel.

Black Bean, Bacon Drippins, and Avocado Muffins, Take One

My mom was the Queen of Nothing Wasted. This was most evident when it came to bacon drippins.  And, yes. Drippins.  No final "g", no final apostrophe to show you believe in final "g".  Mom was an educated and articulate enough lady that she knew about final "g" and could pronounce it just fine when needed.

But, bacon drippins were... drippins.  And drippins they shall always be.

Bacon drippins were stored in coffee cans, back in the days when people drank coffee that came pre-ground in cans. You just added to them every time you made bacon or sausage, and subtracted from them every time you fried something or greased a pan.

Once mom made zucchini bread, and she greased the pans with bacon drippins.  Unbeknownst to her, the drippins had gone rancid (something that rarely happens in hillbilly households).  Worst zucchini bread ever, at least around the edges.  It was still pretty good in the middle.

Anyway, true child of Mom that I am, when I fry bacon, I save the drippins.  In little ramekins, because I don't fry bacon that often.  Unlike Mom, I let it sit in the fridge until I'm pretty sure it's rancid, then I throw it out.

But lately, the idea of using the bacon fat to make something flavorful has been calling to me.

And, using black beans in muffins has been calling to me.

And using GF beer in muffins has been calling to me.

And, I had some avocados left over from the salad I'd made on the 4th.

So, what if I made blue cornmeal muffins, with black beans and bacon fat and avocados?  And, what if I topped them with the cracklins leftover from last week's posole?

Sounds like something you'd serve for Halloween, doesn't it? 

Black Bean, Bacon Drippins, and Avocado Muffins

Vegetable Ingredients:
3/4 to 1/2 C leftover black beans, chilled
1/2 C finely chopped onion
1 TBSP minced jalapeño
1 garlic clove or cube, or equivalent powder
1 TBSP minced cilantro (opt.)
Chunks of avocado, splashed with lime juice

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/4 C GF flour blend
1/4 C tapioca starch
1/2 C blue cornmeal (yellow or white would be prettier)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
Ground pepper to taste

Wet ingredients:
1 egg
1/3 cup melted and partially cooled bacon drippins
About 3/4 cup GF beer, room temperature

Topping (Opt.)
Small bits of cracklins or bacon.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 (f).
2. Place liners in 12 to 15 muffin cups, then spray with canola oil.
3. Saute onion, jalapeño, and garlic in about 1 tsp bacon drippings in a non-stick skillet. Remove from heat.
4. Add black beans and cilantro.
5. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
6. Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
7. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
8. Gently fold in all vegie ingredients, except the avocado chunks.
9. Divide batter among the muffin cups, then smooth tops a bit with dampened fingers.
10. Push one avocado chunk deep into the center of each muffin, then smooth batter over with dampened fingers.
11. Sprinkle tops with cracklins or bacon bits, if desired.
12. Bake about 13 to 15 minutes, until toothpick inserted off-center comes out clean.

Results: Well, indeed, they weren't pretty. Spouse 1.0 thinks they had too much avocado, not enough jalapeno, and maybe didn't need the cilantro. Other than that, he liked them.



Millet Mini-Muffins with Sage Streusel (Gluten Free)

My muffinly machinations complete, I have to say I'm happy with the result.  Here's the recipe:

Dry ingredients
120 g. flour blend*
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freeze dried parsley
Freshly ground pepper
A few bits crumbled dried rosemary
2 tsp dried chopped onion

Wet ingredients

42 g walnut oil

1 egg

About 3/4 to 1 C organic unsweetened applesauce

2 tsp lemon juice

Fresh thyme to taste

1 C cooked millet



Sage Streusel
1/2 C fresh sage leaves
1 1/2 C walnuts
2-3 TBSP soft butter
2 TBSP flour blend*
Dash of salt

1. Pulse the streusel ingredients together in a mini food processor.  Add the walnuts in stages so that chunks of walnut remain.
2. Preheat oven to 350(f) and line mini muffin tins with 24-28 muffin liners.
3. Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
4. Whisk wet ingredients together in a medium bowl.
5. Stir in dry ingredients, and add a couple of tablespoons water if needed to get a nice batter consistency. The batter will look light and fluffy, and I think I hear a slight crackling sound as I stir it. Don't over mix.
6. Spoon mixture into muffin liners, flatten gently with damp fingers, then top with toasted streusel.
7. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. For me, that was about 10 minutes.  Be careful not to overcook them. Mini muffins can get a bit dry.
8. Cool in pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.

