Strawberry-Balsamic Stoneground Cornmeal Muffins

live in the (berry stained) now.
Strawberry-Balsamic 
Stoneground Cornmeal Muffins

strawberries in all things because they are everything.

It recently came to my attention that I've been approaching this whole strawberry thing wrong for a good portion of my adult life. Call it something of a culinary epiphany. Each year I dutifully drive to the u-pick, spend the better part of an afternoon plucking perfectly ripe little gems straight from the plant, haul my pounds and pounds of berries back home and proceed to jam and can for what feels like days. Because of this my pantry shelves look mighty impressive, and I always have holiday gifts covered, but I eat shamefully few strawberries during their sadly brief season. As this summer began, I took stock of my still jam-packed (that's a pun, mind you) larder and decided NEVER AGAIN. Too much damn jam and not enough berries in my belly. This year I'm making a change. No more unnecessary self-denial.

Strawberries in/ on/ over all the things until there are no more. 

I'm living in the berry-stained moment.

Strawberry-Balsamic 

Stoneground Cornmeal Muffins

(makes 1 dozen medium muffins)

1c stoneground cornmeal

1 1/4c whole wheat pastry flour

1/2c unrefined sugar

1Tbsp baking powder

1tsp baking soda

1/2tsp finely ground sea salt

2tsp apple cider vinegar

1.5tsp vanilla extract

2c fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered

1Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1c unsweetened non dairy milk

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/4c canola or other neutral oil

extra sugar for dusting tops of muffins

Turmeric-Chili Cornmeal Muffins

yellow is a food group.

Turmeric-Chili Cornmeal Muffins

the realest of deals.

Turmeric is hot right now but not in that obnoxious paleo diet, food-trendy, "kale is the new everything" way. It's every inch the real deal. Let's tick off the positives, shall we? It is insanely good for you, a key component in an endless variety of awesome foodstuffs and as a bonus, it's PRETTY, like really, intensely, fully-saturated color-bomb pretty.  And as we all know, pretty food is the very best food. Long story short, turmeric deserves every bit of the praise that's being showered upon it (there's totally a dirty joke in there somewhere...). I've been on the turmeric train for years, but for some completely inexplicable reason, it did not occur to me until this very
moment to add it to baked goods.

This has been what one might refer to as a "eureka moment."
Turmeric-chili cornbread muffins are...EVERYTHING.
Like a heretofore undiscovered level of everything.
Get on it, kids.
 

Meyer Lemon-Cranberry Cornmeal Muffins

just think of lemons...

Meyer Lemon-Cranberry Cornmeal Muffins.

I had a friend growing up whose mother used to tell her, whenever things were a little less than perfect, to "just think of lemons." As angsty, jerky teenagers we found this advice more amusing than helpful. But now, as a marginally functional grown up, I'm finding that it actually works. While I do love a good "I'm not leaving the house at all" snow day, winter as a whole bums me out. It gets dark at 3:30 in the afternoon, the car is frozen shut every other morning and my toes are numb and frozen pretty much always. When Meyer lemon season starts things feel a little bit (metaphorically) warmer. 

So when life gives you a seemingly endless frozen tundra, 

think of lemons.

And when life gives you lemons, make muffins.

Or, as a wise man from Minnesota once said, paint that shit gold. 

Cranberry-Meyer Lemon Muffins

(makes approximately 15 muffins)

1/2c all purpose flour

1c whole wheat flour

3/4c cornmeal
2/3c organic sugar
1tbsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt
1tbsp apple cider vinegar
1.5tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2c halved fresh (or frozen) cranberries
1/4c raw walnut pieces (optional)
2tsp grated meyer lemon zest
1c unsweetened non-dairy milk
1/4c meyer lemon juice
1/4c canola (or other neutral) oil

1/2Tbsp extra sugar for dusting tops of muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Line muffin tin with paper liners.

Measure out 1 1/2c of cranberries, cut each in half, toss in a small bowl, set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt
and 1/3c of the sugar, whisk to combine.
Add the remaining 1/3c of sugar and 2 tbsp of the dry flour mix to the cranberries and toss gently until cranberries are well coated.
Stir in 1 1/2tsp of the lemon zest.Add non-dairy milk, lemon juice, vinegar, oil and vanilla extract to flour mix.
Stir until well combined.
Add in walnut pieces.

GENTLY fold cranberries into wet mix.
If using fresh, be more aggressive, but the frozen will bleed.

