More on the Spicy Side -- Pumpkin Muffins

When you're working on a cookbook, you often look at the market to see if others are writing the same type of book or something slightly similar. Well, earlier this year, Ania Catalano published Baking with Agave Nectar, so I signed right up and bought it.

It's a lovely little book with very nice photos and a variety of interesting recipes. For the first try, I thought I'd give her Spicy Pumpkin Muffins a go. First, it was so nice to find and use a recipe that uses oat and barley flour. I've had some barley flour in my fridge for a while and was happy to use it in such a tasty recipe.

Second, this was my first time making muffins with pumpkin. I would definitely do it again. The muffins were really moist, yet not really heavy. The spices were a great touch, as were the add-ins. I used cranberries for raisins though, since I don't seem to tolerate raisins all that well anymore.

I made a little (8 minutes and change) movie of my experience baking the muffins, which I've included below.

It was awfully nice not to have to tinker too much with a recipe for agave nectar. Good show, Ania! I'll definitely be trying another recipe from the book soon. Enjoy the video. More notes follow it below.



In the baking portion, you probably noticed that I said 325 degrees F. I was mistaken, it was 350 degrees F. Also, when I tasted the muffin in the movie, I said that it was "gummy," and have since ate several of the muffins -- none of which were gummy at all. I'm thinking that it was just a single faulty muffin. Sorry about that.

Finally, those other muffins I've had since I made them on Sunday did not have the same stick-to-the-muffin-liner issue that the first one had. Could be that I should have waited until the muffin cooled completely. But that would have been very hard since the muffins smelled great.

Oh well. Live and learn.

What muffins have you made recently?

Spicy Cookies!

These wonderful 5-Spice Almond Cookies are from the truly excellent Eat, Drink & Be Vegan cookbook by Dreena Burton. It's fast becoming one of my favorite books, despite not having nearly enough photos for my liking. However, her recipes are wonderful.



I wasn't sure about this one at first. Right after they came out of the oven and were just cool enough to touch, I gingerly broke one in half to taste it. It tasted like it had too much salt or baking soda. So, I let the other half cool completely before trying again.

A huge improvement. In fact, I didn't taste the salt or the baking soda at all on the second try. There was an even greater improvement the next day. When my friend Andrea tried them on Monday night (the day after they were baked), she gave me the thumbs up and declared them "yummy!" Oh, and gave me the thumbs-up signal to show she really enjoyed the cookies.

I won't print the recipe here because you really ought to go buy the book if you don't have it already -- you won't regret it in the least. The only changes I made to the recipe were:

1. Doubling the recipe because the yield seemed a little small for the place I was taking them.
2. Using an oven temperature of 325 degrees C.
3. Using 3 oz. of oil instead of 1/2 cup (for a doubled recipe).
4. Cutting the amount of sweetener to 3/4 cup of agave nectar instead of 1/2 cup of unrefined sugar and 2/3 cup of maple syrup.

The five-spice powder gives the cookies such an interesting flavor profile. I'm sure it's the fennel or the white pepper that took folks by surprise on Monday night. Lots of raised eyebrows, but many approvals as well. Mind you, someone else brought a very fancy carrot cake from Calandra's bakery, so there was mighty competition that night.

By the way, a few folks have asked where my little movies are. Glad you asked.

I recently tried making vegan marshmallows with agave nectar. The recipe, as I filmed it, failed so miserably that I had to make something else in the short time allowed without running the camera.

However, I'm planning to film the next Altered Plates recipe. So, you'll be getting some new wee films soon enough. I'll be doing the same for some reviews at Here and There, so check there too.

Parsnips in a Cake?

Why yes! And they taste delicious in this fruity spice cake from Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts. Well, to be truthful, I couldn't tell they were there. Instead, I tasted the raisins, pineapple, and spices. I've made quite a few adjustments to "Anna's Country Spice Cake," but I'd bet I captured the spirit of this cake.

Why would one want to eat parsnips in the first place? Well, for one thing, they are very high in vitamin C and folic acid. Parsnips also provide a lot of fiber and potassium to their eaters. Overall, this white root has more bang for the buck than it's cousin the carrot. So, if you want to make a carrot cake, rethink it in favor of the humble parsnip.

