Corny Vegan Cornbread Muffins

Corny, scrumptious, a little crunchy, and a little spicy.

If you aren't vegan you can use an egg instead of flax and water, and dairy milk instead of almond milk.

Ingredients:

2 Tbs ground flax seed

6 Tbs water

1 C flour

1 C cornmeal or polenta

1/4 C sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 to 1 tsp each of garlic powder, chili powder, and ground pepper

1 C almond milk

1/4 C vegetable or canola oil

15 oz can of corn (or fresh corn in summer)

1 chili pepper, finely chopped

Heat oven to 425 degrees and spray muffin tins with cooking spray.

Bring water to a boil in small saucepan. Add flax and reduce to low. Cook until thickened, about 3 minutes, and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and seasonings.

Add flax mixture, milk, and oil to flour mixture and beat until smooth.

Fold corn and chili pepper into mixture.

Spoon into muffin tins and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts:

Per muffin: 118 calories, 4g fat, 2g fiber, 2g protein

Granola

I came across this completely customizable granola recipe a few weeks ago and couldn't wait to try it! Unfortunately, the first time I made it I burnt the heck out of it. It still tasted pretty good, but not as good as my non-burnt second batch. My second batch was an almond/sunflower seed/oats/dried apricots combo that I'm in looooooove with. I eat it dry or with milk or even mixed into some Greek yogurt. I eat it in a boat or with a goat....what?!

The combinations are endless. Just make sure you don't burn it. Maybe one day I'll make some granola bars out of this stuff and tell you all about it.


Basic Granola Formula

Start with about 8 cups dry to 1 cup wet for a mildly sweet, crunchy granola, but feel free to adjust the proportions to your taste from there.

Dry (choose a few or all):
Rolled oats (5 to 6 parts)
Scottish or steel-cut oats
Wheat germ
Flax seed
Almonds, walnuts, pecans
Sunflower seeds
Shredded coconut (unsweetened)
Spices (ie. cinnamon)

Wet:
Canola, vegetable, or olive oil (1 part)
Honey or maple syrup (3 parts)
Also add (per one cup wet): 2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon table salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 250 F. Combine dry ingredients and pour onto a parchment lined sheet pan. Combine wet and pour over dry, then gently mix. Bake for about 45 minutes - 1 hour (keep an eye on it), stirring every 15 minutes. You know it's done when the liquids appear to have mostly dried up and the oats and stuff are lightly browned. After baking, add 1-2 parts dried fruit such as raisins, blueberries, or cranberries.

Store in an airtight container.

BAGELS!!

I'm only going to school part time this semester, so I have A LOT of free time on my hands. What?! A law student with free time?? Unheard of! Believe it, people. After two and a half grueling years, I finally have my life back.

For me, more free time = more cooking adventures. So obviously I couldn't resist attempting to make bagels. Who doesn't love bagels? Plus, when you make your own, you can make the flavors you want (like Matt's favorite: garlic/basil/Parmesan). Yum!

BAGELS
Recipe from Home Cooking in Montana

INGREDIENTS

6 2/3 -7 cups white bread flour (or all purpose flour works fine too)

1 TBS salt
1 TBS instant yeast
2 TBS sugar
1 TBS oil
2 1/4 cups warm water

DIRECTIONS

Combine flour, salt and yeast in a mixer bowl (I use my Kitchenaid stand mixer here to do the heavy work of kneading). Add sugar and oil to the water and pour over the dry ingredients. Knead well for about 7-8 minutes using the kneading attachment on your mixer. You should use the med/low speed (2/3 on the Kitchenaid mixer). Form into a ball and put into an oiled bowl turning once to coat dough. Cover with plastic and let rise one hour or until doubled.

Take a lemon size chunk of dough and form into a ball. Do not punch dough down and deflate. It won't rise as much if you do this. Poke a hole in the middle and stretch it out a bit (in the form of a bagel). Make sure the hole is at least the size of a quarter (this way you can still see the hole after it has risen). Make about 15 pieces.

Let rise 20-25 minutes. In a large pot boil about 6-8 cups of water and add 5 tsp baking soda along with 2 TBS sugar. Bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to low and boil 2- 3 bagels at a time for about a minute on the top side of the bagel . I usually do not turn the bagel to boil on the underside as I noticed that it can get too soggy.

Lift each bagel with a slotted spatula and drain all the water. Place on an oiled cookie sheet (bottom side down) or on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Brush the bagels with a beaten egg and sprinkle your favorite toppings. Preheat oven to 375, place in middle rack, and bake for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned.

Vegan Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups

Just like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, but much healthier and completely vegan. So easy too! I used the "Pounder Plus" 72% dark Chocolate Bar from Trader Joes and fresh made pure almond butter (just almonds, nothing else) from a local health food store. If you aren't vegan, you could use any type of chocolate or nut butter. I just used a greased muffin tin for a mold, but if you want those crinkled edges, you can line the pan with muffin cups. Just make sure you spray them with cooking spray!

Ingredients:

3/4 lb of 70% (or more) Dark Chocolate chips or bars

1/2 to 3/4 cup of almond butter

1/2 cup confectioners sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup almond milk

Break the chocolate into chunks and melt half of it in the microwave. Pour an even amount into each of 12 muffin tin cups. Put the muffin tin in the fridge or freezer until hardened (about 20 minutes). While the chocolate hardens, mix almond butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add milk a little bit at a time until the mixture is a consistency you like. Spread the mixture evenly over the hardened chocolate. Melt the remaining chocolate and pour over the filling. Bang the muffin tins on the counter a few times until the chocolate is spread evenly. Refrigerate again for an hour or until cups are hardened. Use a knife to slide the chocolates out of the muffin tins. Enjoy! Yum!