Apple-Banana Muffins

October 23, 2015October 23, 2015 / ktbuchs87

I like to eat, eat, eat, eeples and baneenees.

If you have no clue what I am talking about, you need to spend more time in pre-school.

Last week I went to the apple orchard with my dad and came home with a whole peck of apples. I’ve already made a huge batch of my squash apple butter, eaten as many raw as I can, and a tart is in the works.

I also wanted to try making a bread with my apples and I had a few over-ripe bananas sitting on my counter so I thought an apple/banana combo was in order. Two baked goods in a row on the blog… Lucky you!

While my baking is getting better, I still run into a few problems now and then. When I made my first batch of my bread concoction, the flavor and texture were right but it did not hold together very well. My second time around I tweaked a few things and decided to make them into muffins instead of one loaf.

Success!

I ended up with a yummy fall inspired muffin that also happens to be gluten free, dairy free, egg free, and refined sugar-free. Pretty impressive if I do say so myself!

Apple-Banana Muffin

1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup coconut flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3 tbsp date sugar or coconut sugar
1/2 cup almond milk
2 large ripe bananas (the riper they are the sweeter the muffin will be)
1 tbsp molasses or maple syrup
2 tbsp macadamia nut butter or almond butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large apple, shredded (more subtle apple flavor) or small diced
16-18 whole pecans, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a muffin tin with paper liners
Combine all of the wet ingredients and mix well until you have a smooth batter.
Combine all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine. The batter will be a little stiff, that is ok.
Add in the shredded or diced apple and stir to mix everything together
Spoon a little over a tablespoon of the batter into each muffin well and press down just a little. Press one pecan onto the top of each muffin.
Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is slightly brown and batter is set.
Let the muffins cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.

These are kind of like fall in a muffin wrapper and that isn’t a bad thing. You could also try making this into two mini loaves if you really wanted bread.

Anyone have fun plans for this weekend? Adam and I are planning on just hanging around our neighborhood and relaxing. Oh and if you’re keeping count, only 8 more days until my birthday. Delicious food presents welcome…

Happy weekend friends!

DIY Wednesday: Herbed Macadamia Butter

October 21, 2015October 21, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Have you ever seen a log of herbed butter? All cut into pretty round slices and full of delicious herbs like parsley, chives, basil, and oregano?

This is not like that.

Well, it’s sort of like it but not quite. I had the idea to try and come up with an alternative to those fancy herbed butters that are so delicious. I haven’t had dairy in years, and I wanted to see if I could make a dairy-free version.

Sure, there are tons of vegan specialty butters that you can buy. But many times those butters are full of processed ingredients that aren’t any better for me than regular butter.

So I decided to go the route of making a savory nut butter. First I had to decide which type of nut to use. Almonds and peanut butter have their own distinct taste and I wanted to use something a bit milder so that you could really taste the herbs.

Cashews are pretty mild, but they can be a little grainy in texture unless you have a high-powered blender. I settled on macadamia nuts. They are mild and have a slightly buttery taste to them and come out nice and smooth when blended into butter.

I was surprised how quickly this came together and I was pleased with the taste and the spreadability. The only thing that I couldn’t really change was the color. Yeah, it’s kind of an icky brown, but sometimes the ugliest concoctions taste the best. Just trust me on this one.

A few notes about the recipe. You don’t have to roast the nuts, but it adds a nice depth of flavor to the savory butter. Raw nuts will give you a lighter, more appealing color. Don’t worry about the coconut oil giving this butter a coconut-y flavor, it’s just to help the butter set in the fridge and spread nicely on things like bread.

Herbed Macadamia Butter

2 cups raw macadamia nuts
2 tsp roasted garlic
2 tsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme

Preheat oven to 350 and spread the macadamia nuts on a large baking sheet in an even layer.
Roast the nuts for 10 minutes and then transfer to a blender or food processor immediately.
Blend the nuts, scraping down the sides as needed, until you have a smooth and drippy butter. It should be almost liquid like.
Add in the teaspoons of coconut oil and the 1 tsp of salt and blend until combined.
Add in the garlic and the rest of the seasonings and blend until completely combined. Taste and adjust any seasonings as needed.

This will obviously not act the same way as real butter, as in it won’t melt. But it does add a nice salty, herby, and fatty quality to whatever you use it on. And really, who doesn’t like things that are salty, herby, and fatty?

Keep this in an airtight container in your fridge and let it warm up a few minutes before you use it so it spreads easily. And there you have it! Your own savory spread that you didn’t have to pay top dollar for! Enjoy!

Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies

October 16, 2015October 15, 2015 / ktbuchs87 / 1 Comment

Remember those cookies I made for my cream cheese frosting? Well, you can stop wondering about them.

I know this is the time of year that pumpkin flavored everything is everywhere. Coffee, cookies, bread, muffins, oatmeal, stew, candles, air fresheners…. You get the idea. Don’t get me wrong, pumpkin is awesome. I have a whole shelf in my closet dedicated to my stock of pumpkin. But it isn’t the only fall produce that deserves some love.

Carrots are a really versatile vegetable. Kind of like pumpkin, they do well in sweet and savory dishes. While I do love a good carrot soup or stew, carrot cake is where it’s at for me.

These carrot cake cookies are more of a breakfast type cookie because they aren’t super sweet. You can make it a little more decadent by turning it into a cream cheese frosting and carrot cake cookie sandwich. Believe me, it’s delicious.

Leave the frosting off and you have a healthy breakfast cookie that’s lightly sweetened with raisins and a little maple syrup. A cookie for breakfast? Now that’s the dream!

Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookie

1 cup regular oats, not instant
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp flax
3 tbsp water
1/4 cup raisins
1/3 cup coconut oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 cup shredded carrots

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Mix the flax seed and water together and set aside.
Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
In a food processor or blender, combine the raisins and coconut oil until you have a smooth paste. Add the shredded carrots and pulse a few more times.
Add the dry ingredients to the carrot mixture and pulse until everything is mixed together.
Scoop out about a tablespoon or so and slightly flatten them into discs and place on the baking sheet.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the cookies are slightly brown around the edges. Let them cool on the sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

That’s it! Keep them in an airtight container and they should last about a week, longer if you put them in the fridge.

Do you have any fun plans for this weekend? Adam and I are headed to Brazil (Indiana, not the country) to spend some time with his folks at the covered bridge festival. It will be nice to spend time with family and just relax!

Hearty Vegetable Cassoulet

October 9, 2015October 9, 2015 / ktbuchs87

Cassoulet. It just sounds fancy doesn’t it? But then again, most French words sound fancy. In fact, this dish is probably as far from fancy as you can get. A cassoulet is a slow-cooked casserole that started out as a peasant meal. Basically, all the scraps of meat, bones, and vegetables were placed into a clay baking dish and cooked over low heat for a long time to make a delicious cross between a casserole and a hearty stew.

Over the years, chefs and restaurants got a hold of it and “elevated” it to make it good enough to be put on expensive menus. The truth was that not much needed to be changed to make a delicious dish because sometimes the simplest things are the tastiest.

I made this cassoulet a little different than the traditional dish because I didn’t include any meat. It is still a very rich dish that is great for the cooler nights we’ve been having. You can also add meat if you wanted or mushrooms if you wanted to keep it vegetarian but add a “meaty” component.

This dish can be made ahead of time and then just popped in the oven when it’s time for dinner. It tastes like you have spent all day cooking it, but we can just keep that our little secret! So impress your friends and family with a tasty and fancy cassoulet that is as simple as could be.

Hearty Vegetable Cassoulet

1 tsp olive oil
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp marjoram
1 tsp rosemary
1/2 cup dry red wine (I used a malbec, but you can use whatever you have on hand)
1 cup carrots, peeled and diced into rounds
3/4 cup celery, sliced
1 can diced tomatoes (I used fire-roasted)
1 tbsp molasses (you could use maple syrup too)
1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 and heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add in the onions, garlic, thyme, marjoram, and rosemary. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes
Add the 1/2 cup wine and bring to a slow simmer. Cover the dish and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove cover and stir in the vegetables and simmer for another 10 minutes. Add in the rest of the ingredients and return to a simmer.
Taste and adjust the salt and pepper to your taste. Transfer the whole things to a 9 x 13 casserole dish and cover with aluminum foil. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes.

See? It really is a simple meal. After cooking in the oven for 45 minutes, you’re left with a meal that is stick to your ribs good and is loaded with good for you vegetables and legumes. If you want to do this meal with meat, I would use chunks of beef because they will handle the long cook time well. Just make sure to brown them before adding them into the dish.

Oh, and Adam wants me to make sure to tell you to serve this with bread. But then again he wants me to serve bread with every meal…

Have a great Friday everyone and I will see you on Monday!

DIY Wednesday: Cream Cheese Frosting

October 7, 2015 / ktbuchs87

My birthday is on Halloween. I think because I was born right in the middle of fall, the love of all things fall is sort of woven into my genes. Usually for my birthday, my mom would make spice cake or carrot cake and one year I think she made a hummingbird cake…. but I could be wrong about that one. Anyway, the cakes that she made would beg for cream cheese frosting and that was just fine with me.

I love cream cheese frosting. Most other frostings are WAY too sweet and I can only take a few bites before I start to get nauseated. But cream cheese frosting? Skip the cake and get me a spoon. It’s a little sweet, a little tangy, and all delicious.

I haven’t had cream cheese frosting in years because it’s basically cream cheese, butter, and sugar. Since I don’t do dairy or refined sugar anymore, cream cheese frosting isn’t really at the top of my list of things to eat. With fall baking underway, I thought it would be a good time to try recreating this frosting without any dairy or refined sugar. Lucky for me, it wasn’t that hard to do! Just a few ingredients, a little planning ahead, and you have a delicious cream cheese frosting that is ready to top carrot cake or any other fall favorite.

Oh, and if you think it’s easier to just grab a tub of cream cheese frosting at the store? Think again. Not only is it full of chemicals, sugar, and preservatives, but it doesn’t actually contain any cream cheese…. Explain that one to me! Do yourself a favor and make this simple, dairy-free frosting without the high price and chemicals.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 more if you like a tangier frosting
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp coconut butter NOT coconut oil

Drain and rinse the soaked cashews and place in a blender or food processor. Add the lemon juice, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Pulse a few times until the cashews are broken up into little pieces.
Add the water and blend the cashews until you have a smooth cream. Add the coconut butter and blend to combine everything. Taste and see if you need to add more sweet or more tang.
You can use the frosting right away or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. If you do store it in the fridge, take it out 20 minutes before you want to use it to let it warm up a bit.

To test out the frosting, I made some carrot cake cookies. Because if you have frosting you have to have cookies right? I just threw some things together and the cookies actually turned out pretty good. I’m going to tweak them a bit and then put them on the blog so you can enjoy your homemade frosting!

I’ll have a new recipe for you on Friday and then Monday I hope to do a recap of the awesome wedding weekend! It was a great time and I am so happy for the new Mr. and Mrs. Meyers!