Carrot Date Muffins

Although I do indulge in culinary trends from time to time, I haven't jumped on the gluten-free bandwagon. There are plenty of people out there without a gluten intolerance that think going gluten-free is somehow healthier, but I'm certainly not one of them. That being said, if I come across something delicious that also happens to be gluten-free, I won't pass it up. Thanks to Good to the Grain, I have a deep appreciation (and large store) of less-than-mainstream flours. When I woke up New Year's Day in the mood to bake up some breakfast, I had everything I needed already in the pantry to make these coincidentally gluten-free muffins. Although they are a bit denser than ones I would typically make using whole wheat pastry flour, the lovely flavor of the almond flour makes up for the difference in texture. Carrots, dates, and maple syrup create a complex sweetness, combining beautifully with the rich nuts, aromatic spices, and tropical hint of the coconut oil. Naturally most delicious fresh from the oven, extras can be frozen so a quick breakfast is always at the ready. Whether you're going gluten-free or not, these muffins will get your day started right.

Carrot Date Muffins
adapted from Whole Foods Market
makes 12 muffins

2 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans
1/4 cup melted virgin coconut, high-heat sunflower oil, or canola oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
3/4 cup amaranth flour or millet flour
3/4 cup ground almond flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or oil with natural cooking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 375°F. Place carrots and dates in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse and then blend until finely chopped. Add walnuts and pulse to finely chop. Transfer to a bowl; add oil, eggs and maple syrup, stir to combine completely.

2. In a separate bowl, combine all remaining dry ingredients. Pour liquid ingredients over dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

Fresh Corn Muffins

The cooler temperatures of fall and winter call for soups, stews, and chilis, and when I have soup, stew, or chili I require some sort of bread product for dipping, be it crusty bread or rolls, crackers, or even a grilled cheese. When I made Three Sisters Stew, my thoughts immediately turned to cornbread, which I'd been craving for weeks. While even the simplest corn muffins make from Jiffy mix are delicious, I like to put extras into my corn muffins, like fresh corn, peppers, cheese, or bacon (or any combination of those ingredients). This corn muffin recipe is a great basic recipe, with just a bit of sweet fresh corn and spicy jalapeno pepper to punch up the flavor. The whole wheat pastry flour keeps the muffin light and airy and contributes just a touch of nutty flavor, instead of the traditional all-purpose flour that disappears completely behind the flavor of the cornmeal. These muffins take just a few minutes to whip up and any extras can be frozen and reheated quite successfully, so keep a batch in the freezer to make even a meager meal of canned soup a little bit special.

Fresh Corn Muffins
adapted from Food and Wine
makes 12 muffins

6 tablespoons canola oil 
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels (from 1 ear)

2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped 
Salt 
1 cup yellow cornmeal 
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 
1/4 cup sugar 
1 tablespoon baking powder 
1 cup buttermilk 
1 large egg, lightly beaten 

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a medium skillet. Add the corn and jalapeños, season with salt and cook over moderately high heat until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape onto a plate to cool slightly.

2. In a bowl, whisk the cornmeal with the flour, sugar, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add the buttermilk, egg and the remaining oil and stir until blended. Quickly stir in the corn mixture and pour the batter into the muffin cups.

3. Bake the muffins for about 16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Banana Walnut Bread

I've had a huge craving for banana bread all week and a snowy Saturday morning is the perfect time to whip up a loaf. I seldom buy bananas to eat plain, but I can't resist a piece of banana bread. I've been obsessed pumpkin baked goods lately and it's time for a change of pace. My favorite part about the Christmas season are all the wonderful cookies, cakes, candies, and breads and I'd bake something new nearly every night if I had enough people to feed with my culinary creations. While I love all manner of treats, I still like to make them as healthy as possible, using more nutritious substitutions when they don't detract (and perhaps even enhance) the flavor and texture of the final product. Many people think that banana bread is healthy just because it has bananas, but fail to think about the often copious amounts of butter and sugar and the refined white flour. This bread is made with whole wheat pastry flour and flaxseed meal with a sprinkling of heart-healthy walnuts and is great as breakfast, a snack, or even dessert (I prefer a slice with tea before bed). In a season of constant indulgences, it's good to have some treats that aren't a nutritional black hole.