* My current favorite flour blend is 6 parts organic brown rice flour, 6 parts sorghum flour, 2 parts potato starch, 1 part tapioca starch.  When I mix it up, each part is about 1/3 cup.  I'm working on converting that to weights so I don't have to think.  Stay tuned.



Mozi Muffins

Now that I'm done with St. Pat for another year, my savory muffin obsession continues with thoughts of color.  Golden yellow has been calling me.

Mainly, yellow has been calling to me from the jar of turmeric my baby sister gave me for Christmas.

Most muffins are named after the main ingredient.  But no, these little guys aren't made from my baby sister. Rather, they're in honor of her, and her love affair with turmeric.

Vegetables and legumes

1/2 organic sweet onion, finely minced, sauteed in a small amount of olive oil

1 cup cooked red lentils (firmly packed, semi-drained)

 

Dry ingredients

90 g. brown rice flour

30 g. garbanzo flour

1 TBSP baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/8 tsp granulated garlic, or to taste

1/4 tsp sea salt

3/8 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cumin
3/8 tsp dried cilantro

Freshly ground pepper

Wet ingredients

1/2 cup "original" hazelnut milk (or milk substitute of choice)

55 grams salted organic butter, melted

1 egg

1 tsp pepper infused vinegar

 

Topping

Melted butter

Lightly toasted sesame seeds

1. Preheat oven to 375(f) and line mini muffin tins with 24 muffin liners.
2. Saute onion in olive oil until onion is translucent. Set aside.
3. Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
4. Whisk wet ingredients together in a medium bowl.
5. Add onions and lentils to wet ingredients and mix well.
6. Stir in dry ingredients, and add more hazelnut milk if needed to get a nice batter consistency. The batter will look light and fluffy, and I think I hear a slight crackling sound as I stir it. Don't over mix.
7. Spoon mixture into muffin liners, flatten gently with damp fingers, then brush with butter and top with toasted sesame seeds.
8. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Since I'm still getting used to mini muffins, I have no idea how long that is.  Maybe about 8-12 minutes?  Be careful not to overcook them.  Mini muffins can get a bit dry.
9. Cool in pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.

Mini muffins are cute, but they're a lot more work than regular sized muffins.

Yummm.

The Eatin' of the Green - Quinoa and Pea Muffins

The leprechauns made breakfast for Spouse 1.0 today.  Green, of course.  And, now that I refuse to let them cook with green food coloring, the leprechauns really have to get creative. Or just plain weird.

They weren't entirely happy with the green-ness of the green lentil muffins, so they started thinking about green pea flour, lait du pois, and quinoa.

And, while I've generally resisted the cliche of "green eggs and ham", the leprechauns asked, "What if we used some lait du pois in some scrambled eggs?"

Those darned leprechauns.  They know that when it comes to cooking, baking, and software testing, I just can't resist the question, "What if...?"

There's a peculiar rush that comes over me after the grains and vegies are cooked and I start gathering the flours, leavenings, seasonings, and wet ingredients... Yeah, those leprechauns.  They really know how to tempt and conscript a girl.

