November 2008 Archives

These muffins are a definite favorite with the folks of the Wooden Spoon, especially this time of year. They are great to share, and Katie and I have brought them to many a potluck. When it's blustery and dark, slap on some Billie Holiday and bake up a batch of pumpkiny goodness.

Ingredients

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree

3/4 c. oil

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. oat bran

1/2 c. quick oats

1 scoop protein powder (optional)

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 c. soymilk (preferably vanilla soy)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.

2. Combine pumpkin and oil, mix.

3. Add sugars, mix, set aside.

4. In another bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients.

5. Slowly mix the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients.

6. Add vanilla and soymilk; mix well.

7. Fill muffin cups to 3/4 full.

8. Bake for 45 minutes or until tester fork comes out clean. (Check regularly--it is a little hard to tell if you just go by how the muffins look.)

These are wonderful, warm, fluffy little treats. Plus, they are adorable.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. ground flaxseed

3 tbsp. warm water

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 c. cornmeal

1 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. dried parsley (or 2 tbsp. fresh)

2/3 c. soymilk

1/4 c. oil

1/2 red pepper, chopped into itty-bitty pieces

1 c. frozen or canned corn

Directions:

1. PREPARE! Preheat oven to 415 degrees. Either plop some muffin liners into your muffin tin or coat it generously with oil. Chop up the pepper into very small pieces.

2. Combine flaxseed and water, whip with a fork for a few seconds. Set aside.

3. Sift flour, salt, and baking powder together. Add cornmeal, sugar, and parsley. Mix well. 

4. In another bowl, combine soymilk, oil, and the flaxseed/water gloop.

5. Combine flour mixture and milk mixture quickly. Fold the batter until just wet (it should still be lumpy). Add the corn and pepper; mix until they are just incorporated. Spoon mixture into muffin tin.

6. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Eat hot!

FUN NOTES!

I generally use this flaxseed/water combo for egg substitutes in baking. For every egg, just use 1 tbsp. flaxseed and 3 tbsp. of water. Flaxseeds are good for you and they add a nice nutty flavor (which make them especially good with chocolate). The only downside, in my opinion, is that they make your baked goods a bit speckled, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when you are making pristine lemon muffins, for instance, you don't really want brown spots in the middle (like confetti cake, right?). Also, Esme would like to add that flaxseed has as much (or more?) Omega-3s as cod liver oil...

Instead of regular refined sugar, I usually use Sucanat (which is short for 'Sugar Cane Natural'). It is essentially just the dried juice of sugar cane, so it tastes like brown sugar, and it hasn't had all of its nutrients zapped out of it (of course, it's not great for you either). It works well as a substitute for brown sugar, but I tend to just use it for everything. Esme has told me that sugar is sometimes considered to be non-vegan because ground bones are used in the purifying process of sugar, but Sucanat is definitely vegan. Yay! No ground bones!

Also, you can add some cayenne pepper or tabasco sauce to give these muffins a bit of a kick.