Cranberry Lemon Muffins

It's been a long time since I've been this excited over a baking recipe.

A simple ingredient list and easy mixing by hand really makes this recipe appealing, and since I have a definite affinity for both cranberries and lemons, I was smitten with these from the first bite.   

These muffins are bursting with bright lemon flavor thanks to a generous helping of fresh lemon zest, and every bite is kissed with tangy, fresh cranberries. 

The coconut flour gives these an incredibly delicious, slightly nutty background flavor and adds to the overall sweetness of these. My latest favorite flour, it adds depth to any recipe it graces.  

Slicing the cranberries in half takes some time, but don't let that deter you from making these muffins.

Trust me, they are worth it. 

I used Pacific Northwest - grown cranberries, which, here in California, are definitely fresher than their Eastern counterparts. The recipe actually came from the bag; I adapted it, switching flours, and replacing margarine, milk, and refined sugar with less-processed ingredients.

The result is a moist, tender muffin that I can feel good about eating.

Try these with tea.   

This recipe makes a very thick batter. I used an ice cream scoop to portion out the dough between 12 muffin cups. 

Cranberry Lemon Muffins

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2 cups fresh cranberries

1/2 cup almond milk

1 cup evaporated cane sugar

1/4 cup coconut oil, softened

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 eggs

Zest of one large lemon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups spelt flour, minus 1/8 cup

1/8 cup coconut flour

2 tsp baking powder

Before you do anything, slice the cranberries in half, then set them aside.

Heat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, mix sugar, salt, oil, eggs, and milk. Zest the lemon over the bowl, add vanilla, and stir.

In a smaller bowl, whisk the flours and baking powder together.

Add to the wet ingredients and stir until smooth.

Fold in the sliced cranberries.

Divide batter evenly between 12 paper-lined muffin cups. 

Bake 25 minutes, or until slightly golden at edges and a toothpick comes out clean from the center of  the muffins.

Let cool and eat the same day for the freshest taste.      

Recipe adapted from HBF International Northwest Fresh Cranberries.

Persimmon + Ginger Kombucha

This honey-gold brew is especially delicious this time of year. 

It combines the taste of a ginger beer with that of the buttery-sweet persimmons

to make a slightly fizzy, balanced beverage that is neither too sweet nor too tart. 

Finally, a good use for overripe persimmons; in fact, the softer the better for this recipe.

The ducks are always interested in what we're eating, even kombucha!

Depending on how ripe your persimmons are, you may be able to just remove the stem at the top and put the soft fruit into the kombucha to infuse as is. 

[Below: Ducky was very interested in the bag of persimmons, and persisted his begging until we gave him a piece of one, which he wasn't thrilled with. The girls were more interested in the delights the flat of calendulas had to offer them.

  

Coco's big eyes widen at the sighting of a particularly juicy-looking slug: ]
Aren't her petite little tootsies just adorable!?

This was my first attempt at infusing kombucha, using my very first home-brewed batch. 

It turned out so much better than I'd hoped - a raging success. I can't really believe it!

Quality ginger-root is key here.

Look for the smaller, golden-fleshed roots that have been showing up recently in health food markets; these are grown in Peru and are far more potent than their larger, grown-in-China counterparts. Of course, homegrown would be far superior to any roots you could buy.  

Persimmon + Ginger Kombucha
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You will need 1 1/2 cups of diced fruit and a roughly 1-inch length of thinly-sliced, unpeeled fresh ginger root for every half-gallon of kombucha you plan to infuse.

Start with plain homebrewed kombucha that is finished fermenting to your taste.

Brew a fresh batch of sweetened tea for your SCOBY.

Set aside one cup plain finished tea for inocculating the new tea.

The rest of the finished kombucha can be infused.

To infuse, place the kombucha into a clean jar and add the diced fruit and ginger.

    Let this infuse for about three days, or to taste. The finished brew should be slightly effervescent and a beautiful deep golden-orange color.

This can be sipped as is, or, for more carbonation, bottle and refrigerate for a day or two, until the desired amount of bubbles is reached.

Giving Thanks

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Above is a pic from our Thanksgiving.  Our own homegrown calamondin limes and juice from local tangerines freshly squeezed that morning went into the cranberry sauce. It was a good day.

Rustic Pear Tart

Tart as in cake topped with fruit and baked, not the filled crust-type tart. This is more of a European terminology for any kind of cake or pastry with fruit. The rustic kind of tart.

Home grown bartlett pears graced this tart, and homemade apricot nectar gave it the finishing touch. 

(See my recipe for Homemade Apricot Nectar here ).

This is a sturdy, wholesome dessert; a no-fuss recipe which is very easy to put together.

