Banana Carrot Muffins

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Banana Carrot Muffins

Gluten/Dairy-free/Paleo

Adapted from DailyMeals by My Little Blue Heron

It’s back to school time, and for some, the end of summer is delicious. I haven't shared recipes for ages. I've shifted my diet from gluten and diary free to Paleo or "Palee-ish". I have a mess of famtastic recipes to share with you, and I hope to start churning them out on a regular basis (again.)

These easy and fun to make muffins will keep you happy and your pantry or freezer stocked with a delicious and healthful grab ‘n go breakfast, snack, dessert or teatime option. These may become your finest muffin accomplishment of the year. They're easily mine.

I am so happy to share this recipe and some MLBH trucs! Let's get crackin'!

My Little Blue Heron trucs:

My favorite almond flour is Wellbee’s. It’s ground super fine, and if you use almond

flour as a flour sub, it’s worth the price. I also use and like Anthony’s almond flour. It’s not

as super fine, but it’s excellent quality, and if you sift it, it’s beautiful. You can buy it for a

little (but not much) less. 

Buy organic bananas. I look for smaller and rounder/plumper fruit.

     

Buy organic carrots. Think about it: these are hanging out in the dirt where they could

be bathing in pesticides that will be inside of you. Organic carrots seem to taste sweeter.

Buy the biggest, fattest ones available. For this recipe, if you can manage it, shred the

carrots by hand. That way they won’t be soggy.

 I cop to Trader Joe’s walnuts. Fresh, inexpensive and delicious.

Diamond Crystal is the best kosher salt. It doesn’t have other stuff in it.

Use Ceylon Cinnamon. It’s supposed to be healthier because it doesn’t contain large

amounts of coumarin. Coumarin is an anti-coagulant (If you're of un certain age, you've

heard of the drug, coumadin) and it (like it seems just about everything) can mess with

your liver. This health warning is only if you eat cinnamon in bulk (I do). But another good

reason is that real Ceylon cinnamon is delicious and more delicate and finer. It's sweeter

than the 'other' cinnamons. Look at the label: it should come from Sri Lanka! Don't 

freak out if you're using Cassia or Korintje: you won’t get sick. This is just the current

buzz.

Maple syrup is personal. I like mine both dark and light. It depends on what I'm using it 

for. Paleo diets use NO refined sugar, so pretty much, we use maple syrup, honey, dates

and I use coconut sugar, too. Back to maple syrup: For baking, dark seems to work very

well. Grade “B” is no longer a grade, so you'll read descriptions that say, “formerly grade

b”. I found a wonderful Canadian brand that’s dark and delicious called Escuminac. It’s

so fine. A more economical option: NOW brand is organic and really delicious.

By now you probably know that when a banana is beyond recognition, you should

freeze it. Remove its skin and put it into a Ziploc freezer bag and smash it up (fun). Label

how many are in the bag. Use them for baking, in smoothies, or add to your hot (or cold)

cereal.

 I think buying already ground flax seed should not be your first choice. I think

buying whole seeds and grinding them in your spice grinder is what you should do. I

keep my flax seeds (I like golden ones, but after reading about it, I don’t think there’s any

significant nutritional difference between dark or golden) in the fridge. I add them to my

smoothies and grind ‘em in small quantities to add the ground flax to salads and cereal.

BTW: Did you ever think you'd eat linseed (in bulk)? 

Make these muffins on a rainy day or when the subway is messed up (both almost any day in NYC). Make them when you have too many bananas that are overripe, or when you want your kitchen to smell like carrot cake. If you're a teacher or you work in the schools or your child is returning to school, and you want to start getting it all together for the upcoming school year, start grating your carrots. 

For whatever reason you may choose to make these muffins, I hope you love making them and enjoy eating them.

With love and मेत्ता,

jane

Maple Syrup from Canada 🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

Banana Carrot Muffins

Equipment:

Muffin tin (12), silicone, non-stick, or old-fashioned muffin liners. Box grater, liquid measure cup, measuring spoons, whisk, measuring cups, large bowls, mixing spoons, spatula, optional Vitamix, optional electric stand or hand mixer.

Ingredients:

2 cups almond flour, finely ground, blanched

3 ripe bananas (from the freezer is great!)

3 eggs, size large, room temp.

