Cheesy Corn Muffins

I seem to have muffins on the brain, which is odd, because I rarely EVER bake. And - I just found the last of the 'Nacho Cheese-Teese Sauce' (from the great Teese recipe Challenge) stuck away in the freezer. Now, I have no idea if the fine Teese people recommend that you freeze the stuff or not, but it appeared to survive the Ice Age with no harm done.

Since I had cornbread muffins on the brain anyway, I simply melted the Teese and substituted it for part of the oil/milk. It really made the muffins moist, dense and just "cheesy" enough to compliment the other flavors.

Of course, you could substitute any "meltable" vegan cheese here.

Cheesy Corn Muffins

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup rice milk or soymilk
• 1/4 cup olive oil or melted margarine
• 1/2 a 'tube' 'Teese' Nacho-Cheese sauce (aprox 1 cup?) or equal amount other vegan cheese
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon maple or rice syrup, (or agave which I dislike, and it dislikes me as well)
• 1 jalapeño minced (or to taste)
• 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup corn kernels, patted dry (fresh raw, thawed from frozen or canned *gasp* yes indeed, I said canned!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Grease (fairly heavily with coconut oil or Earth Balance) a standard 12-muffin tin.
Combine the dry ingredients--cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Melt the Teese in the microwave or mix with margarine and melt on the stove if you're opposed to microwaves like I am. (The aliens and all... you know...).

Anyway.

Stir in the wet ingredients--soymilk, margarine/'Teese' mixture, vinegar, and maple syrup.
Gently fold in jalapeño, corn and cilantro.
Pour batter into muffin tins, slightly over 1/2 full.

Should make 12 muffins.

Bake for 18 minutes (more or less, depending on the type of muffin tins you have, your oven, the humidity and altitude and whatever other variables you can think of) until the sides begin brown and slightly pull away from the edge of the pan and wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Serve warm with margarine and honey (*gasp*) KIDDING or whatever you might use instead of honey...

Rhubarb Muffins

One more "SPRING" ingredient for you, RHUBARB!! (I guess it's also known as "pie-plant" to some? That was a new one for me, but it makes sense!)

I happen to work in a little town that calls itself the "Rhubarb Pie Capitol of the World".

I'm not sure how the town got the "Pie" title, but it is certainly surrounded by rhubarb fields that yield a beautiful harvest from now through early summer. Definitely been a major crop around these parts for quite some time and one that's anticipated by me with much excitement. I absolutely LOVE rhubarb!! The fact that it's local makes me even happier!

While I have a collection of pies, crisps, crunches and cobbler recipes devoted to rhubarb, this was my first attempt at making muffins and I think they turned out just about like I planned, sweet and spicy with little tangy bits of rhubarb. It's pretty basic. Feel free to play with the recipe as you wish!

Vegan Rhubarb Muffins

5 medium-thin stalks of rhubarb, diced finely
2 Tbsp. Turbinado, or white sugar

2 tbsp. ground flax seeds
3/4 cup almond (or other plant) milk

1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup Turbinado or white sugar

1 1/2 cups whole wheat (or half white/half wheat) flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. powdered ginger

1/2 cup softened vegan margarine (I use Nucoa)
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup sugar of your choice


Toss rhubarb with 2 Tbsp. sugar and let sit.
Preheat oven to 375 F, and lightly oil 8 muffin 'cups' in a standard-size muffin pan. (Or use muffin papers).

Make your "flax-egg": In food processor, blend flax seeds and milk. Blend well until flax seeds start to pulverise. Set aside.
Make cinnamon sugar: Mix the 1/3 cup sugar with 1 tsp. cinnamon. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, mix flour, salt, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, ginger and baking powder.
In a second bowl, mix the 1/2 cup sugar, margarine, vanilla and vinegar.

Add "flax-egg" mixture to the sugar mixture.
Combine the two mixtures, to make a smooth batter. Stir in rhubarb just until mixed. It should be too thick to pour, yet thinner than "dough". (Add a bit more flour if needed).

Spoon the batter into prepared muffin pan, with equal proportions for each muffin, about 3/4 full.
Sprinkle top with 1/4 tsp. of the cinnamon-sugar.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, and remove from oven when the muffins are golden brown on top. Let cool in pan for 10 min. and then remove.
Enjoy.

