This recipe was inspired by the recipe for Kathleen's Pumpkin Bread in Bakin' Without Eggs. Decreasing the sugar and substituting whole wheat for part of the flour improves the nutrition profile. Making muffins is faster than a loaf of bread and results in food that's more portable for sending as my son's afternoon snack to Preschool.
Pumpkin Muffins
1 Cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 Cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 generous teaspoon pie spice (or cinnamon plus a dash of nutmeg and ground ginger)
1/2 Cup milk
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon greek yogurt
1/4 Cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Cup sugar
1 can pumpkin puree
handful dried tart cherries (chopping them up is optional)
Preheat oven to 375 and oil tin for 12 muffins.
In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and vinegar. Whisk in the yogurt.
Whisk in the oil, sugar and vanilla. Add the pumpkin and combine well.
In a separate bowl combine the flours, baking powder and spices.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet. Begin to combine.
When it's almost evenly mixed, add the dried cherries and stir to incorporate.
The dough should be pretty thick. If it's too thick to stir in the cherries then you can add a small splash of milk or water.
Spoon into muffin tins.
Bake 20-25 minutes.
Cool 10 minutes in pan. Then the muffins to cool completely on a a wire rack.
Variations:
This tastes just fine with raisins or craisins if you don't have dried cherries on hand. Or for less sweet you can omit the fruit altogether.
This dough is sturdy enough to also hold up to a cup of chopped walnuts to make it heartier.
Alternatively, for some crunch without the fat of added nuts, you can substitute 1/4 raw millet to replace part of the all-purpose flour. My son especially loves this variation.
For liquid, you can mix it up a little depending on what you have in your fridge. If you have buttermilk, you can use that in lieu of the milk, cider and yogurt (I just don't always have buttermilk). Or you can sourcream in lieu of the milk and yogurt. It works with various of those combinations. What you want is a slightly thick, slightly tangy liquid with a little acidity.
I love the fresh flavors of mint and lime. A creamy dessert that combines them is right up my alley. You will need to clear some acreage in your freezer for these. And have patience. You have to make these in two stages and they take several hours to freeze.
Lime Mint Ice Cream Bars
Ingredients:
1 package graham crackers
small handful salted pistachios
dash of ground ginger
1/4 Cup butter (1/2 a stick) (room temperature or fridge temperature both work)
2 Cups heavy cream
14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (we use fat free, but regular works)
1/2 Cup sour cream
1/2 Cup fresh mint leaves roughly chopped
finely grated zest of one lime (or two if you love lime like I do)
Make a crust for the bottom:
Preheat oven to 350.
Line a 9 X 13 glass baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving a few inches overhanging the sides.
Pulverize the graham crackers and pistachios in a food processor with the ginger.
Add the butter (in chunks if its cold).
Pulse until blended to a coarse meal.
Press into the bottom of the baking pan.
Bake until golden, 8 minutes or so.
Remove from oven.
Let cool completely.
This will mean waiting 1/2 an hour.
Prepare the filling:
Use an electric mixer to beat the heavy cream, condensed milk and sour cream into thick stiff peaks. This will take 4-5 minutes. Fold in the mint and lime zest. Pour into the baking pan. Use a spatula to smooth it to even depth. Cover and freeze until firm (several hours).
Serving:
When ready to serve, transfer to a cutting board and cut into bars. Makes 18 bars if you make two slices the length of the pan (for 3 long rows) and divide each row into 6 bars.
Variations:
The original recipe in Women's Day that was my inspiration called for a crust of gingersnaps and butter (36 gingersnaps and 1/4 Cup butter). It also called for 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla in the filling.
The original recipe also said they could be kept frozen for up to 2 weeks.
I can't attest to that because it's never taken that long for them to get eaten.
This dish from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home has really stood the test of time for us. We've been making it for years and I still love it!
