Protein Packed Breakfast Muffins (Gluten-free) Revised

After some feedback that the original recipe I posted for these muffins were turning out to wet, I've revised the recipe a little bit, and here's a better, dryer recipe. The most recent batch I made were with Hawaiian purple sweet potatoes, black berries, and cocoa nibs. Delish.

These muffins are perfect for breakfast. They are hearty and dense and pack enough of a protein punch to help keep you going for hours. Seriously- after one of these muffins, a cup of coffee and some vitamin d, I go outside and yell "Bring it on world!" (Okay, maybe I just face my morning full of energy with a smile... same difference)

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups almond meal
1/2 cup hazelnut meal
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
4Tbs ground flax seeds whisked with 12 Tbs warm water
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1 cup mashed sweet potato* (cooked)
1/4 cup olive oil

Optional:
2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa nibs
2/3 cup raspberries, mashed**
If you are adding in optional ingredients (other than cocoa nibs), add in 1/2 cup ground hazelnut or 1/3 ground almond meal to counter the addition of wet ingredients.

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Mash or use immersion blender (or beater/ electric mixer) to blend all the wet ingredients into a smooth batter. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and then mix into the wet ingredients with a spoon. Scoop into a lined muffin tin (about 1/3 cup per tin). Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until batter has been cooked through. Eat, then conquer world.

*I have been using purple sweet potato (Okinawan potato) for muffins where I am using dark berries like blackberries or blueberries, as it gives the muffins a rich dark purple color, and orange sweet potatoes for red berries, pineapple and carrots as the muffins will be pink or orange.

**You can switch out the raspberries for any berry, or pineapple for sweeter muffins. For a savory muffin, substitute raspberries with shredded zucchini or carrot.

Hearty Minestrone

Minestrone is, simply put, a hearty, thick Italian vegetable soup. Usually it includes some beans and often pasta, though I think the inclusion of pasta can be a bit overkill. I suppose it just comes down to an individuals personal taste. Minestrone is diverse, and can include just about anything one can find to throw in a pot, making it pretty much a stone soup, sans the stone.

Minestrone is considered one of the cornerstones of Italian cuisine, and has roots stating back to the Roman Empire. The minestrone the Roman soldiers lived on was far from the modern version: they didn't even get to enjoy the more recent additions of tomatoes and potatoes that American cooks started utilizing in the mid 16th century. Other than slight tweaks though the ages, the soup often stays true its roots by using local, season vegetables.

So, now that you are aware of the history of minestrone, here's the recipe for a batch I whipped up while visiting my mother the other day. Have at it.

A Minestrone Recipe:

A Simple Curry

One of my favorite things in the entire word is having friends over for dinner. I like sequestering myself in the kitchen for a few hours and tuning into Thelonious Monk, playing mad scientist with spices, and ignoring the rest of the world until friends knock on the door and it's time to set the table. Sometimes I plate and serve full courses, and sometimes I spread all the elements on the table, and let my guests put together their own plates. The following curry works best in the latter format, as people can choose how much rice, vegetables, sauce, and garnish they want. It's a good meal for a smallish (4-6) dinner party.

Cilantro, Coconut Curry Sauce, Cumin Scented Rice, Roaster Cauliflower and Carrots, Steamed Spinach and Choi Sum

Curry Powder:

Chick’n ‘n’ Dumplings (slow cooker recipe)

I head into this years Thanksgiving with apprehension. It’s the first year in 5 years I am going to have Thanksgiving with my family, and while I am grateful, I do have apprehension. For the first time in 5 years, I will be having a mixed vegan and non-vegan Thanksgiving, and mixing family and friends. I’m making all the sides, plus an app and dessert that are vegan friendly. It’s a little stressful. And who has time to make a meal for themselves the day before with that pressure? Thankfully, I think I have found an answer: Slow cooker chick’n ‘n’ dumplings.

With the exception of the chick’n, I had everything else on hand, as the rest of the vegetables were all getting cooked in Thanksgiving dishes. That’s what makes this dish brilliant for the day before Thanksgiving– you can pretty much have everything on hand, and with little extra work, you’ll have an awesome dinner to empower you through cooking. 