More Local Food and some musings on GMO's

Let me start by saying that the coming of spring, and the subsequent opening of farm stands and farmer's markets has renewed my conviction to go as organically and locally grown as is possible on my penny-pinching food-stamp budget, yet still eat beautiful, healthy, vegan food.

First, my rant: We all know GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms) are in some of the food we eat and probably aren't good for us. The more I've read, the more disturbed I've been about the loopholes that allow it to go un-regulated and the proven higher risks for children. Never mind the studies that show GMOs are introducing serious new allergens into foods and contributing to the spread of antibiotic resistance.

Unfortunately, unless you are eating an all organic diet, you are probably consuming far more GMOs then you realize (about 75 percent of the food in the supermarket contains GMOs). Even more unfortunately, those GMOs are probably hurting you more than you think. In fact, some countries consider them so bad they are completely banned from the country (and we have them in 70 percent of our food? Are we crazy? No - don't answer that).

The solution? Eat organic. The problem? In my little backwoods town, ("farming community" though it might be) there are few resources for organic produce, less for affordable organic options.

Yet one more reason I've begun to haunt the co-op, local road-side stands and farmers markets for local, organic and often wild-grown foods as much as my budget allows. This brings me to today's beautiful little ingredient: Wild fiddlehead ferns from my OWN BACKYARD!! Yes. Ferns. This little delicacy is found in the woods and along streams banks, and they are just starting to pop up this month. I saw them at the co-op (for a pretty price) and thought they looked mighty familiar, so following a lot of research and a hunch, I was delighted when I took some samples in to the co-op last week and they confirmed the little shoots in my backyard are indeed the edible variety from ferns. (As they reminded me - it's worth remembering that fully leafed-out fern fronds are actually toxic, use JUST the tightly coiled heads).

What a sweet little discovery! More than just their culinary (and monetary) value, I feel that wild food is on the opposite spectrum of genetically modified food. Wild food isn’t even cultivated, but simply needs to be gathered (and yes, they are generally very high in nutrients). On the other hand, genetically modified food took not only a lot of cultivation, pesticides and other "messing around with" by humans, but also required a scientist to create it in the first place. GMO’s are the scientific world's answer to nature’s natural resources.

My backyard isn't totally untouched and certified organic, it's just a field with brambles, weeds and a couple garden beds. But I don't use chemicals and we're not in the path of any run-off or toxic neighbors. Not perfect but I'm happy I have space to putter and play in the dirt. The fiddleheads were just an awesome spring bonus. (For more info on backyard foraging and fiddleheads in specific, check out this blog: Fat of the Land for local and wild (though not vegan) foods. This post was also inspired in a fit of jealous rage because I could not accompany my friends from Soundly Vegan who are out foraging their own wild green things today. ♥)

Anyway: My fiddlehead recipe? Nothing much, they're very simple to prepare and it's still rather inexact since the amount of fiddleheads I've cooked from time to time varies from three or four stalks to several cups...

Backyard Fiddleheads

• Blanch fiddleheads about three minutes. Rinse in cool water and rub papery skins off (if there are any).
• Set aside.
• In a saute pan, melt a little margarine over medium heat.
• Add a clove or two crushed garlic and saute for 2 minutes until garlic begins to cook but not brown.
• Add the boiled fiddleheads and a tablespoon or so of capers (if you have them) and continue cooking for an additional 2 minutes.
• Squeeze with some lemon juice and serve.

Garlic Scapes = Spring!

I finally accepted spring had arrived today, when I stopped by one of my favorite farm stands and they had garlic scapes!!

Let me introduce you to garlic scapes!! They are basically thin, young, curling, tender, green garlic shoots. They have a much milder 'greener' flavor than regular heads of garlic and show up every spring in Western Washington farmer's markets and road-side-stands.

If left unattended, the scape will grow larger and harden into the familiar opaque white/beige color of garlic peel. Keeping the shoot attached will also curtail further growth of the bulb. So, in an effort to allow the garlic to keep growing, the farmer cuts the 'scapes' or shoots - If you haven't tried them, you MUST!

