Cookbook Review: I'm Loving Mayim's Muffins

Recently, I received a review copy of Mayim Bialik's brand new cookbook, Mayim's Vegan Table. Because I absolutely love her character Amy Farrah Fowler on "Big Bang Theory," I had to give it a read. The first 59 pages provide a good foundation on the vegan diet and its health benefits and philosophies. Even without the recipes, I'd recommend it for someone who is new to the practice or for parents of newly minted vegans.

Most of the recipes are straightforward and easy to produce. They don't require uncommon ingredients or a long time to make. Most (except the dessert section) also are easy to make gluten free. Now that I'm living in the GF sphere, that's a pretty important feature for me in a cookbook.

For my test recipe, I decided to take on a recipe that was already gluten free, but that I could tinker with a bit for this blog. That recipe was Fruity Oatmeal Muffins.

They turned out to be pretty tasty muffins. They are indeed oaty, which a cakey crumb -- an unexpected pleasure in a gluten-free muffin made without gums. The muffins also are much lighter than you would expect for such a healthy baked good. I can easily see these becoming my go-to muffins.

My alterations were relatively minor. First, I used my unsweetened, home-dried cranberries (thanks to the behemoth of a dehydrator I recently purchased via a mandate by my wonderful mother-in-law who gave us a check and said we couldn't save it, but had to spend the thing). Next, I added walnuts because what's a muffin without nuts? I also used pumpkin pie spice as the spice, flax meal and water as my egg substitute, olive oil for the fat, and agave nectar (and consequently, half the applesauce) as the sweetener. Finally, I dropped the oven temperature to 375 degrees F (to account for the agave), but baked it for the same amount of time.

Here's the recipe as I made it.

Fruity Oatmeal Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon flax meal
3 teaspoons filtered water
1 1/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup rolled oats run through the coffee grinder to make oat flour
2 tablespoons potato starch
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsweetened dried cranberries (if you have to use sweetened, use fruit-sweetened ones)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup applesauce

Directions: 
1. In a very small bowl, mix together the flax meal and water until combined and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, oat flour, potato starch, baking powder, spice, and salt.
3. Mix in the cranberries and walnuts.
4. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil and the flax mixture. Whisk in the agave and the applesauce.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir for about 2 minutes.
6. Heat your oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Line your muffin tray with paper liners.
8. Scoop the batter into the liners so that they are filled about 3/4 of the way.
9. When your oven reaches temperature, bake the muffins for 20 minutes. They should have very small crumbs clinging to a wooden tester when done.
10. Let cool in the try for 5 minutes before taking the muffins out to cool completely on a wire rack.

They are best slightly warm, but wonderful when cooled as well. Enjoy!

Re-altering Plates or My New Gluten-Free Life

Yep, I know it's been two years since I've updated this blog. Sorry about that. I've been updating Here and There regularly and been very active on Facebook, but it's not the same. And, I've gone gluten free.

Since November 2012, I haven't had any gluten in my food, and it's made a huge difference as far as my Hashimoto's Thyroiditis goes. I'd been having a lot of digestive distress and pain last fall, and before I found out that it was reproductive, I decided to give up gluten just in case I'd become sensitive. I had no idea that folks with autoimmune diseases like mine tend to benefit from giving up gluten.

Prior to the change, it seemed like each doctor's appointment (3x per year), my prescription needed to be increased to get my thyroid numbers right, and I was symptomatic. Since the change, all of my blood levels have been great!

All that to say, my plates have altered once again, and I'm beginning to re-make my recipes gluten free. The first is my Vegan Blueberry Apricot Cobbler.

Vegan Blueberry Apricot Cobbler (Originally posted here.)