So, here's what the leprechauns came up with today:

Quinoa and Pea Muffins

Vegetables and grains
4.5 to 5 oz frozen chopped spinach, cooked and squeezed very dry
1/4 cup finely minced onion, lightly sauteed in a dry nonstick pan
1 cup cooked quinoa
3 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley

Dry ingredients
90 g. brown and/or white rice flour
30 g. green pea flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp granulated garlic, or to taste
1/4 tsp sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Wet ingredients
3/4 cup lait du pois (pureed peas -- see post from 3/13/12)
42 grams sesame oil
1 egg
2 tsp lemon juice

Topping
Finely chopped pistachios or lightly toasted sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 400 (f) and line a muffin tin with 12 muffin liners.

1. Saute onion in olive oil until onion translucent. Set aside.
2. In same skillet, cook spinach. Cool and squeeze until very dry. Let cool.
3. Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
4. Whisk wet ingredients together in a medium bowl.
5. Add vegetables and grains to wet ingredients and mix well.
6. Stir in dry ingredients, and add more water or lait du pois if needed to get a nice batter consistency. The batter will look light and fluffy, and I think I hear a slight crackling sound as I stir it.   Don't over mix.
7. Spoon mixture into muffin liners, then top with chopped pistachios.
8. Bake 13-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
9. Cool in pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.

And, as you might guess, this really makes a baker's dozen.

Serve with naturally green scrambled eggs and green tea.

Naturally Green Scrambled Eggs

2 eggs
3-4 Tbsp lait du pois
Pinch freshly chopped parsley
3-4 Tbsp Pecorino Romano
Salt & pepper to taste

Mix everything and gently scramble. Watch to make sure the eggs don't overcook and lose their lovely green-ness.

Result: The muffins are good enough, and will probably taste better after they set a few hours. Most cooked grain muffins do.  The eggs taste just plain weird to me, but Spouse 1.0 is so happy to get any kind of scrambled eggs that he issued his usual verdict: It's good. I like it. (Grunt.)

It's Not Easy Being Green Muffins

St. Pat's day is impending, and that means Green Breakfast for Spouse 1.0.  Having eschewed artificial green coloring, each year I face anew the challenge of creating a naturally green breakfast for him.

This year's inspiration: French green lentils.  They are such a pretty dark green -- until you cook them.  Then they become greenish brownish gray. 

The first installment towards the St. Pat's muffin was the Lenten Lentil Muffins. Even with the spinach and herbs, they weren't green enough. 

So, to green it up a bit, we use Lait du Pois instead of soy milk.  Lait du Pois? Um... that's french for pea milk.  But, odds are, if you're making these for your kids, there's no way you'll get them to eat something made with pea milk.  (Can't you hear your wee ones giggling and going "ewwww" and saying "Pea milk? Pea milk!! Yuck!" over & over until you want to scream?)  So, we use Lait du Pois instead.

And, Lait du Pois is really just... super runny pureed peas.

Lait du Pois

About 1 cup of frozen petite peas
About 1/2 cup water

1. Place peas in water and bring to a boil.  Do not let the peas cook for more than a few seconds.
2. Using a stick blender or a real blender, puree the peas in their cooking water.
3. Check the consistency.  It should be somewhere between whole milk and heavy whipping cream. If it's too thick, add more water.

You will use about 3/4 cup of the Lait du Pois for the St. Paddy's Lentil Muffins.  The rest can be used to round out your green breakfast by adding it to your scrambled eggs, or use it to make some green biscuits.

As we move from Lenten Lentil Muffins to St. Paddy's Lentil Muffins, not much has changed. Just the "milk," the acid, and the topping.

St. Paddy's Lentil Muffins

Vegetable Ingredients

1 cup well-drained cooked green lentils (do not overcook)
1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped fine
4 oz frozen organic chopped spinach

 

Dry Ingredients
30 g. white rice flour
60 g. brown rice flour
30 g. garbanzo flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp each, slightly rounded: Rosemary, thyme, garlic, parsley
Freshly ground salt & pepper to taste

 

Wet Ingredients
A little less than 3/4 cup Lait du Pois

1.5 tsp lemon juice

42 g. olive oil

1 egg

Topping
About 1/4 to 1/3 cup finely chopped pistachios

Preheat oven to 400 (f) and line a muffin tin with 12 muffin liners.