Chick’n ‘n’ Dumplings (slow cooker recipe)

Shepherd’s Pie

Our friend Vanessa has been hounding me since we moved back a few months ago for the privilege of following me around the kitchen while I cook in an attempt gain some mad cooking skills through osmosis*. She finally invited herself over to make this dream come true today, but unfortunately, not realizing an eight week old baby affects scheduling, arrived more than a few hours late, just as I was putting dinner in the oven (don’t fret Vanessa, there are many more opportunities in the future).

Since the air finally took on that distinct crisp, fresh scent that means snow is on the way (which the weatherman has been promising), so I decided it was the perfect time to make Shepard’s Pie. If tender veggies and faux beef topped with mashed taters with a side of crispy kale seasoned with sumac doesn’t warm you to the core, just add in your wife, three good friends, and an eight week old baby snuzzling into your chest, and your heart will grow three times, like the Grinch’s did after the icicles around his heart melted.

Shepherd’s Pie

J.P.’s Itsy Bitsy “Meatball” and Dumpling Soup

I don’t know Joshua Ploeg, but I wish I did. Fortunately, he’s got a cookbook and a couple of zines out, so I don’t have to know him to be able to try and cook like him. See, Ploeg is a traveling vegan chef, riding the Greyhound and Amtrak through this land dubbed amerika, cooking dinner parties, sharing his cooking wisdom, and generally stirring up mischief (don’t trust me? Grab a copy of The Traveling Chef and read it. If you are fluent in the language of kitchen and not a prude, you will die multiple times from laughter.) 

At any rate, he put out a little gem of a cookbook a few years ago entitled In Search of the Lost Taste. It’s a whole $8, so just STFU and get a copy. It has tastes I would never think to put together, but I’m glad he did. From sweet to savory, sometimes using local fresh ingredients, sometimes using tofutti cream cheese, and always using what’s on hand (although you might not have it on hand…) it’s one of the most diverse little cookbooks out there. Plus he cooks the way I do, which is to say “if you’ve got some extra XYZ, you should just go ahead and throw that in there…” Like I said, it’s a little gem.

I made the Itsy Bitsy “Meatball” and Dumpling Soup last night, and if anyone wants a bowl, come hit me up, 'cuz I’ve got a ton of leftovers. I’m not giving you the recipe–that’s just rude to disperse others recipes, especially when the chef in question sell his book for $8. But I will say this. I added smoked paprika to the dumplings, had an adventure whist making vegan faux meatballs, used 2 bunches of carrots (as opposed to 2), and should have thrown in some taters and kale. The only issue I had was the dumplings were a little chewy, but everything I have made in the last few weeks that has supposed to be light and fluffy just hasn’t worked out. Please do not bring up the word “gnocchi” in my presence right now; I need a few weeks to get over that epic fail before I tell you the story. Also, if anyone runs into Mr. Plague, please let him know my birthday is March 6th, and I would like nothing more to have him cook a dinner party for me in my tiny kitchen with no counter space and my ¾ sized stove. At least I have a large stock pot, a cast iron skillet, and some decent Henckels. Thanks! Oh, and here's his recipe for pumpkin pie!

 

Curry Carrot Soup

Well, the rain has officially started here in the Pacific Northwest. Sure, we had a few day stretch about a month ago when it sprinkled, but that wasn’t really the start of the rainy season. A few last warm sunny fall days had been promised, so spirits were still high. And then yesterday happened. Gray and rain, and we officially stepped foot into the weather Seattle is known for. The showers permeated the city, the old windows in our apartment started to rattle against the wind and the “clunk, clink, whoosh” of the steam radiators that heat our apartment building kicked in at 7am.

Once I drug myself out of the quilted cocoon (a.k.a. my bed), and had a cup of tea, I spent the morning hanging shelves all over my apartment (which, by the way, has no storage, but very high ceilings). I realized around 3 pm I was famished, and found an onion and some carrots in the fridge: fixins for a perfect meal to welcome in the fall weather. Nothing beats hot soup on a cool day, especially when it doesn’t take much time or effort. 
 

Curry Carrot Soup