Yields 12 servings (or 10 large servings)

Ingredients

Filling
5 cups fresh apricots, pre-pitted and sliced
4 cups fresh blueberries
2/3 cup agave nectar
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons Gluten-Free all-purpose flour (not the beany kind)

Topping
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup non-dairy milk (I used vanilla unsweetened almond milk for mine)
1/2 cup almond meal
1 1/2 cup Gluten-Free all-purpose flour (not the beany kind)
 2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (makes all the difference)
1/2 teaspoon Pensey's baking spice (or cinnamon, if you don't have it, but you might want to consider ordering some because it's really great stuff, and they don't pay me to say that)
5 tablespoons agave nectar or maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons good, fruity olive oil (or experiment with another good oil you enjoy)

Directions

1. Lightly oil a glass 9x13x2 in. baking dish.
2. For the filling, gently mix together the fruit, agave nectar, flour, and salt in a large bowl and let rest.
3. For the topping, in a separate bowl, combine the apple cider vinegar and non-dairy milk.
4. In a large bowl, mix the almond meal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the spices.
5. Add to the vinegar/milk mixture the remaining agave nectar, vanilla, and olive oil. Give it at least a minute of whisking.
6. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry mixture and combine until just mixed.
7. Give the fruit filling one more stir before pouring it into the prepared baking dish.
8. Scoop the topping on top of the filling.
9. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F while the topping rises. It won't rise a lot, but it will poof up a bit.
10. Bake the cobbler for 40 minutes, then check to see if it isn't getting too brown on top. You're looking for a nice golden brown. The filling should be good and bubbly.
11. Cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes before serving. It's best warm, but just as good from the fridge 4 days later.

The cobbler will keep at room temperature for 3 days. After that, if there is any left, and my guess is that there won't be, keep it refrigerated until it's gone.

Altered Plates On Location: Salt Lake City, Utah

From Salt Lake City July 2009

Este Pizzeria in downtown Salt Lake City is a very busy spot at 12:30 pm on a weekday. It was even busier than usual on the day Connie (my mom-in-law) and I went. It was a heck of a day, in fact. But I'll get to that later. You did come here for the food.

Above are little puffs of fried dough called zeppoles that are normally sprinkled with granulated sugar and cinnamon. I got gypped on the cinnamon when I asked for no sugar, but the cool thing was that the zeppoles come with a little container of agave nectar in which to dip them. When I say little, I mean this:

From Salt Lake City July 2009

Just a few milliliters, but it turned out to be just enough for the whole box. The box, by the way isn't styrofoam, it's some biodegradable corn container. So was the water cup.

From Salt Lake City July 2009

OK, back to the food.

From Salt Lake City July 2009

These tiny doughnut bites were yummy. I'm sure they would have been a bit crisper and not as chewy if we hadn't such a long walk back to the car and the wee drive to Connie's office. But, we were running out of time on the meter and needed to move the car.

Being able to have another option besides sugar for a dippable dessert is wonderful. And, Este pizza isn't bad either. Well, let me clarify that. For SLC, the pizza is great. Tastes a lot like East Coast pizza. For New Jersey or New York pie, it's pretty average.

Are you still curious about the heck of a day we had? Well, you asked for it. Connie and I saw two people get hit by a train! But, before that happened, we witnessed (in separate instances) a pretty large, and strangely quiet protest at the courthouse.

First, on my way to the main branch of the Salt Lake City Library (I will be blogging about that at length -- as well as much more of the trip -- on Here and There later), Connie called me to say that there was a big gathering of Fundamentalist LDS (read: Mormon for LDS) protesters gathered in front of the City and County Building, and that I shouldn't miss the opportunity to see such a thing. I wasn't sure what this meant until I drove past the building and saw what appeared to be costumed women with poofy hair and men in long-sleeved shirts (in 90 degree F sun) and jeans milling about under the trees and by the steps of the courthouse.

From Salt Lake City July 2009

There were probably around 500 folks (although the paper said there were at least 1000 -- they exaggerated) quietly waiting for news inside the historic building. I did what I always do in these situations, and told the the friendly police bikers that I was a visitor from New Jersey and was curious about what was going on.

From Salt Lake City July 2009

The kind officer on the left told me that the fuss was about a land dispute. He also recommended going to see the cannons fire in Park City that Saturday night during the 1812 Overture. Moving on...