1. Saute onion in olive oil until onion translucent. Set aside.
2. In same skillet, cook spinach. Cool and squeeze until very dry. Let cool.
3. Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
4. Whisk wet ingredients together in a medium bowl.
5. Add vegetables to wet ingredients and mix well.
6. Stir in dry ingredients, and add more water or lait du pois if needed to get a nice batter consistency. The amount of liquid you need will vary depending on how much water remains in the spinach and how well-drained the lentils are.
7. Spoon mixture into muffin liners, then top with chopped pistachios.
8. Bake 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
9. Cool in pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.

 Actually, because I don't like them to be too big, this made a baker's dozen muffins for me.  The 13th muffin is cooked in a glass Pampered Chef prep bowl lined with a muffin liner. That one usually is a little smaller than the others, and sometimes takes an extra few minutes to bake.

Turkey Meatloaf Muffins with Pumpkin Ketchup Glaze

Last summer I bought a couple of small bouquets of fresh sage and parsley at the farmer's market, and those two little bouquets changed my life.  Or at least my meatloaf.

Meatloaf until then had always a failed attempt to replicate Mom's beef-based, tomato-infused, ketchup-topped comfort food. 

And turkey meatloaf?  A failed attempt's poor cousin.

Until fresh sage.

My first sage-infused turkey meatloaf got a cranberry sauce topping.  And, from then on, all turkey meatloaves contained parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.  Topped with cranberry sauce, they were once a true love of mine.

But, cranberry season ends. The stockpile of frozen cranberries dwindles. And, the container of frozen pumpkin beckons.

Many months ago I came across the term "pumpkin ketchup", mentally went "ewww", and dismissed it entirely.  But, seeing the pretty orange frozen pumpkin, the ketchup concept returned to mind.  Googled up a few recipes, but really wasn't interested in apple or mustard or the whole pantheon of pumpkin pie spices.  No, I wanted a very simple pumpkin ketchup... one that would complement the last of my fresh sage, not go to war with it.

Turkey Meatloaf Muffins with Pumpkin Ketchup Glaze

All measurements are approximate.  This is meatloaf, after all.

Meatloaf

Olive oil spray
Organic blue cornmeal (or cornmeal of choice)
1 organic red onion
3 ribs organic celery
4 oz organic mushrooms
1 2/3 lbs ground turkey with nothing added (Costco's turkey burgers work well)
3 organic eggs
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 to 1 cup gluten free rolled oats
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp fresh thyme
Dash of garlic powder
2 Tbsp ground flax meal
Pumpkin ketchup

1. Preheat oven to 400 (f).  Line 24 muffin cups, then spray with olive oil spray and sprinkle a little blue cornmeal in the bottoms.  The cornmeal helps absorb some of the liquid that cooks out.
2. Chop the onion, celery, and mushrooms reasonably fine and parboil covered briefly in a small amount of water. Let cool.
3. Mix everything  except pumpkin ketchup together.
4. Divide meatloaf mixture evenly among the 24 muffin cups, and press down. 
5. Divide the pumpkin evenly among the meatloaves, and smooth it down.
6. Bake about 25 minutes, until meat is done.

Pumpkin Ketchup

1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 organic sweet onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup organic cider vinegar
3-4 Tbsp honey
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 - 1/2 tsp allspice
dash of garlic powder
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Cook everything in a small saucepan until the onion starts to get almost translucent.
2. Whir the mixture with a stick blender until almost smooth

Result:  Not as pretty as cranberry topped meatloaves, but tasty enough and a bit lower on the glycemic index.  Definitely a keeper.

Tomato Muffins with Pesto Streusel - Take One

Todays muffins were inspired by a tomato rosemary muffin at myaspergersgirl.blogspot.com, and the pesto recipe I saw in a friend's Williams Sonoma cookbook.  Both needed some changes.  On the base muffin:

• I'm a firm believer in the value of organic eggs over flax goo.
• I needed to use up some BRM all-purpose gf blend a friend had given me.
• I'm not a huge fan of rosemary. 
• Spouse is not a fan of rice milk.
• Spaghetti sauce is more interesting than plain tomato sauce, and less likely to have BPA.