Speaking of cakes, this one reminds me a LOT of a carrot cake, but without the carroty flavor. Next time, I'll make it with fruit-sweetened cranberries instead of raisins. Raisins seem too sweet to me these days. The best part about the cake is that it is moist and light, despite all the liquid and seemingly heavy ingredients. It seems like it could easily do without the eggs in order to veganize it. Just substitute the appropriate amount of flaxseed meal.

Finally, I used a 7 x 11 in. pan instead of the 8 in. square pan called for in the recipe. This yielded a much shorter baking time, even at a lower temperature.

Here's the recipe as I made it:

Inspired by "Anna's Country Spice Cake" from Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts.

Ingredients:

2.5 oz vegetable oil (a tablespoon shy of the 1/2 cup of vegetable oil in the original)
scant 3/4 cup agave nectar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups peeled and grated parsnips
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 cup crushed pineapple (do not drain; this is contrary to the original)
3/4 cup minus two tablespoons white flour
2 tablespoons coconut flour
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (I mistakenly left this out -- it was fine without it)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnut pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Oil the pan and dust it with flour. (I'd like to say this made a difference, even with the non-stick pan I used, but it didn't. You're probably better off just lining your pan with parchment paper.)
2. Beat the oil, agave, and eggs until well combined.
3. Mix in the parsnips.
4. Mix in the lemon zest and crushed pineapple.
5. In a separate bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients except the raisins and nuts. Mix until combined.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture in two batches until there isn't any more dry mix.
7. Fold in the nuts and raisins.
8. Pour the batter into your pan and bake for 35 minutes, until a wooden skewer comes out clean.

Just a tip, be sure to pay attention to the oven temperature. If it winds up in the 330s, lower the temperature so that it averages around 315.

Enjoy!

Slow Oats for Breakfast

When I found out a recent blood test (not fasting, mind you) discovered an elevated cholesterol level, I went on the offensive. Breaking out the slow-cooker, I made enough steel-cut oatmeal for 8 breakfasts.

The pink color in the slow cooker above isn't a trick of the light, it's due to the Trader Joe's freeze-dried strawberries I added to the mixture. Actually, I added a lot of stuff to this oatmeal: almond milk, extra oat bran, flax meal, hazelnuts and more. To sweeten it a bit, I added some agave nectar. That really made a difference -- since then, I've made different versions with other dried fruit, but without the agave, and it's just not as good.

But it's still crunchy from the nuts; chewy from the oats; sweet and tangy from the fruit; and chock full of healthy, cholesterol-lowering goodness.

Here's my recipe:

Deb's Slow Oats

Makes 8 portions.

Ingredients:

4 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 cup steel-cut oats
1/2 cup freeze-dried strawberries (or any dried fruit)
1/4 cup museli (chose one with lots of nuts, seeds and dried fruit)
1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts chopped coarsely
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons flax meal
1/4 cup oat bran
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup water

Directions:

1. Add all the ingredients to your slow cooker. Stir well.
2. Turn the cooker on high and leave it for 2 hours.
3. Spoon into 8 containers and heat for breakfast when desired.

I added a little water to the chilled oatmeal each day to loosen it up.

By the way, I had blood drawn today and will find out next week what my number should be. I'll certainly post it here.

What do you put in your oatmeal?

Product Review: Bella's Cookies

Don't they look just like homemade cookies? A far cry from your typical store-bought cookie, that's for sure. Better yet, Bella's Cookies are made with agave nectar instead of cane sugar. And they're fresh, fresh, fresh. They're so fresh in fact, that John needed to keep these Oatmeal Raisin cookies in the fridge for me while I was out of town for a few days.



When I opened the box, I pulled out the little bag containing three Oatmeal Raisin cookies. The directions said to let the cookies come to room temperature before eating, so I did (later, I found that I preferred them cold) before digging in.

While I waited, I read the ingredients and nutritional facts included in the box. While Bella's don't contain hydrogenated fats or trans fats, they still contain a LOT of saturated fat per cookie (4 g of sat fat for 7 g of total fat in the Oatmeal Raisin variety). On the other hand, it comes directly from the butter and eggs used to make the cookies -- just like homemade. It's just something to keep in mind if you're watching your fat intake or cholesterol (unfortunately, I now fall into that group -- yes, my vegan friends are now laughing at me for using all that butter).