Tunisian Vegetable Stew
Veggie base:
1 large onion thinly sliced (the original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups, but I don't measure. Use two if your onions aren't particularly large)
splash of olive oil
1/2 a cabbage thinly sliced (original recipe calls for 3 cups)
1 bell pepper cut into strips
Spices:
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (original recipe called for 1/4, but we like more)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (or a little more)
To stew with:
28-ounce can of chopped tomatoes (undrained)
16-ounce can of chick peas (drained)
1/2 cup raisins (original recipe calls for just 1/3 cup)
juice of a lemon (original recipe calls for 1 Tablespoon)
To serve with: optional crumbles of feta cheese
How to:
Saute onions until softened. Add in the cabbage and saute at least 5 minutes more. Add the bell pepper and the spices. Cook another minute. Add the tomatoes, chick peas and raisins. Simmer covered for about 15 minutes. Add lemon juice and top with some crumbles of feta.
If you make ahead, hold off adding the feta until just before you serve it.
This keeps well in the fridge and tastes even better the next day.
It's dairy-free and vegan if you omit the cheese, in which case you may want to add salt.
This works well as a side dish or as a salsa in burritos, on burgers, etc.
Mango Salsa
2 mangos, peeled and chopped (into large cubes for salad or smaller dice for salsa
1/2 a sweet onion or a whole small one (chopped small)
a couple of anaheim peppers (remove seeds and chop small)
juice of a lime
sprigs of cilantro, chopped
Chop it up. Toss it together. Enjoy.
This thick, satisfying, slightly sweet rice dish has a lovely golden color and is a good counterpoint to curry. It comes from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home.
Coconut Rice
1 1/4 Cup water
1 Cup white basmati rice
1/2 Cup canned coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
small piece of cinnamon stick or a dash of cinnamon
1/4 Cup raisins
Bring water to a boil in a heavy saucepan.
Stir in the rice and everything else.
Bring back to a boil.
Stir once.
Cover, reduce heat and simmer on low for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat. Let sit a few minutes. Then fluff and serve.
Another favorite from Veganomicon. This is not a recipe to feed an army: just six small burgers. That's fine for our family. Double it when you have guests. They will want seconds.
Black Bean Burgers
What you need:
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (or two cups cooked if you start from dry beans)
1/2 Cup vital wheat gluten
1/2 Cup breadcrumbs (we use plain store bought panko)
1 teaspoon chile powder
an extra little dash of cumin
1/4 Cup water
a squirt of ketchup
a couple of cloves of garlic and a little bit of onion (minced fine or grated)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Extra little spritzes of oil
How to do it:
In a mixing bowl, mash the beans with a fork to break them up a bit. Add everything else except the oil.
Mix it all up with a fork and then knead with your hands until its well mixed and firm.
Divide burger mixture into sixths. Form six balls and then flatten each between your hands.
Preheat a griddle or heavy skillet. Add a thin layer of olive oil to the bottom. For each patty, cook it 5 minutes on one side, spritz with oil, flip and cook 5 minutes more on the second side.
I could fit three burgers at a time in my skillet. Don't try to crowd all six into the pan at once.
Notes: If you need to get these started and then set them aside for awhile, it's fine to make them ahead through the kneading of the dough, let it sit and then fry them up later. Just put some plastic wrap over it so it doesn't dry out while it's sitting.
Serve with: We like these with guacamole, but they are also good with the standard ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato and onion type fixings.
These thin chewy chocolate cookies are a snap to make. Leave room between them on the cookie sheet because they do spread.
Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups flour
2/3 Cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 Cup hazelnut meal
2/3 Cup canola oil
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1 Tablespoon flaxseed meal
1/2 Cup chocolate hazelnut milk
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 Cup chocolate chips
How to:
Preheat oven to 350. Line three cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa and baking powder. Stir in the hazelnut meal.
In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and flaxseed meal.
Add the hazelnut milk and vanilla and mix well.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet. Then stir in the chocolate chips.
Roll the dough into walnut sized balls. Flatten each slightly and place a couple of inches apart on the cookie sheets.
Bake each sheet for 10 minutes, then remove from oven.
Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
I can only fit two sheets in my oven at a time. Stash one in the fridge while the other two are baking.
Variation: Finely grate the zest of an orange into the dough for an extra layer of bright flavor.