After leaving the protest (mind you, they didn't quite resolve the dispute after all.), I went to the library. I won't blog about the wonderful and gorgeous library here (because that's what Here and There is for), but what I will tell you is important to the rest of the story.

In the atrium of the library is the library store. I know! I'd never heard of a library store before. Next to the library store is a lovely little plant and fancy bits store where I bought my step-father Dave a great gift for his upcoming birthday in September. I can't say what it is because he just might read this.

Connie met me in the atrium and we walked to my rental car to put the gift in the trunk before hoofing it to Este for pizza and agave nectar zeppoles. On our way back from the car, just about to the library, we heard a huge commotion by the Trax station. Trax is the city train that runs along the streets, kind of like the trolleys of San Francisco. People were shouting "Walk! Run!" and some other things that didn't sound good at all. As we approached the Trax station (which looks just like a bus stop, with a plexiglas enclosure), things did not look good at all.

From Salt Lake City July 2009

I know, it was creepy of me to have taken a photo, but I was there before the reporters around the corner at the courthouse came over, so I snapped one. Just one. Turns out, there were two boys (although Connie saw a third running from the scene) slugging it out by the stop, and they ended up in front of the train as it came to a stop. One boy was bumped by the train, and the other was run over. When we had walked up to the front of the library (directly across the street from where the accident happened), someone was taking off his shirt in order to get under the train to pull out the second boy. And, when I say "boy," I should really say "man," because the paper said they were two 20-year-old-men. Seems people get hit by these trains all the time. Just two weeks earlier, a 50-something-year-old man was hit and was in critical condition as a result. These two young guys were pretty cut up, but hardly in critical condition.

The weirdest thing was that three separate people, on three separate occasions during our walk from the car to Estes and back, felt compelled to tell us what had happened, what we, in fact, had witnessed. I'd never experienced that before, nor had Connie nor I felt compelled to share with a stranger what we had seen. On the other hand, we did feel compelled to tell John's sister and Connie's other co-workers the moment we walked into her building.

Anyway, it was a heck of a day -- all before lunch!

Book Review: The 30-Minute Vegan

Yay! Another great resource for vegans, vegetarians, and the folks who love them. Usually 30-minute recipe books tend to be on the slim side, but The 30-Minute Vegan by Mark Reinfeld and Jennifer Murray is a hefty volume, packed with a wide range of recipes that don't require a lot of special ingredients that vegans will find tough to locate in their local health food store. While there aren't that many desserts included in the book, I was able to select a very tasty one to try out for you using agave nectar here on Altered Plates.

From July_2009_Photos

For my trial recipe, I selected Macadamia Nut-Chocolate Chip Cookies (although I made mine into carob chip cookies). They are a snap to make, and I could easily substitute agave nectar for the maple syrup (although I'm sure they would be just as good with the syrup). Because I used agave nectar, I had to drop the temperature down to 325 degrees F, and that increased the baking time by a few minutes.

Even though they look a little on the light side, trust me, these cookies are done. I tried one about 20 minutes after they had finished cooling and was very pleased with the result. The carob chips make a nice foil for the sweet cookie and rich macadamias. They don't spread, so you can easily make nearly 40 cookies using a tablespoon scoop on three cookie sheets (just stagger your rows). Overall, they remind me of what great chocolate chip cookies should taste like without the 1/2 pound of butter, brown sugar, and bendable chewiness. Best of all, they were a hit with the folks at the museum, when I brought in a bag of them yesterday.

I'm not sure I'd be able to make these in 30 minutes, even if I wasn't trying out the recipe for the first time, but they definitely can be done and on your cooling racks in under an hour. Getting all the ingredients together and preparing the cookies took longer than 15 minutes (chopping the nuts, measuring, etc.), and I just don't like rushing when I'm baking. That's when things tend to go wrong for me. Terribly wrong.

However, most of the recipes in the book are for beverages, meals, and snacks that are very time-friendly. I'm looking forward to making my way through all the recipes that I've already tagged with post-it tags.