The cookies made me think longingly of of some I made nearly a year ago. While I give great kudos to Bella's for using agave nectar in their products and for using simple, pure ingredients, these weren't my favorite cookies. I had high hopes for them since they looked just like homemade and smelled like Oatmeal Raisin cookies.

However, in comparison to my cookies, Bella's were just too sweet for me (and I like sweets!) and bland -- as if the ones they sent me had been part of the mix that missed out on the spices. Also, my homemade cookies taste buttery rather than fatty. I'm not sure how to explain it except that in Bella's, I could feel the butter in the texture rather than tasting it in a pleasing way.

The cookies might be good for kids, who seem to be a bit sensitive to spices and not as finicky about flavor or texture. And, please, just as I don't take the word of reviewers as gospel, go try these for yourself before making up your mind. Bella's offers plenty of other flavors of their cookies that might just be wonderful.

If you've tried Bella's and think I'm way off base, please let me know. Or, if you agree, please leave a comment. Otherwise, have you ever been disappointed by a cookie you thought would be great?

Happy First Birthday to Altered Plates!

Happy Birthday to Altered Plates! One year ago today, I posted my first entry on this blog -- the one I created as an alternative to my Here and There blog so I could have a place to focus on baking and cooking with agave nectar instead of sugar.

It's hard to believe that just one year ago, I embarked on a journey to chronicle the alterations required to change some of my favorite recipes into glycemic-friendly versions. Time flies when you're in the kitchen!

This year, I plan a few more product reviews, more heart-healthy recipes, and generally a lot more fun. And, yes, I promise, more cooking videos because you love them so. I'm working on losing a bit more weight (and bringing my cholesterol down a bit as well) so you might just see me on camera this year for a change.

Thanks so much for visiting and commenting. More than anything else, thanks to the regular readers who are more than just readers and commentators. You're friends. Thanks especially to the vegans who continue to inspire me to improve my health and the way I live each day. You DO make a difference!

Happy Passover!

Yes, once again, it's time to remake Martha's macaroons. Since it's such a simple recipe, I started off with a plain version (well, not so plain, as I'll explain below) for 1/3 of the recipe, then I added chopped, unsweetened carob chips after I'd scooped out a pan and one half, and finally, I added 1/4 cup of carob powder to the remaining mixture. The resulting macaroons were moist, with a very special flavor, thanks to Fiore di Sicilia.

I tripled the recipe, but my substitutions below apply directly to the original measurements for your ease of use:

1. 2/3 cup of agave for the 3/4 cup of sugar
2. Organic lite unsweetened shredded coconut for the regular kind (it's much more finely shredded, too!)
3. Chopped, unsweetened carob chips for the chocolate
4. 1/4 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia for the vanilla
5. I used a teaspoon-sized cookie scoop instead of 1 1/2 teaspoons of the mixture to make my macaroons. This way, they're truly bite sized.

The Fiori di Sicilia did magic things to the macaroons. It made the carob ones taste just like dark chocolate! It also gave the non-carob chip/powder variety a lovely orange flavor that you just can't get from orange zest.

These moist little clumps of coconut went over well at Passover last night. And, I'm bringing more to a party this afternoon. Tripling the recipe allows you about three days' worth of desserts to bring with you to seders. Best of all, this recipe is really a no-brainer and takes only the time to mix, bake, and cool. It's definitely one of my go-to Altered Plates.

Special tip: What the recipe doesn't tell you is that you should let the macaroons cool a bit on the baking sheet parchment paper prior to moving them to cooling racks. This way, you'll have less of a chance of crumpling the little guys.

For those celebrating, I wish you a meaningful and happy Passover!

My Pottery Is Being Shown On Shelterrific

Well, not mine in the sense that I threw it, but mine in the sense that I collect it. Polish pottery, that is.

This isn't the first time one of my blogs (or both in this case) has been spotlighted on Shelterrific. They really liked my pies.

If you haven't visited Shelterrific before, you should definitely give it a look. The site features all kinds of neat home design stuff as well as a few good recipes. My specific mention is here.