Fill muffin liners 2/3 full and shake pan gently to distribute.
Sprinkle the tops of each muffin with a pinch of sugar and reserved 1/2tsp lemon zest.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until tops are light golden brown and
tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Vegan Cranberry Orange Cornmeal Muffins

because... MUFFINS.
Vegan Cranberry-Orange Cornmeal Muffins

What better way to start your day?

So we all know the drill by now. Vegan muffins usually follow the same trajectory as vegan cupcakes; they're either dry and tasteless or over-the-top sugary. So how 'bout this: a homemade vegan muffin with a slightly savoy/ slightly sweet taste, a delicate crumb, awesome muffin-top crunch and packed full of start-your-day-off-right goodness like whole wheat, fresh cranberries and walnuts. The tartness of the cranberries blends perfectly with the subtly sweet, crunchy cornmeal and the
addition of olive oil add a rich savory note.
Sounds pretty good, right??
So...
Let's get baking.

Sliced fresh cranberries, measured and ready to go. 

Cranberry Orange Cornmeal Muffins
 (makes approximately 15 muffins)
3/4c all purpose flour
3/4c whole wheat flour
3/4c cornmeal
3/4c organic sugar
1tbsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt
1tbsp vinegar (white or apple cider)
1tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2c halved fresh (or frozen) cranberries
1/4c raw walnut pieces (optional)
1 1/2tsp grated orange zest (optional)
1c unsweetened non-dairy milk
1/4c orange juice
1/4c olive oil*

*you can use a more neutral oil, like canola or grapeseed,
but I prefer the richer flavor olive oil

Fresh cranberries before being folded into muffin batter. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Line muffin tin with paper liners.

Measure out 1 1/2c of cranberries, cut each in half, toss in a small bowl, set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt
and 1/2c of the sugar, whisk to combine.
Add the remaining 1/4c of sugar and 2 tbsp of the dry flour mix to the cranberries and toss gently until cranberries are well coated.
Stir in orange zest.

Add non-dairy milk, orange juice, vinegar, oil and vanilla extract to flour mix.
Stir until well combined.
Add in walnut pieces.

GENTLY fold cranberries into wet mix.
If using fresh you can be a wee bit more aggressive, but the frozen will bleed.

Muffin cups filled, sprinkled with sugar and ready for baking. 

Fill muffin liners 2/3 full and shake pan gently to distribute.
Sprinkle the tops of each muffin with a pinch of sugar.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until tops are light golden brown and
tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool and enjoy!

Vegan Blueberry Muffins

good and good for ya:
Vegan Wild Blueberry Muffins

Vegan wild blueberry muffins fresh from the oven.

There are few better ways to start your morning than with a fresh blueberry muffin. However, trying to find a good vegan muffin can be more than challenging. They are often either too tooth-breakingly dry or too tooth-achingly sweet, and forget about healthy. Before they turned into the monstrous, cake-y, chemical filled calorie bombs they are today, muffins were supposed to be a smart healthy breakfast, right?? Well this recipe is just that, low in sugar, packed with blueberries and completely non dairy. They bake beautifully and, when cooled, have that perfect cake-like muffin top we all crave. I prefer to use wild blueberries, I stock up on fresh ones in Maine over the summer and freeze them up for future use. You can find them fairly easily in grocery stores, along with other frozen fruits, but regular blueberries will work just as well.

Perfect Vegan Maine Wild Blueberry Muffins

makes 10-12 muffins

Pre heat your oven to 375 degrees and thoroughly grease your muffin tin.

Vegan muffin batter, ready for blueberries.

Ingredients:

1 1/2c all purpose flour

1/2c whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2tsp salt

1/2c vegan sugar

1c non dairy milk 

(I use hempmilk)

1/3 cup of a neutral oil (canola, grapeseed)

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

2c fresh or frozen blueberries (I use frozen wild blueberries)

Combine flours, baking soda, salt, sugar and stir to combine.

Add milk, oil, extracts and vinegar.

Stir until all ingredients are well combined.

Add in your frozen blueberries and gently fold to incorporate.

Fill your well greased muffin tins 2/3 full.

Greased muffin tins, filled and ready for the oven.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let use a dull knife to gently loosen any stuck parts from the muffin tins 

and turn out muffins onto a cooling rack.

Fresh from the oven and cooling down.

Allow to cool for a bit before eating.

These will keep very well in an airtight container for a couple of days

or for up to a week in the fridge.

Don't forget to share.