Banana Walnut Bread
adapted from Cooking Light

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana
1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed. Add granulated and brown sugars; beat until combined.

3. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through ground allspice). Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended. Fold chopped walnuts gently into batter and pour batter into pan. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan; cool completely.

Honey-Walnut Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin...will I ever get tired of it? I don't see it happening, at least not in the foreseeable future. I've made the typical pumpkin quick bread many times in the past, but this year I wanted to find a more healthy, but no less tasty, version. And here it is! As is typical with most of the baked goods I make these days, this recipe uses whole wheat pastry flour but with an added nutritional boost from wheat germ and flaxseed meal. This bread is sweetened with a combination of honey and turbinado sugar instead of granulated sugar, which adds flavor instead of just sweetness, and the walnuts provide omega-3s and a nice texture contrast in this extremely moist bread. This bread is hearty enough for breakfast or a snack, but sweet enough for dessert as well.

Honey-Walnut Pumpkin Bread
adapted from Whole Foods
serves 8 to 10

Canola oil cooking spray
1 3/8 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed meal
1/4 cup oat bran or wheat germ
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons turbinado sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup milk
1 1/4 cups fresh or canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch loaf pan with canola oil cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, flaxseed meal, wheat germ, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a second large bowl, combine sugar, oil, honey, milk, pumpkin, egg and vanilla. Add this mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in walnuts.

3. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake until cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack then remove from pan and set aside to let cool completely.

Zucchini Bread

Just this week at work a coworker and I were discussing zucchini bread and serendipitously, it showed up for the first time at the farmer's market this week. I'd has zucchini bread in the back of mind for a few days, so I couldn't resist picking up a few even though they weren't on my shopping list for this week.

I reported the America's Test Kitchen recipe as a written, but made a few substitutions. I used white whole wheat flour in place of the all-purpose flour and used ground nutmeg in place of the allspice. I chose pecans instead of walnuts, although walnuts are also excellent in zucchini bread.

I also found that when I used the 8x4x2-inch loaf pan listed in the recipe that the batter overflowed. Luckily I checked on it early in the baking time and saw that it looked like it was going to overflow and put a piece of aluminum foil on the oven rack below to catch any spills. The bread also browned quite quickly and after 15 minutes I had to put an aluminum foil tent over the top to avoid burning the top. If I make this again, I think I'll try a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan and just keep a close eye on it, as I do anyway. Technical difficulties aside, this bread is sweet, moist, and delicious and well worth the trouble it took to make it.

Zucchini Bread
from The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

2 small zucchini (1 pound), ends trimmed
2 c. (10 oz.) all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground allspice
1/2 t. salt
1.5 c. sugar
6 T. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1/4 c. whole or low-fat plain yogurt
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 c. (2 oz.) pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8.5 by 4.5-inch loaf pan. Shred the zucchini using the large holes of a box grater. Squeeze the shredded zucchini between several layers of paper towels to absorb excess moisture.

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and salt together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, melted butter, eggs, yogurt, and lemon juice together until smooth. Gently fold the shredded zucchini and yogurt mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined (do not overmix). Gently fold in the pecans.

3. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the top. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, about 1 hour, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

 4. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool for 1 hour before serving.

Banana Bread

When I buy bananas, I rarely eat them raw and usually save them for banana bread. It's not that I dislike bananas, but I definitely prefer them as part of something else instead of on their own. I got a really good deal on bananas last week and have been eagerly anticipating making banana bread ever since.

I often like to switch out part of the all-purpose flour for wheat flour and add flax seeds for a boost of omega-3s.

Banana Bread
adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (4 to 5 medium)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil or melted butter or margarine
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of one 9x5x3-inch or two 7 1/2x3 1/2x2-inch loaf pans; set aside. In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Make a well in the center of flour mixture; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl combine eggs, banana, sugar, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir until just moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in walnuts.

3. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes for 9x5x3-inch pan or 40 to 45 minutes for 7 1/2x3 1/2x2-inch pans or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. If necessary, cover loosely with foil for the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning. Cool in a pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely before slicing.