Other than that, I followed the recipe faithfully.

Seriously, if you want a bunch of really yummy GFCF recipes, with gorgeous photos, go to myaspergersgirl.blogspot.com. 

On the pesto, I combined ideas from several pesto recipes, and then tried to make it thicker so it could function sort of as a streusel.

Pesto Streusel

About 1.5 to 2 cups of rinsed, dried, de-stemmed organic basil leaves (not that anyone really measures)
1/4 C raw pine nuts
6-8 Tbsp olive oil
1/8 to 1/4 tsp garlic powder, to taste
a few grinds of sea salt
1/4 C pecorino romano

Pulse everything in the food processor attachment of a stick blender on low until the basil is finely chopped, but not emulsified.  Pesto should be very thick.

Tomato Muffins

Dry Ingredients
2 C Bob's Red Mill GF flour blend (or any GF blend with bean flours)
2 Tbsp organic turbinado sugar
2 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
A few grinds of pepper

Wet Ingredients
1 egg
1/8 C Fearn soya powder + 1/2 C water (or 1/2 C unsweetened soy milk)
1/2 C organic pasta sauce, plus a little extra
1/3 C olive oil

1. Line a 12 cup muffin tin and preheat the oven to 350 (f).
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
3. Whisk together the wet ingredients in a small to medium mixing bowl.
4. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
5. If the batter looks too dry, stir in a little extra pasta sauce.
6. Fill muffin tins evenly, then smooth tops down with dampened fingers.
7. Top each muffin with about 3/4 tsp pesto streusel, spreading it evenly over the muffin top with your fingers.
8. Sprinkle a few pine nuts on top of each muffin, then press in so they stay.
9. Bake for about 15 minutes (test after 12).

Thoughts for next time:

• I'll add more pine nut and pecorino to the streusel, and maybe use a little more on each muffin.
• I think the batter needs more salt, and maybe more garlic. Some chives might be nice.

Lenten Lentil Muffins

On Monday I had another muffin vision.  It seems to take at least three rounds of tweakage to an existing recipe to achieve a muffinly vision.

Today's muffins were only round 2, and are therefore not the realization of Monday's vision. But these little guys seemed worthy of official muffinhood in their own right.

Lenten Lentil Muffins

Vegetable Ingredients
1 cup reasonably drained cooked green lentils (do not overcook)
1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped fine
4 oz frozen organic chopped spinach

Dry Ingredients
30 g. white rice flour
60 g. brown rice flour
30 g. garbanzo-fava flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp each, slightly rounded: Rosemary, thyme, garlic, parsley
Freshly ground salt & pepper to taste

Wet Ingredients
1/4 cup soya powder (instant soy milk) mixed with 1/2 cup water
1 tsp cider vinegar
42 g. olive oil
1 egg

Topping
About 1/4 to 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 400 (f) and line a muffin tin with 12 muffin liners.
2. Saute onion and spinach in a small amount of olive oil until onion is translucent and vegetables appear dry, but extrude a small amount of liquid when pressed firmly with a spatula. Let cool and mix in the lentils.
3. Whisk dry ingredients together in a small bowl.
4. Whisk wet ingredients together in a medium bowl.
5. Add vegetables to wet ingredients and mix well.
6. Stir in dry ingredients, and add up to 1/4 cup water to get a nice batter consistency. The amount of water you need will vary depending on how much water remains in the spinach and how well-drained the lentils are.
7. Spoon mixture into muffin liners, then top with chopped walnuts.
8. Bake 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
9. Cool in pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.

The walnut topping is not strictly necessary, but GF muffins don't brown the way wheat-based ones do.  Using a topping adds visual appeal and helps disguise the lack of browning.

The muffins seem to have better texture after a few hours.

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.