Double Chocolate Avocado Muffins

I love avocado, but usually eat it fresh like in guacamole, salad, or just as part of any meal. I haven't baked with it much, though I've seen tons of other bloggers making yummy things. So I decided to try out these double chocolate avocado muffins. And they did not disappoint. These cupcakes-masquerading-as-muffins are super soft and moist. When they're warm you can slightly taste the avocado, but not so much when they're cool. If you were to put frosting on these, you would think this was just a regular (and awesome) cupcake.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Healthy Carrot Cake Power Scuffins
Coconut Banana Muffins
Pumpkin Muffins
Chocolate Chunk Vanilla Muffins

Double Chocolate Avocado Muffins
Adapted from Muffin Tin Mania

Makes 12

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 medium-sized ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
2/3 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup unsweetened plain soymilk
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a food processor or high powered blender such as the Vita-mix, puree the avocado, maple syrup, soymilk, oil, and vanilla extract together until smooth. Add the avocado mixture to the dry ingredients; mix until all the flour is combined. If the mixture is too dry, stir in additional milk. Fold in chocolate chips.

Divide the batter between 12 medium-sized muffin cups, and bake for about 22 minutes, or until a tester comes out with just a few crumbs. Let cool before unmolding.

Rainbow Rice and Beans

I made this rice dish with the idea that it could be a stand alone meal. And I didn't find it to quite be what I wanted, maybe not flavourful enough. But it is a great side dish. A great accompaniment to a larger meal, like a potluck. While it wasn't a favourite of mine, other people enjoyed it so I'm sharing it here. To make it again, I think I'd double the spices.

Miss Abby.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Quinoa Corn Salad
Greek Basmati Rice
Warm Roasted Pumpkin & Shallot Salad
Greek Barley Salad

Rainbow Rice and Beans
Adapted from Vegan Yum Yum and Oh She Glows

Serves 3 as a main, or more as a side dish

1 cup brown basmati rice, dry

1 tbsp oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can (about 15 oz or 1 3/4 cups) black beans, drained and rinsed
3 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
2 medium carrots, shredded

Spices:
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Start the rice with two cups of cold water.

When the rice is almost done cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook until golden brown. Add spice mix and saute until spices begin to bubble up a little bit, being careful not to burn.

Add beans, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce and simmer on low, covered, until rice is done. Add peas, carrots, and corn and for a few moments until defrosted. Add rice to pan, stirring well to mix in beans and veggies and coat with sauce.

Freshly Fruited Yeast Bread

Thanks everyone for all your nice comments about our wedding photos. :)

This yeasted fruit bread was so flavourful and delicious. It has cranberries, banana, apple, lemon and orange - though you don't taste the apple and banana much. The texture was perfect for me - dense sort of like a pound cake (but it's yeast bread), and still soft. I loved eating it toasted with butter smeared on top mmm. I'm submitting this bread to yeastspotting.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Bon Ton Bakery Cinnamon Bread
Noreen Kinney's Irish Soda Bread
Braided Lemon Bread
Hot Crossed Buns

Freshly Fruited Yeast Bread
Adapted from The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest

The apple and banana I used were small, so I ended up adding less unbleach white flour than was called for, which is why I put a range of 3-5 cups (instead of the original recipe which says 4-5 cups). Next time I'd be sure to use the full 1 cup grated apple then I'd probably need more flour.

The Sponge:
1 cup wrist-temperature water
2/3 cup orange juice
2 1/4 tsp (1 pkg) active dry yeast
drop of honey
2 cups unbleached white flour

Combine water and juice in a large bowl. Add yeast and honey; beat in the flour. Cover; let rise for 30 to 45 minutes.

The Mix:
1 cup finely minced dried cranberries
1 large ripe banana, mashed
1 packed cup grated peeled apple (I used 1 small apple which was ~1/2 cup)
1 tbsp grated orange rind
1 tbsp grated lemon rind
1/2 cup honey
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp salt
3 tbsp melted butter

Beat into risen sponge.