And now, here's the recipe. Excerpted from the book The 30-Minute Vegan by Mark Reinfeld and Jennifer Murray published by Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright © 2009. www.dacapopresscookbooks.com

My changes are in bold.

Macadamia Nut-Chocolate (Carob) Chip Cookies

Makes 24 3-in. cookies (My yield was 38, from tablespoon-sized scoops)

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups whole spelt flour (whole wheat pastry flour)
1/4 cup tapioca flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts (mine were salted and roasted)
1 cup vegan chocolate (carob) chips
2/3 cup pure maple syrup (agave nectar)
2/3 cup safflower oil (canola oil, although I'm sure a light olive oil would be fine as well)
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (OK, my oven does not take much time to preheat at all, so I actually don't do this until I begin scooping out the cookies. And, most importantly, my oven is set to 325 degrees F.) Sift the spelt flour, tapioca flour, basking soda, salt, and cinnamon through a fine-mesh strainer or sifter. (I didn't do this; I just whisked my dry ingredients together very well.) Whisk well and add the oats, macadamia nuts, and chocolate chips, stirring again.
2. In a 2 cup measuring cup, combine the maple syrup, safflower oil, water, and vanilla, and whisk together. Add to the flour mixture and stir well.
3. If you aren't using a nonstick cookie sheet or baking tray, you will have to lightly oil the tray or lay down aluminum foil (neither, in my case, I'm a big fan of parchment paper, so I used it). Use a spoon to scoop out your preferred size of cookie, leaving enough space in between them to allow the hot air to circulate and the cookie to spread out (at least 2 inches). It will take at least two trays. Bake them for 10 minutes (mine took about 13), until the bottom edges start to brown; do not over bake. Allow them to cool for a few minutes and transfer to a wire rack.

Cobbleriffic -- Vegan Blueberry Apricot Cobbler

From July_2009_Photos

Oh my friends, if you're a fan of blueberries, you must make this cobbler for yourselves. I was inspired (as always) by Elise's Apricot Berry Cobbler, but wanted to veganize it to bring down the fat and make it healthier. I made a lot of changes from the flour to using apple cider vinegar and almond milk instead of buttermilk, so it's now an entirely different recipe.

From July_2009_Photos

This is the most luscious and rich-tasting cobbler you will ever taste (not tooting my own horn, folks -- it was a big surprise to me too). Because I added almond meal to the whole wheat pastry flour, the cobbler topping became cookie/pie crust-like, and less biscuit-like (which was the best part of the surprise). I also wasn't sure if the olive oil would work instead of the butter, but it has now become my fat champion for its performance here. That would be an excellent slogan: "Olive Oil, My Fat Champion."

From July_2009_Photos

The filling is a good mix between quartered apricots and blueberries, but I'd bet anything that it would work just as well with raspberries, strawberries and peaches. In fact, I'd venture a guess that cranberries and apples would be winners as well. And, as always, I used agave nectar for the sweetener in the topping as well as the filling, but added a bit more flour to the filling to thicken it up.

As you can see from the photo above, the filling gets very pie-like. It is a dream to scoop up when serving, keeping together very nicely. You might want to keep some vanilla frozen dessert or topping handy. It makes a nice foil for all that blueberry, although I enjoyed it thoroughly with just a cup of my favorite herbal tea.

Finally, before I launch into the recipe, I wanted to share with you a bit of food chemistry fun. If you've been veganizing recipes for a while, you probably already know this, but you can make vegan buttermilk by adding apple cider vinegar to non-dairy milk to get the same effect. Not only does it tenderize dough, it gives it nice rise.

Just an ingredient/direction note -- when I write a recipe, the ingredients are listed in the order in which they are used. It's a pet peeve of mine when folks don't do that, and then I have to scramble to make sense of a recipe. So, if the list below looks a little weird, that's why. It's for your own good. :)

Ok, here's what you've been waiting for...