3 medium organic carrots shredded (about 1 ½-2 cups)

¾ c. walnuts (or ‘other’ nuts of choice), chopped

2 Tbsp. flavorless oil (Canola, Grapeseed, Avocado, Sunflower)

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. ground cinnamon powder

¼ tsp. vanilla powder or 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. maple syrup

¼ c. dried currents or other dried fruit of choice

            (may use fresh berries or diced apple)

2 tsp. ground flax (flax meal) or chia seeds

variation for fall!: try a combination of diced dried apples and raisins, cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of freshly grated nutmeg, 1/4-1/2 tsp. ground allspice .. and the leaves'll start changing as you take a bite. 

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350º F. and put rack in the middle of the oven. Prepare muffin tins.

Shred carrots and set aside.

ORANGE!

Measure and chop walnuts and set aside.

Measure currents or ‘other’ dried or fresh fruit and set aside.

In a LARGE bowl: Measure almond flour, flax meal, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

Whisk together and set aside.

a whiskit (for my daughter)

In the container of a Vitamix (or with a hand mixer, electric stand mixer or you can do this by hand!), mix together: banana, eggs, oil, vinegar, vanilla powder (or extract) and maple syrup. (If doing by hand, first mash the banana and then add the rest of the ingredients).

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix well, until fully combined.

Fold in grated carrots.

Add walnuts and currents 'other add-ins' and mix until incorporated. (Don't be alarmed: this batter is wet!)

Fill muffin tins (they won’t rise much), and bake for 25-35 minutes, depending on size of muffin, how wet the batter, how accurate your oven is, and how firm you want the muffin to be. If you're finding it's not firm enough, bake a little longer. This is a MOIST (but not mushy) muffin.

Remove from oven and cool on rack. As soon as you can handle, remove from muffin tin so they won't steam. 

Cool completely and enjoy! Store in fridge for up to a week. Or, wrap in waxed paper and store in Ziploc freezer bags and pull from freezer. This may be politically incorrect, but they nuke really well.

Roasted and Ground Mushrooms

My mushroom knife from Dehillerin 

Roasted and Ground Mushrooms

Adapted from Martha Rose Shulman by My Little Blue Heron

I can’t think of one bad thing to say about mushrooms. If you're vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free or none of these, this recipe is a keeper that wears many hats caps.

This is easy to make and may be used as a substitute for chopped meat. Purée it and use as a base for dressings or dips. Make it Mediterranean .. with eggplant/tomatoes/olives, yeah! Layer it in casseroles. Mix into your mashed potatoes or latkes. Twice bake it into your baked potatoes with regular or dairy-free parmesan-style cheese. Add to tomato or ‘other’ sauces (mushroom bolognese!), to soup, or use it in omelets or frittatas.

Carnivores can love this recipe.

It's simple to prepare and so versatile.

Treat mushrooms tenderly and please keep them dry. Truc: When you get home from the market, remove them from cartons/plastic trays and store them in paper bags (like lunch bags.) 

Mushroom brush - a great way to clean mushrooms without water.

I'd rather clean a mushroom than any other room.

be happy, healthy, peaceful and live with ease in and out of the kitchen,
xojane

Roasted and Ground Mushrooms

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 pounds mushrooms, sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 400º F. and line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, or coat with olive oil.

In a large bowl, toss mushrooms with oil, salt and pepper. 

Spread in an even layer on the two prepared baking sheets and bake in the middle and lower racks of the oven for 20 minutes. If your mushrooms are thinly sliced, stir them after about 10 minutes and rotate pans. If thick, leave them alone and after 20 minutes, rotate the pans top to bottom, front to back and bake another 10-20 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and dry. 

Baking time depends on how your oven is calibrated, the thickness and moisture content of your mushrooms!

Truc: baking and cooking times are approximate. Consider the variables: your oven, the water content in your mushrooms, how you you've sliced them, how your pans conduct heat, your pan liners or coatings/fats, where your racks are (in your oven, smarty pants); and even your elevation (and it goes without saying, the color of your mood ring.) 

When the mushrooms look more or less like this:

remove from heat and allow to cool. They should be dried out, but not at all 'crisp.'

When completely cooled, grind in a Vitamix or pulse in a food processor fitted with steel blade until broken down into small pieces resembling ground meat.

Taste and adjust seasoning.
Store in fridge and use in any of suggested applications or in any of your own wonderful recipes.

