I’m not proud of this, but when I was in junior high, I ate taquitos from the cafeteria nearly every day. I don’t even want to think about what they were filled with, but I just loved them; mostly for the crunchy corn tortilla and the green dipping sauce with which they were served. We won’t even talk about the Hostess mini crumb donuts I ate too. Geez. Gotta love the offerings in school cafeterias. Sad to say it’s no better 30 years later. Did I just say that? 30 YEARS? “sigh”.
Anyway, I digress…sorry. As we all know, traditional taquitos are deep fried. We also know deep fried foods = bad news. I set out to create a plant-based taquito that I could bake, but would still be crunchy. I don’t cook with oil as a rule, but for form and function, a small amount was required for this to work. I tried it without. Fail. However, I was amazed how such a small amount could make a difference. 1 tablespoon of olive oil or less for the entire batch of 12 taquitos. Not bad. Since these taquitos are filled with potatoes, I’m calling them paquitos. 🙂
These muffins are very similar to my Sunshine Muffins, with a few small changes, and the addition of blueberries and poppy seeds – yummy. I have only used fresh blueberries in this recipe but frozen (thawed) would work too. These go VERY quickly in my house.
I’ve been craving lemon lately, which isn’t normal for me. I’m guessing it’s because I associate lemon with spring and the outdoors, which are two things I also crave. Living in SoCal the winters are really no big deal, but it’s still winter, and we have our days of no sun, with plenty of rain and even some cold temps (all relative, I understand). Whatever. I’m over it. However, since I have a ways to go until fairly consistent warmth and sunshine ensue, I will satisfy my cravings with muffins like these. To me, they taste like sunshine. The cardamom flavor paired with the fresh lemon is quite delicious. And the best part is they are healthy, using whole grain flours, no animal products and no added fat. The sun is shining in my kitchen!
Extras: 1) Top muffins with candied lemon zest just prior to cooking for extra lemony goodness. 2) Add 1-2 TBS poppy seeds to batter for Sunshine Poppy Seed Muffins. 🙂
UPDATE 2/12/13: Apparently the cardamom I used the first few times I made these had been around awhile. I purchased fresh (as fresh as you can get in the store) and used it in the recipe yesterday and the cardamom flavor was way too strong for my tastes. If you like it strong, stick with the 2 tsp, but I’m adjusting the amount to call for 1/2-1 tsp. Also, I felt the need to improve texture a bit. I wanted to lighten them a little; do something to help them rise a bit more (always tricky with fat/free, vegan baking). I added ground chia seeds/water and was very happy with the end result. You can grind them in a clean coffee grinder or blender.
Winter Spice Cookies
These cookies have the flavor of a gingersnap, and the texture similar to a molasses chew. Usually I make things a few times after I create them before posting the recipe but not this time. I’m just that eager to share.
I’ve been asked several times lately if whole wheat flour can be used in place of oat flour in my recipes similar to this one. My answer is yes, however I’d use whole wheat pastry flour since it’s finer than regular whole wheat, which may be too coarse. Using all whole wheat in this recipe, as opposed to half oat and half wheat, would probably result in a less dense cookie, which may or may not be your thing. Personally, I’m all about dense. As I’ve mentioned before, light and airy makes me feel like I ate just that – AIR! The reason I use oat flour in so many recipes is not because I have anything against wheat. I don’t. It’s just that wheat is everywhere, in so many forms. I just like to sub other types of flour, and stay away from wheat when easily doable so that I’m eating more variety, and not so much wheat. As well, many people eat gluten-free diets so I try to incorporate as many suitable recipes as I can into my repertoire.
One more thing. The batter for these babies is SO good. I may or may not have eaten an entire cookie’s worth of batter. 🙂
Quinoa. Not my favorite grain, but I’ve included it in my diet for several years now as I know it’s super healthy. It’s packed with protein (a complete protein containing all 9 essential amino acids), fiber (twice as much as most other grains), vitamins and minerals, and it’s gluten-free. I knew it could be eaten as a hot breakfast cereal, and on this cold, drizzly morning I decided to give it a try. Generally, I have my smoothie which has mixed frozen berries, banana, kale, spinach, flax seeds, etc., but just wasn’t feelin’ it today. I’m so glad I mixed up my routine. This hot cereal is so good! Experiment with different fruits and maybe add a sprinkling of chopped walnuts or ground flax seeds.
Whenever I serve this thick and creamy potato chowder to guests (non plant-based), they can’t believe it doesn’t contain dairy or cheese. For an even lower-fat version, leave out the cashews. The result will still be delicious.
A delicious spin on basic hummus. Make sure to use fresh basil! Dry just won’t give you the same, wonderful flavor. Hummus is so easy to make – there’s really no need to ever buy pre-made, especially considering how much fat is in most store-bought varieties.
Several years ago, I asked hubby for a bread maker. My big plan was to make lots of fresh-baked loaves of bread and never have to buy another loaf again. Ah, to be young with such lofty goals. I baked one loaf, it wasn’t great, and the unit was stored in the garage for several years. My older, and much wiser self decided to dust that bad boy off and give the whole bread-making thing another shot. SO glad I did! My amazingly wonderful friend Donna makes bread all the time and is always telling me how fun and easy it is – and how great it makes the house smell. She was so right!
I did some research and played around a bit with ingredients and ultimately came up with this whole grain treat. If you don’t have a bread maker, ask Santa or whomever to bring you one. You literally dump the ingredients in the metal “bowl”, and walk away. Definitely the lazy man’s way to make bread (though not as lazy as buying a loaf at the store!).
I created these muffins using the nervous energy I had yesterday, election day. I find elections, and politics in general, very stressful! Creating recipes and cooking is therapeutic for me. Combine that with the fact that I LOVE gingerbread, and you have these moist, delicious muffins.
UPDATE 11/11/12: I made these again but added a little holiday twist this time around. I sprinkled crushed peppermint candy on top before placing muffins in the oven. The combination of peppermint and gingerbread was a real treat!
I’m all about the pumpkin. It’s one of the many things I adore about fall. I love the look of those orange beauties, and the flavor of anything pumpkin. I only wish the pumpkin bread, scones and pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks were healthy! Oh well, these little treats, along with my Pumpkin Pancakes (see Recipes), and Pumpkin Pie Minis (recipe coming soon) will suffice. They do contain chocolate chips, taking the healthy factor down a notch, but it’s a small amount and just enough to make you feel like you’ve been treated.