Vegan Blueberry Apricot Cobbler (inspired by Elise's Apricot Berry Cobbler)

Yields 12 servings (or 10 large servings)

Ingredients

5 cups fresh apricots, pre-pitted and sliced
4 cups fresh blueberries
2/3 cup agave nectar
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup non-dairy milk (I used vanilla unsweetened almond milk for mine)
1/2 cup almond meal
1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (makes all the difference)
1/2 teaspoon Pensey's baking spice (or cinnamon, if you don't have it, but you might want to consider ordering some because it's really great stuff, and they don't pay me to say that)
3 tablespoons agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons good, fruity olive oil (or experiment with another good oil you enjoy)

Directions

1. Lightly oil a glass 9x13x2 in. baking dish.
2. Gently mix together the fruit, agave nectar, whole wheat pastry flour, and pinch of salt in a large bowl and let rest.
3. In a large glass measuring cup, mix together the apple cider vinegar and non-dairy milk. Let this rest as well.
4. In a large bowl, mix together the almond meal, whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the spices.
5. Retrieve the vinegar/milk mixture and whisk in the remaining agave nectar, vanilla, and olive oil. Give it at least a minute of whisking.
6. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry mixture and combine until just mixed. Do not over-mix this because it won't create a nice topping if you do.
7. Give the fruit filling one more mix before pouring it into the prepared baking dish.
8. Take out your small scoop and scoop the topping on top of the filling. You'll probably need to spread it around a bit.
9. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F while the topping rises. It won't rise a lot, but it will poof up a bit.
10. Bake the cobbler for 40 minutes, then check to see if it isn't getting too brown on top. You're looking for a nice golden brown. The filling should be good and bubbly.
11. Cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes before serving. It's best warm, but just as good from the fridge 4 days later.

The cobbler will keep at room temperature for 3 days. After that, if there is any left, and my guess is that there won't be, keep it refrigerated until it's gone.

From July_2009_Photos

Book Review: Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz

From July_2009_Photos

These delicious and highly healthy pumpkin bran muffins are an Altered Plates version of Isa's Pumpkin Bran Muffins on page 167 of Vegan Brunch. I made 12 large and 12 mini muffins in my version of her recipe, and will undoubtably make them again with other fun modifications.

First, let me tell you a bit about the book. The photos are lovely, and there are many of them. The layout is very effective in that you don't often need to turn pages during a recipe (one of my major pet peeves in cookbooks). And, most importantly, the recipes are fantastic.

You must get this to add to your collection, even if you aren't vegan (which I'm not anymore, but eat veganly most days anyway). The recipes are easy to make for the most part, and like her other books, don't require a lot of hard-to-find or expensive ingredients.

And, if you are like me and have to noodle around with recipes because you have dietary restrictions, be comforted by the fact that her recipes (as in in her previous books) are so flexible that you can tune them quite easily without losing the integrity of the recipe.

From July_2009_Photos

That said, here's the recipe as I made it a few weeks ago (prior to the big fall).

Pumpkin Bran Muffins (greatly inspired by Isa's Pumpkin Bran Muffins on page 167 of Vegan Brunch.

Ingredients:

1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup vanilla flavored, unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used almond)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup agave nectar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup wheat bran flakes (you could also use oat bran, and I will next time)
1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons coconut flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I used Pensey's)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 to 1/2 cup pepitas or shelled pumpkin seeds (depending upon how you decorate)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix all the wet ingredients together until well blended.
2. Add the bran flakes and mix until well blended.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients except the walnuts, raisins, and seeds.
4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix by hand for about 30 seconds.
5. Gently fold in the nuts, raisins, and seeds, then mix for another 30 seconds. Let the mixture rest.
6. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. and line 1 standard muffin pan with cupcake cups, and 1 mini muffin pan with mini cupcake cups.
7. Use a standard ice cream scoop to scoop out 12 servings into the lined standard pan, and a mini scoop to scoop out 12 mini servings into the mini muffin pan. Place in the heated oven on different levels.
8. Bake for 12 minutes before turning each pan 180 degrees and switching levels. Bake for another 10 minutes before testing with a bamboo skewer for doneness. When only a few moist crumbs stick to the skewer, take them out of the oven.
9. Let them cool in the pans for 5 minutes before transferring the muffins to wire racks to cool completely.
10. Enjoy!