Yield: approx. 2-2 ½ cups

Gluten Free Banana Bread

Gluten-Free Banana Bread
With dairy-free and vegan options

Adapted from King Arthur Flour by My Little Blue Heron

Gluten-free flour is a world. I’ve used packaged and I’ve begun to play around, making my own. There’s a science to mixing grains and “white flours” (i.e. potato or corn starch; and add to the mix the option to substitute ground nuts. If you’re not ready to “roll your own”, King Arthur flour’s g.f. flour mix is one of the best around. It’s reasonably priced, soy-free and easy to fool around with.

Altered liquid, fat and eggs are significant factors in pumping up the volume and creating space between the grains. Gluten is protein that holds baked goods together. When baking with wheat or other glutinous grains, we’re constantly nagged to never ‘over-mix’ batters or our cake will be tough. Tough cakes are glutinous cakes.

Xanthan gum is a binder, that holds the batter together. Guar gum has been said to be interchangeable with Xanthan gum. Xanthan gum is a ‘natural’ product but some people object to it. Some people object to carrageenan which is from seaweed. There are people with sensitivities to everything. Rather than poo-poo them or be judgmental, why not find what works best for you.

There are great GF cookbooks and they’re getting better. Much better.

Here’s a discourse from King Arthur Flour on converting to GF: link.

The original recipe used K.A. Flour’s G.F. Baking MIX (which contains Xanthan gum). I like to be the boss of my Xanthan gum, so I converted the recipe, affording you to use any g.f. flour. N.B.: Gluten-Free Baking Classics is an excellent primer on how to play around with making your own g.f. flour blends. The basic rule for adding Xanthan (or Guar) gum to cakes is about ¼ tsp. to each cup. I think it may be double for yeasted baked goods, like breads and pizza doughs (makes sense, doesn’t it?)

Buy organic bananas. They tend to (but don’t count on it) taste like bananas. When they turn too spotty and mushy, peel them, put them in a plastic freezer bag, mush it up and when you’re ready for banana bread, yes, you’ll have no plenty of bananas.

Whether you eat gluten-free, you’re cutting back on gluten, you’re g.f.-curious, or baking for someone you love who’s gluten free, this is a great recipe! 

For VEGANS: Substitute Bob's Red Mill's Egg Replacer (or your favorite egg substitute) and no more animals! 

For a less cake-like bread, use Cup4Cup's Wholesome blend (which already has Xanthan gum, so be sure to omit it in the recipe. This blend has whole flax seeds in it. 

I hope you live in peace, with love and ease (in and out of the kitchen),

xojane

Gluten-Free Banana Bread

Ingredients:

½ c./125 ml./113g. vegetable oil

1 c./198g. brown sugar, light or dark, firmly packed

3 eggs, size large, room temperature

2 c./454g. mashed ripe banana, organic preferred (about 4 1/2 medium bananas)

2 ¼ c./360 g. Gluten-free flour

½ tsp. Xanthan gum

¼ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. Kosher salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. (freshly) ground nutmeg (optional)

¾ c./80 g. chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

            OR ¾ c./124 g. g.f. chocolate chips or chopped g.f. chocolate

1 Tbsp. Organic Turbinado sugar for top of loaf, optional

           

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.

In a large bowl, measure or (preferably) weigh flour. Add to the flour, Xanthan gum, baking soda, salt and spices. Using a wire whisk or by sifting, mix dry ingredients together to combine.

In bowl of an electric mixer, blend the oil and sugar.

Add the eggs, mixing until well blended, scraping down, as necessary.

Add the mashed banana and blend.

Add dried flour mixture, mixing until blended. Scrape down as necessary.

Remove bowl from mixer and stir in the nuts (or chocolate) by hand.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes. (This is a G.F. procedure, get used to it. It allows for the absorption of liquids.)

Sprinkle with optional Turbinado sugar.

Bake the bread for 45 minutes (35-40 if making smaller loaves), open oven door and gently lay a piece of aluminum foil across the top to prevent over-browning.

Continue to bake an additional 20 to 25 (10-15 if making smaller loaves) minutes, until the top springs back and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few wet crumbs clinging to it.

Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Release from pan and stand upright and cool completely on a rack before slicing/eating. (This is pretty much a rule of thumb with gluten free cakes. They tend to be gummy before they’re completely cooled down – kind of like people feel when they’re worked up.)

When cooled, wrap well. This is best (like most GF baked goods) kept refrigerated. The loaf will keep well for months, frozen.

Yield: 1 loaf

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