Additionally:
2 cups whole wheat bread flour
Approximately 3 to 5 more cups unbleached white flour
a little butter or oil for the pans or baking tray

Add the flour a cup at a time, beating at first with a wooden spoon, then kneading it in with a floured hand and dumping it out onto a smooth floured surface. Continue adding flour and kneading the dough until the dough loses its stickiness, about 15 minutes. Oil or butter a bowl generously. Place the dough in it, swish it around (to oil the surface of the dough). Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let it rise until it has doubled in bulk (about 1 hour). After it has doubled, punch down the dough.

Grease two 8"x4" loaf pans. Divide the dough in 2. Place the dough into the greased pans, press it hard into the corners and bottom of the pan. Cover the dough with a damp cloth, and put it in a warm place to rise until it has doubled, about 30-45 minutes. (Mine didn't rise much in the pans.)

Preheat the oven to 350F at least 15 minutes before baking. Bake at 350F for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom. Remove the loaves from the pans. Cool for at least 30 minutes on a rack before slicing.

(Ashley note: Johanna made this bread also and said her bread didn't rise much - which was a problem I also had. The recipe in an older version of the cookbook suggests baking it at 425F so I'll try that next time and then not bake it for as long.)

Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin-Mustard Tofu

I've been cooking a ton from Appetite for Reduction recently. So many of the recipes appeal to me so I wouldn't be surprised if I slowly work my way through making every single recipe. Some of the things I've made have been outstanding, like the black bean, zucchini & olive tacos with garlic-lemon yogurt and others have been just okay. Overall though I'm really enjoying this book. These lettuce wraps fall under the outstanding category. E thought the mustard in it was a bit weird, but I loved the strong flavours and must admit that eating tofu in a lettuce wrap was really fun. I love the cold crunch combined with the warm tofu mixture inside.

It's taken me forever but here are some of my favourite photos from our wedding last January. :) Our wedding photos were taken by Randal Kurt. If you haven't seen our 5 minute wedding video and are interested, you can check it out here.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Orange Sesame Tofu & Coconut-Lime Basmati Rice
Sweet and Spicy Cashew Tofu
Broccoli Cashew Teriyaki Tofu Stir-Fry
Salt and Pepper Tofu

Lettuce Wraps with Hoisin-Mustard Tofu
Adapted from Appetite for Reduction

Tofu
1 block (~14 oz) extra firm tofu, diced in 1/2 inch pieces
2 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce

Sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
1 small onion, diced small
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
3 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar (mirin is recommended but I didn't have it)
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tsp prepared yellow mustard

To Serve
About 12 iceberg lettuce leaves

Prepare the tofu: Preheat a cast-iron or heavy-bottomed nonstick skillet over medium heat.
Add the tofu and cook for about 10 minutes, flipping it once in a while, until it is browned on most sides. About midway through, drizzle with the soy sauce and toss to coat.

Preheat a separate large pan over medium heat with the sesame oil. Saute the red pepper, onion, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes. Cook for about 10 minutes. The veggies should be soft and browned. Add the seasoned rice vinegar (or mirin) and let cook for about 3 minutes. Add the hoisin and mustard, and cook for another minute.

Add the tofu to the sauce and toss to coat. Serve alongside lettuce leaves, to stuff like tacos.

Healthy Carrot Cake Power Scuffins

These scuffins are one of my favourite muffins/scones that I've made recently. First of all, I love carrot cake. Second of all, I love the texture of these. Carrot muffins and cookies are usually quite soft. Which is nice, but I love how these scuffins are a bit more scone like, soft but denser, a bit like a cookie but not crisp. E really didn't like the coconut on top and I could go either way with it.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Pumpkin Muffins
Morning Glory Muffins
Spiced Carrot Muffins
Garden Harvest Cake

Healthy Carrot Cake Power Scuffins
Adapted from Oh She Glows

Makes 6-7 scuffins

1 cup whole grain spelt flour
1/2 tsp baking power
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp ground chia seeds + 3 tbsp water, mixed and set aside for 5 mins
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup shredded or grated carrots (approx 2 medium)
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup toasted, chopped walnuts
Coconut, for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through pumpkin spice). In a medium sized bowl mix together the wet ingredients (oil through carrots). Add wet to dry and mix until just incorporated. Fold in the walnuts and raisins. Scoop mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or Silpat mats. Scoop about 1/4 cup for each scuffin. With wet hands, flatten into disks. Sprinkle with coconut if using. Bake for 25 minutes at 350F.