These will keep for about a week in an airtight container. Since it's been hot out, I've kept mine in the fridge.

Book Review: Vegan Soul Kitchen

From May 2009 photos

Every time I read the title of Bryant Terry's recently released Vegan Soul Kitchen, it makes me think of that Doors song.

There are some very nicely written and very well tested recipes in this collection. I especially enjoyed the one shown above, Candied Sweet Potato Discs and Apple Slices. Unfortunately, the publisher hasn't released permission for me to reprint the recipe, so I cannot share it with you word for word.

However, I can tell you that it's very easily done with a small quantity of good sweet potatoes (or yams, for that matter), your favorite apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, agave nectar, vanilla, lemon juice, orange juice (I used pineapple juice and would definitely recommend it), apple juice and a smidgen of salt.

The trick to it is to roast the sweet potatoes first until they are fork tender, then add the rest of the ingredients as written in the book, and bake for another 2/3 of an hour, basting every 10 minutes. So, if you're cooking something else, or are handy with a kitchen timer, you won't mind the every-10-minutes sauce bath for these babies.

The extra-special treatment is worth it. The potatoes end up tasting like candy. And, because I used granny smith apples, I had a very nice, tart foil for the very sweet potatoes.

After I'd tried these the first time, I decided then and there that I've found my new Thanksgiving dish to bring to Mom's. Yes, I know, I've said that before.

I think I'd also probably try this with alternate vegetables and dried fruits, like parsnips, carrots, and dried cranberries. There are a myriad of ways to use Terry's sauce to candy veggies and fruit.

Just a quick note on regularity, speaking of fruit. No, I'm not going there. What I do need to share with you is that my life is becoming increasingly complex for the next four weeks as I begin my internship at the Zimmerli Art Museum while I continue with two classes at Rutgers. So, I'll need to take a short hiatus from blogging here and at Here and There while I manage my new workload, papers, and household stuff. I expect to be back at it by early July, if not sooner, with lots of yummy new recipes.

One last thing, one of the summer courses I'm taking is called Art Librarianship. It's the best class I've ever taken. Ever. It's given by a fascinating professor, Paul Glassman, who only gives the class during the summers at Rutgers. We've had excellent guest speakers, including the special collections librarian from the Alexander Library at Rutgers. I've contacted him to ask about independent study opportunities and he promptly responded with some really interesting projects working with artists' books for the fall. I can't wait!

Wish me luck!

Superfood Muffins with a Twist

From March 2009 Recipes, Reviews and Other Photos

I'm a big fan of Hannah's recipes and her blog, BitterSweet. In fact, this muffin is an Altered Plates take on her Superfood Muffins.

I'm glad Hannah wrote a pretty strong caveat for these muffins so I'd know what to expect. I really didn't think they were that bad at all. I'd probably mix some almond meal into the flours next time for a little richness and substitute out some more of the whole wheat pastry flour for barley flour (my new favorite) for even more wonderful texture, but otherwise, I enjoyed them. I especially liked the quinoa, the cranberries, and the 5-spice powder I added. Heck, anything with 5-spice powder is right up my alley.

I didn't stray too terribly far from her original recipe but I did make some changes that affected the outcome and flavor a bit. Here are the alterations I made to the recipe to keep it superfoody, yet tweak it a bit:

1. Added 1 teaspoon of Chinese 5-spice powder to the dry ingredients.
2. Used flaxmeal instead of freshly grinding flax seeds (I don't have a coffee or spice grinder).
3. Substituted frozen cranberries for the blueberries.
4. Omitted the brown sugar and increased the agave nectar to 2/3 cup.
5. Used almond milk instead of soy milk.
6. Added 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
7. Substituted 1/4 cup pineapple juice for the 1/2 cup orange juice.
8. Used red quinoa instead of the white variety (went well with the cranberries).

My version yielded 12 typical muffins and 9 mini muffins.