The simple preparation lets the pure flavor of pears shine through.       

 Be sure to use a springform pan (see note below) as it allows for more room that a typical cake pan and helps to keep the tart from crumbling.

Rustic Pear Tart

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1/2 cup (1 stick) organic butter

Juice of 1/2 a lemon, devided

 1 pound firm-ripe pears, cored and sliced 1/2-inch thick 

1 cup spelt flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp sea salt

1 cup natural cane sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

 Apricot jam, for glazing (optional) 

Butter a 9-inch springform pan* and set aside.

 Squeeze half of the lemon juice over the sliced pears.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt, & baking powder.

With a mixer, cream the butter and sugar for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Spread batter in the prepared pan, smoothing to the edges.

Wrap and chill in fridge for 20 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 F.

Arrange the pear slices on top of the chilled batter in concentric circles, or any way that pleases the eye, so long as there is a single layer (slices will overlap slightly).

Bake 45-55 minutes, until edges are just golden and center is set; do not overbake.

Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove from pan to a wire rack.

While tart is still warm, glaze with the jam, if desired. (A pastry brush works well for this.)   

 Slice & serve.

* if pan is non-stick, line buttered pan with parchment and then butter the parchment. This is a good way to protect food from exposure to the Teflon-laced nonstick coating, in the absence of a stainless steel pan.  

A Wishlist of Books

From favorite bloggers, foodies, homesteaders, foragers, artisans, publishers... and a few new faces, 60 enticing reads I can't wait to get my hands on.

Our first forays into dehydrating

Recently, we've been up to our elbows in delicious, local fruit. Many neighbors have offered us a share of their beautiful fruit trees' harvests.  Besides devouring fresh fruit, and canning a little bit, we've dehydrated.

Dehydrating does an excellent job of reducing the bulk and weight of produce, without destroying nutrients, as cooking can.  And, I was quite surprised to see it; home-dehydrated fruit keeps its color beautifully, without anything at all added to preserve it.

 When there's just not enough time in the day to can it all, it's time to break out the dehydrator.  Ours is an old model, very 80's with it's wood-look exterior, quite roomy and in mint condition.

In contrast to canning, the whole process was very meditative. It was just chopping the fruit, placing it carefully spaced on the trays, and flipping the switch to "on". 
  After that, just let the machine hum quietly the next day or two, until the produce is fully dry; it'll be either crisp and snap when bent, or leathery, depending on the type of fruit.
   Apples, peaches, and oranges were crisp, where plums, bananas, and grapes stayed leathery.

Dehydrating food may not be as glamorous as putting up jewel-colored, canned preserves, but nevertheless is an exceptional way to store food for the long term safely.      

Anyone can do this; it's just so easy. The key is to get the freshest produce, then follow these steps:      

First, start on a warm, dry day (this will help speed the process). 

Gather the best produce you can find.    

Apples, grapes, oranges,

                                                    plums, and peaches all work well.

Slice, place on dehydrator racks, and set machine to run.

 After fully dry, store the bounty, in glass or pottery (plastic will flavor the food) and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with preserving quality food.

Further reading: see Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrator Cookbook ,

a selection from my canning & preserving book list.



Pickled Jalepenos

These are also known as vegetables en escabeche; marinated, basically. 
Pickled jalepenos are a particular favorite of mine; I've been known to eat almost a whole can of them in a day.  They go with everything.
Adding the brine is my secret to incredible guacamole!  

As a variation, you can mix & match vegetables; I combined carrots with the jalepenos to make pickles just like the ones that we get from a local taco place. They're truly addictive!  

This takes up so little time from start to finish; it's the perfect pickling project for beginners and busy, busy people alike.

PICKLED JALEPENOS

1 1/2 cups white wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons pink salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
2 teaspoons cumin seed
2 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 large bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, sliced
8 or more large jalepenos, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds -
   as many as needed to fill the jar to within 1 inch of the top.

Combine water, vinegar, salt, the celery, cumin, and coriander seeds, the peppercorns, and the oregano in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
While the brine comes to a boil, pack the jalepenos into a quart jar, and place the garlic evenly distributed throughout. Add the bay leaf.
Pour the hot brine into the filled jar, covering the jalepenos completely. Let cool to room temperature, cap the jar, and then refrigerate for at least one week to allow the flavors to fully develop.
These only get better with time, but they're so delicious, they don't last.

Adapted slightly from It's All Good by Gwyneth Paltrow        

Chocolate Pudding

Rich, glossy & sumptuous, this incredible pudding is made with only a handful of ingredients and it couldn't be easier to prepare. 