Try dicing it into scrambled tofu (OR eggs if that's your thing!), adding to stir-fried veggies or as a garnish for rice or a creamy potato soup. My absolute favorite way to use garlic scapes though, is in pesto. The color is bright and green and the garlic flavor is fresh and light, not the strong, robust date-killing aroma that we all associate with garlic. (Don't get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE garlic in any shape or form or strength, but the mildness of garlic scapes is a refreshing change from the "regular" garlic that invades my kitchen!).

Here's my favorite, (and crazy-super-easy) scape pesto recipe:

Bright-Green Garlic Scape Pesto

1/2 cup roasted, shelled sunflower seeds (or pistachios are good here too, lightly salted is fine)
1/4 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup crumbled firm tofu
1/4 cup good extra virgin olive oil (you may need more)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 bunch garlic scapes (about 4 large)
1 small bunch of arugula, washed and dried (about 1 packed cup baby arugula leaves)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Put sunflower seeds and cashews in food processor and whiz until very fine. Add tofu, lemon juice and olive oil and blend until smooth. This may take a while.

Add garlic scapes, arugula and nutritional yeast and whiz until finely blended - it doesn't have to be a solid paste, but can be "chunkier" or grainy as you prefer... Add salt or pepper to taste if desired.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I tossed this pesto with fresh asparagus, peas and pasta for a TOTALLY yummy, locally grown, spring supper. Yum. Have a GREAT weekend!

VegFest Seattle 2010

Seattle's annual VegFest was held last weekend, and naturally, my Sprouts and I had to make our yearly pilgrimage to test, taste, sample and learn about all the new products being marketed at vegans, vegetarians and those interested in healthy living...


We even brought a van-load of (fairly willing and curious) friends, and while they aren't vegetarian, they still enjoyed the experience and came away with loaded goody bags and full tummies and (hopefully) some new ideas.


As a VegFest veteran, I've watched food and marketing trends come and go, (one year there were 42 hummus samples available!) but this year, my one-sentence assessment of VegFest would have to be: "Too many energy-drinks!" Wow.
I enjoy an occasional green-smoothie or meal replacement shake... but I prefer to make my own, out of fresh, raw fruits and veggies, thank you - without a two-paragraph list of ingredients and the ultra-spendy cost-per-drink that comes with the little nutrition-filled packets of whatever they were selling. I'm sure they appeal to someone. Just not me.


Nevertheless, there was plenty of other good veggie-feasting going on: burgers, dogs, dips, sauces, chips, dressings, tofu, breads (stay tuned for a BREAD-filled blog post soon) as well as our family's two long-time favorites: the good people at Field Roast and Dave's Killer Bread.

Through a FaceBook Fan Page promotion, my kids (AND their friends) read about Dave's Secret Password and they all scored awesome tee-shirts AND a picture with Dave himself, which TOTALLY made their day.

Let me tell you, this was a brilliant PR idea, as the kids are now wearing the shirts EVERYWHERE and insisting that their friends MUST try Dave's bread and furthermore, "...promise you'll ONLY eat Dave's bread from now on, because the stuff rocks and so does Dave and ALL the cool people eat it - duh!..." (their quote, not mine). It is good stuff indeed.

Field Roast was showcasing their "meatloaf" and had samples crumbled and seasoned into a "taco-meat" which was amazing (and the l-o-n-g lines can attest to!). Rumor has it (read their blog) they did sliders and sloppy joes earlier in the weekend, those would have been yummy too!
With the entourage of restless and wandering teenagers, (and I apologise to the Lara-Bar people, apparently some of us *ahem* may not have listened to the very stern and strict vendors at your booth and *may* have have come away with more than just "one" teeny tiny sample...) we didn't pause long enough to catch the speakers or presentations, though they had some good ones, as always; As a side note of trivia, one of the presenters, Dr. Helmuth Fritz, is a good friend of my parents, so it was cool to see him there.

I also ran into a lot of people I knew from work, church, FaceBook, Twitter, fellow blogger-friends (like the creative minds behind the Soundly Vegan blog - they spent the day volunteering there!) as well as quite a few readers who randomly recognized me from this blog. (*waves*).

It was a fun day for everyone, vegetarians, vegans and otherwise. It was great to see ALL of you, and if you're in the Seattle area next Spring, by all means consider checking out this fun festival of all things vegie-licious!