I undercooked the quinoa a bit because I wanted the crunch, and it delivered. I'm sure Hannah's version is delightful, because all her recipes (and crafts projects) usually are. But, for an interesting twist, try the Superfood Muffins with cranberries. You'll enjoy the tartness.

Recycling: Moosey Hamantaschen

This is the first time I've ever recycled a post, but seeing how it's Purim time, I thought those of you who celebrate, might appreciate the blog post below. FYI, I didn't publish the recipe as I made it, but I will be remaking these soon and publishing a full recipe since I anticipate major changes.



I've written and tested hamantaschen recipes before, but had yet to achieve the buttery crispness found in the bakery cookies I ate in my youth. That is, until I tried altering the Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant hamantaschen recipe for agave nectar.

The cookies shown above are the result of my efforts. I made these while cooking another recipe, so I didn't make one of my short films about the experience. However, I can tell you that I only used half the recipe and made about 24 tasty cookies.

My alterations to the recipe included 1/2 cup coconut flour for part of the all-purpose flour called, 1 cup of agave for the sugar, 2 teaspoons pineapple juice for the orange juice, and a completely different set of fillings.

For the fillings, I used a base of chopped dried tart cherries and dried apricots. I hydrated these and drained them, then pureed them. I divided the puree in half, then mixed each with a different fruit-sweetened mixed fruit spread, respectively. One was a peach spread, while the other was this amazing concoction from Trader Joe's with pomegranate in it.

Both were wonderful foils for the buttery cookie. However, I plan to try this recipe again, substituting more coconut flour for the ap flour and using a poppyseed filling. I've had a bag of Pensey's poppyseeds in my cabinet for a few months mocking me. So, it's time to use them.

Just a tip for creaming butter with agave, make sure that the butter's softened to almost mush. It incorporates much better that way, and even gets to a nice, fluffy consistency quite easily with the stand mixer.

Eat Me, Agave Nectar -- Coconut Oatmeal Carob Pecan Squares

From March 2009 Recipes, Reviews and Other Photos

I love the blog eat me, delicious. The recipes are fantastic, the photos are gorgeous, and the writing is clear and humorous. So, go visit! Especially, go visit this recipe to see the original of what I made above/below.

These are very tasty bar cookies. I've rearranged the title of the cookie a bit because they are much more coconutty than oatmeally, but ever-so-yummy nonetheless. I think when I make these again, I'll add a bit more agave nectar and use a little less coconut. It might make the pecans a little more pronounced. Another thing I considered was slivers of dried apricots. How fantastic would that be?

For my vegan friends, these are very easily veganized. Just use flaxmeal and non-dairy milk for the egg and 4 tablespoons of your favorite oil instead of the butter. In fact, next time I make these, it will be veganized as well.

OK, here's the recipe as I made it most recently.

Coconut Oatmeal Carob Peanut Squares


Ingredients:

3 oz agave nectar
4 teaspoons melted butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsweetened carob chips
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Oil an 8 by 8 in. baking pan. (I used a glass one.) Heat your oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Beat together the agave nectar, butter, egg, and vanilla until completely combined.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients until well combined.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and mix well.
5. Spread the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 30 minutes until just golden brown.
6. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

Cookbook Review: Sweet!: From Agave to Turbinado

From Kitchen Cabinets, Upstate NY, Mani Niall's new book

One of my all-time favorite cookbooks is Mani Niall's Sweet & Natural Baking, so when his publisher contacted me about reviewing his new book, Sweet!: From Agave to Turbinado, Home Baking with Every Kind of Natural Sugar and Sweetener (Paperback), I was happy to do it.

The just-out-of-the-oven cupcakes seen above are from Sweet! They are the "Lemon Cupcakes" without the "Mascarpone Cream and Raspberries." I selected the recipe because it's the one shown on the cover, and it's one of the handful of recipes that use agave nectar as the sweetener. While most of the recipes tend to use derivatives of cane sugar, there are some wonderful-sounding recipes for agave nectar. I can't wait to try the rest. It's a very well-written book, and as you can see below, filled with well-tested recipes, flexible enough to stand some serious tinkering. I highly recommend it. It's a great buy on Amazon right now for less than $13!