The recipe this is based off of called for ingredients to be thrown in the food processor, which I don't have. So I tried using the blender, which didn't get me anywhere. 

It's much easier to do this by hand than to use the blender. The key is to completely mash the avocado before adding the other ingredients. After that, just whip it up & try not to eat it all!

Who knew that avocado could be turned into such a silky, luxurious treat?

The avocados - any kind will work - should be really, really ripe for the best texture; in fact, this would make excellent use of slightly overripe avocados.

I used saguaro honey (continuing the "what grows together goes together" theme), but any kind would be good.  A 50/50 mix of regular and Dutch-process cocoa was used for this, but either would be fine. 

Try adding a drop of almond extract along with the vanilla for a variation. It's amazing.

Chocolate Pudding

2 large avocados

5 Tablespoons cocoa powder   

1/4 cup honey

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Splash of almond milk

Fully mash the peeled avocados; whisk to remove any lumps.

Add the rest of the ingredients, and whisk until thoroughly combined.

Pudding should be uniformly colored, and it'll be quite thick.

(Extra almond milk can be added to thin it down if needed.)

Makes enough for two.

Refrigerate any leftovers.

Leftovers. Like that's gonna happen!

an *anyfig.blogspot.com* recipe; adapted

 from a Whole Living recipe

Alfredo Sauce // Raw, Vegan

Creamy Alfredo Sauce

2/3 cup almond milk
1/3 cup walnut pieces
1/4 cup almond meal
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 - 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 - 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
salt & pepper, to taste
Sprig rosemary, chopped fine
Garlic and onion powders, to taste

First, blend milk & walnuts on high, then add the almond meal; blend to combine. The mixture will be quite thick at this point. With blender running on low, add the rest of the ingredients, one by one.
Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. This takes more pepper, and less salt, than expected.  
The nutritional yeast can get too strong, so add carefully.
Lemon juice is an absolute must - lending the required tanginess without overpowering, as vinegar does.

If sauce is too thick, add more almond milk and blend to thin it.

Important:

don't toss this with hot noodles; the heat will cause the sauce to "curdle".

It won't be smooth and  silky like alfredo sauce should be; it'll still taste good, however.

Garnish with lemon thyme - delicious!

Lemon zest would be a good addition to the sauce, as would most any herb. 

This, on sauteed mushrooms? It'd be amazing!

This would also make an excellent salad dressing.

It's just an added bonus that it's raw, vegan, and actually GOOD for you!

Inspired by a recipe in the April 2014 issue of Taste for Life

Angelfood Cake Shake

This tastes remarkably like angelfood cake.

 When I say that, I mean, the best of the cake, as I know it - almond-y, sweet, light - is condensed, except raw and vegan, of course, and in drinkable form! 

This shake was made up on the spot, another recipe from The Accomplice.

It makes good use of soaked almonds - raw almonds which have been almost-sprouted by an overnight soak in cold water to cover.  When prepared this way, almonds retain their crunch, but are much more easily digested than the unsoaked version, they're quenching and very addicting and once you try them, you won't want to go back to unsoaked. I'm definitely spoiled for life for any others.
Soaked almonds keep several days at room temperature as long as the soaking water is replaced with fresh, cold water each day.  They make an amazing snack just on their own.      

Vanilla bean would add greatly to this.

Angelfood Cake Shake

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2/3 - 1 cup Medjool dates

About 5 cups water

2 tablespoons tahini

1/2 cup soaked almonds*

5 drops almond extract

Blend dates, water, and tahini until dates are

broken into tiny pieces. Blend again.

Then add the almonds, blending until broken down.

Let settle; then blend again.

By now it should all be emulsified.

Add extract and blend a final time.

Drink immediately. 

*see above for description

an original recipe from anyfig.blogspot.com

Millet & Lentil Salad + Cumin & Lime

A riff on the tabbouleh salad I love so much, served at a local Mediterranean food place,

this version is gluten-free and very colorful.

It's fresh and bright; sure to put a spring in your step.

 

Millet is incredibly good for you, loaded with B-vitamins and one of the few alkalizing grains.

The parsley is rich in minerals and very purifying for the kidneys. The lentils provide high-quality protein, and when combined with grains like rice or millet, a complete protein.

Limes are also alkalizing. The apricots are a source of vitamin A, an essential for the eyes. 

                        This salad comes together very quickly.  It's ideal as a clean option for lunch. 

Cumin-Lime Millet Salad

1 1/2 cup millet

1/2 cup lentils, regular, brown/green

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

7 cups hot water ~ cold can be used; it'll just

    take longer to come to a boil 

      Onion powder, garlic powder, celery seed,

 rosemary, oregano, & salt - to taste

Toast the first three ingredients in a dry pan over medium heat

until deeply golden and deliciously fragrant.

