My friend Tania requested I do a wheat-free muffin recipe. I love corn muffins with sweet or savory add-ins, and lately my favorite edition has been blueberries. Juneberries (serviceberries), blueberry lookalikes that grow freely in many parts of the United States and Canada, can also be a nice addition. When I am making corn muffins for myself, I usually include some … Read more
No slow cooker recipe this week! Instead I decided to throw together some pasta sauce with odds and ends in my fridge. I made this up as I went along, so you can do the same by adapting the recipe to what’s in your fridge and pantry. For example, if you don’t have a jar of roasted red peppers on … Read more
I was in the mood for something made with buckwheat, and while racking my brain for flavors that would go well with it, I hit upon cranberries. I almost always have a bag or two of whole, unsweetened cranberries in my freezer – I tend to buy several pounds in autumn when they are cheap and toss them in the freezer. … Read more
My two favorite desserts are “anything with chocolate” and “anything with pumpkin.” This recipe includes both – although with its relatively low sugar content, you don’t have to save it for dessert. This muffin does not have the cake-level of sweetness that you’ll usually fine in prepackaged muffins or the ones they sell at coffee shops. I use just enough sweetener … Read more
There are lots of recipes out there for vegetable stock and broth, but I tend not to follow any of them. It seems a shame to take vegetables at their peak and cook the dickens out of them, then throw them away. I prefer to make stock from vegetable scraps, instead. Whenever I prepare fresh veggies, I put the peelings … Read more
After I posted last week’s Nutella-inspired muffins, a vegan friend asked me for muffins with the flavors of a dark chocolate Reese’s peanut butter cup. I experimented a little and this is what I came up with. I would love to have an even peanutier taste, but these muffins are quite moist and I fear anymore peanut butter would make them dense. I’ve been thinking … Read more
I have three main motives for my love of crock pot cooking. I’m easily distracted, which can lead to burnt food when I’m cooking on the stove top. With a slow cooker, I don’t have to worry about that. I am an impatient cook when I am hungry. Slow cooking allows me to prepare a meal after breakfast or lunch when I am … Read more
This recipe is a marriage of two indulgences: my double chocolate muffins and Nutella. They are full of hazelnuts (or filberts, if you prefer) and chocolate in multiple forms. Hazelnut/filbert flour is available in some specialty stores, but you can also make it at home in a blender or coffee grinder. To get what you need for this recipe, pulse a … Read more
A friend of mine from college lived on a version of this recipe during her year abroad in Greece, then cooked it for us on many Fridays after her return to the U.S. I’ve been making it ever since. Brining the lentils is a trick I picked up while watching America’s Test Kitchen with my mom over the holidays. It … Read more
These muffins are packed with fiber and phytonutrients, but are still moist and sweet. They are a great way to use the applesauce I can each fall. When I make my own sauce, I leave the skins on, which provides more pectin and fiber. The skins break down in the cooking and further in the blender, so they aren’t noticeable … Read more