From Kitchen Cabinets, Upstate NY, Mani Niall's new book

I did eventually frost my lemon cupcakes, but I used neufchatel cheese instead of mascarpone, which was five times as expensive. Also prohibitively expensive were raspberries. I'm sure they would have been delightful, but the budget's a bit tight these days, so I just did without. While everyone was pleased with the flavors, I wished the frosting didn't "melt" as much as it did. I was aiming for the look on the cover of Sweet! Oh well. Next time, I'll use a touch less lemon juice and agave. That should do it.

The cupcakes themselves were fantastic the day I made them. Buttery, with just the right amount of lemon, I had a hard time telling I'd used whole wheat flour instead of the all-purpose called for in the original recipe. They degraded just slightly (only I'd notice) when I served them the next day, making the whole grain a bit more noticeable.

Another key substitution was the 1% fat milk for the whole milk. I'm not sure the milk made a big difference considering all the butter in the recipe, but it may have been able to break down the texture of the whole wheat a bit. I also could have used some lemon juice instead of all the milk, and that would definitely have attacked the whole wheat, but I'll save that experiment for next time. I'd definitely make these again because they were so moist, lightly and refreshingly lemony, and overall, quite the crowd-pleasers. Folks went back for seconds and thirds (bear in mind, I made mini-cupcakes for the crowd).

From Kitchen Cabinets, Upstate NY, Mani Niall's new book

While these appear quite muffin-y, they are definitely cupcakes!

Here's the recipe as I made it.

Lemon Cupcakes with Neufchatel Frosting (inspired by Mani Niall's Sweet!: From Agave to Turbinado, Home Baking with Every Kind of Natural Sugar and Sweetener recipe "Lemon Cupcakes with Mascarpone Cream and Raspberries")

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup agave nectar
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup 1% fat milk
Zest of one lemon

Frosting Ingredients:

1 8-oz package Neufchatel cheese
3 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of one lemon

Directions:

1. Sift together the dry ingredients into a very large measuring cup (makes it easier to pour into the wet ingredients). You'll notice a bunch of bran left over after sifting the whole wheat flour. You can either keep this in the recipe or save it for your morning cereal. It's up to you.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the butter until it's smooth. Mix in the agave nectar, eggs, and vanilla until very well blended.
3. Slowly mix in the dry mixture, then the milk until the batter is uniform (not longer than a couple of minutes).
4. Fold in the lemon zest.
5. Let the batter sit while you preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and line your muffin pan(s) with baking cups. I used two mini-muffin pans (12 each) and one standard muffin pan (six cups filled, the others I filled halfway with water for baking). This sitting time is very important with the whole wheat. It will help the butter cling to the wheat and keep it moist. Don't skip it!
6. When the oven has reached baking temperature, fill your baking cups about 2/3 full. (I used a small cookie scoop. It worked very well -- 1 scoop for minis and two and a half scoops for the larger ones.)
7. Bake 15 minutes for mini cupcakes and about 20-25 minutes for the standard ones. If you use a tester, it should come out clean.
8. Let the cupcakes cool for 10 minutes in their pans, then take them out and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
9. While you enjoy how wonderful your kitchen smells, make the frosting:
a. Beat the cheese until smooth.
b. Add the agave nectar and lemon juice and beat again until smooth.
c. Frost the cupcakes and gently sprinkle some of the lemon zest on top.
10. Serve and enjoy!

From Kitchen Cabinets, Upstate NY, Mani Niall's new book

The Vegan Dulce de Leche Trials

Because this is a test recipe and not yet "proven," I'm not going to publish the ingredients and amounts. However, I can tell you that it's very close. Not bad for the very first try!

My friend Judie came by yesterday, and she (being game for trying most anything I concoct in the kitchen) gave it a go. Judie really liked it, even the burnt caramel end note. She ate spoonfuls of the stuff straight. She also proposed making a sandwich of the dulce de leche with cashew butter. My reply was "Anything tastes better with cashew butter," which got me to thinking...