Add water & spices, bring to a boil, then lower heat and

simmer, covered, until liquid is mostly absorbed.

Meanwhile, finely chop

1 cup dried apricots 

 1 Persian cucumber 

1 bunch parsley 

                                                  1 bunch green onions ~ using both green and white parts

Add chopped apricots to cooked millet mixture;
cover to let apricots plump up; remove from heat. 

Toss the next three ingredients together in a large bowl.
Once millet mixture is cooled, add about half of it to the bowl & stir to
 combine it all; you want a good millet-to-veggie ratio; half may be enough, and you can always add more.

Finally, dress the salad with
a generous drizzle of quality olive oil,
the juice of 3 limes & their zest (if using zest, grate limes over salad prior to squeezing them) 
and salt & pepper to taste.

Serve with additional lime wedges and mint tea to drink. Enjoy!

** an original recipe from http://anyfig.blogspot.com ** 

Soda Bread

This is the only photographic record of the two loaves of soda bread I made over the last couple days.

 They disappeared fast.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, of course, soda bread is sort-of tradition around here. 

Looking at the recipe we've always used, I was momentarily appalled; two eggs;

 so much buttermilk! And sour cream. I was not about to use those ingredients, let alone that amount.

I remembered reading something about how coconut milk can be used to replace sour cream (or was it yogurt? Or both?).  And I knew that if you add an acid to milk you can substutute it for buttermilk.

So, thus began the experimental vegan-izing of Irish Soda Bread.

It turned out quite well.

I didn't want to use 3 whole cups of raisins, and we didn't have regular ones anyway.

Golden raisins were substituted to good effect; they lend the loaf an excellent tang, a brightness.

Also, we discovered that, like many breads, this is best eaten fully cooled, preferably the next day. 

This soda bread is amazing when paired with tea. Try it dunked in a robust black tea (we had Twinings "Irish Breakfast" tea) with a little leftover coconut milk stirred in.

A delicious & quick snack.

This also goes perfectly with pea soup.

My Soda Bread  

1/2 cup natural cane sugar

1 cup oat flour

3 cups all purpose flour (unbleached)

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

2 cups golden raisins

2 Tbsp flaxseed meal

6 Tbsp warm water

2 cups full-fat coconut milk

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Pre-heat oven to 350F.  Grease a 9" glass pie plate (deep-dish). Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the raisins.

In a smaller bowl, combine the milk & lemon juice; set aside.

In a glass, stir together the flaxmeal & warm water; set aside for about 10 minutes.

Whisk this flax mixture, then combine with the coconut mixture; stir well until combined.

Pour mixture over the dry ingredients. Fold everything together until flour is just moistened.

Pour dough into prepared dish and smooth top. 

Bake 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in pan, then cut into wedges.  

   

** An original recipe from http://anyfig.blogspot.com **

Pea shoots, from garden to table

Pea shoots are in season right now, and taste so very green and vibrant - a sure sign of spring to come.  I love picking them from the garden, snacking as I go.

According to peashoots.com, they have seven times more Vitamin C than blueberries! No wonder they hit the spot.  They are amazing just plain, but they make an exceptional garnish for soups - uncooked, of course.  (Vitamin C is one of the most easily-lost nutrients when cooked.)

I made a version of this soup today, using available ingredients, and using coconut oil instead of sunflower. I also omitted the ginger tea powder and used fresh-grated ginger + coconut sugar instead.  I also left out the jasmine tea, and used liquid from some steamed vegetables that happened to be on hand.

The vegetables used usually reflect the time of the year - this batch for instance, with collards, broccoli, and cauliflower, as well as pea shoots, seems somewhere in between winter and spring.     

As you can see, the recipe can be varied widely - sometimes I've added sweet potatoes at the start with the onions, or sometimes carrots. As long as the essentials of ginger, onions, mushrooms, and soy sauce are used, the rest of the ingredients can be switched around to your liking.   

 Here's to spring. Enjoy!

The end of winter?

The honeybees, and the peach trees, seem to think so.

Rice pudding, revisited + a variation

Possibly my favorite dessert, ever.

This version of my rice pudding uses meyer lemon zest for an extra kick. The basic recipe here.
Also, I used coconut oil instead of avocado.  


(NOT an endorsement for Coca-Cola;  I just love the image on the glass)


 This time it turned out much more 'rice-y' - I used a larger rice-to-liquid ratio. I quite like the thick, creamy result!  

I don't know why, but rice pudding just goes perfect around this time of year.

Just in time to celebrate Lunar New Year!