In the Kitchen

My good friend Nikki recently suggested I start posting again. This time I will probably mostly focus on the products of my kitchen, and less on the products of my wandering mind. It's been a while since I've written anything. It is too much to stop and really think very deeply. I know it would help me sort through the mush that my brain must resemble, but these days I spend much of my time in the kitchen. Here I cook food into mush (or into something delicious) and I can easily document my experiments with the ingredients.

I will start with my muffin recipe. Though I admit, these muffins are different every time I make them, there is a basic formula I follow. I will share that formula and maybe some of the alternatives I have found to be so delightful.

Dry Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup okara (I roasted and ground mine into a flour)
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup ground flax meal
1/3 cup garbanzo flour
1/3 cup corn meal
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Wet Ingredients:
1/8 cup coconut oil, melted
3/8 cup canola oil
1/3 cup sugar (mix of coconut palm and brown sugar)
1/8 cup flax seed cooked with 3/8 cup water (replacement for 2 eggs)
1 grated apple
2-3 lbs previously roasted butternut squash (2 cups or so)
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup soy milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract



Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix dry ingredients in medium sized bowl. In larger bowl, mix oil and sugar.  Next add squash and mash it together, adding grated apple on top. Add cooked flax seed and water mixture (the consistency of the flax seed should be similar to a raw egg). Finally, add agave, soy milk and vanilla. Stir until blended. Pour in dry ingredients and mix until combined. If the mixture seems too dry, add more soy milk.


I use one muffin tin and one cookie sheet to bake. Oil muffin tin/cookie sheets and distribute dough evenly. I was able to make 16 larger muffins and 16 smaller "cookie muffins."

Bake until knife comes out clean, between 15 and 25 minutes.

I have tried many variations on this recipe. In the summer I use zucchini or summer squash. A carrot/apple mixture is nice as well. Canned pumpkin (I just use one whole can) and other winter squash are delicious too. You can add nuts, dried fruit, various other spices (cardamom is good) and try using other flours as well.

Here's the basic, simpler recipe that I based mine off of:

Dry:
3 cups flour
1 T backing powder
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1 t salt
1/4 t ground nutmeg

Wet:
1/2 cup canola oil
1/3-2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups grated carrots (firmly packed)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup sour cream or yogurt
1 t vanilla extract

Use same procedure as above recipe.