Make Room for Mesquite

Wrapped up in soft long sleeves and knee-high socks, the night air still felt unseasonably harsh. Pumpkins and butternut squash looked like aliens in the produce department, suddenly materializing out of nowhere. Have they always been quite so orange, or so large? A year is a long time to go without seeing a close friend, and any small change (or constant, for that matter) seems magnified to outlandish proportions. Considering that it’s now mid-September, the annual shift in temperatures and available vegetables is right on schedule, but it’s me that is behind the times.

Nightfall comes to earlier, too, and the air is much too dry. Autumn is no doubt a beautiful time of year with many good aspects to look forward to, but I’m just not ready to embrace it yet. There are still cherry tomatoes ripening in the garden, for crying out loud!

But fall waits for no one; an impatient and demanding guest at best. Unwilling to dive into the deep end right away, a gentle dip into the season sounded like a more comfortable approach. One toe at a time, feeling out the waters, trying hard to settle in no matter how swift the current. Passing the squash for now, I moved on to a long-forgotten bag of flour in my pantry that seemed like an easier way to greet autumn. Yes, flour: Mesquite flour, to be precise.

Mesquite flour isn’t seasonal per se, but it has cooler weather written all over it if you ask me. Mesquite reminds me of autumn because it has a warm, toasty flavor, reminiscent of a crackling, smokey wood fire in the fireplace. That rich, earthy scent that fills the air as the smoke rises up through the chimney and is whisked away with the brisk breeze; That’s what I think of every time I open up that bag of flour and inhale deeply. Just like that, I’m feeling warmer and lighter in spirit already.

Turning on the oven never felt more satisfying. After nearly record breaking stretches of silence over the summer, it creaked grumpily back to life before returning to a contented purr. Something simple and comforting was in order, and I knew just the thing. Muffins, inspired by those made by Amanda Chronister (previously of Vegan Core) as part of a swap practically a lifetime ago, sounded like a tender and sweet vehicle for this dark, warm flavor.

Click to see the original recipe at full size

Continuing to tweak as I went, the muffins became anything but the simple crumb-topped treats I had first envisioned. Coffee took the place of soymilk and cacao nibs made a crunchy companion to the chocolate chips, further enhancing the roasted essence of the mesquite. Ending up with something entirely different from the inspiration, I was happy nonetheless to still have found the original recipe, still as cute and carefully drawn out as ever.

While mesquite may not be an everyday sort of ingredient, it’s worth the pantry space when it can deliver such a unique and satisfying flavor as this.

Yield: Makes 10 Muffins

Chocolate Chip Mesquite Muffins

Name: Chocolate Chip Mesquite Muffins
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 Cup + 2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour; 1/3 Cup Mesquite Flour; 3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar; 2 Teaspoons Ground Flaxseeds; 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder; 1/2 Teaspoon Salt; 1/8 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon; 1/2 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips or Chunks; 1/4 Cup Cacao Nibs; 1/3 Cup Olive Oil; 3/4 Cup Brewed Coffee, Chilled; Turbinado Sugar, to Top

Mesquite flour imparts a warm, woodsy, smoky, almost malty flavor to these jumbo muffins, stuffed with chocolate chips and crowned by a crisp topping of turbinado sugar.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Additional Time 15 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 Cup + 2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
1/3 Cup Mesquite Flour
3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
2 Teaspoons Ground Flaxseeds
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/8 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips or Chunks
1/4 Cup Cacao Nibs
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
3/4 Cup Brewed Coffee, Chilled
Turbinado Sugar, to Top

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and either lightly grease or line 10 standard muffin tins with cupcake papers. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the both flours, sugar, ground flax, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Toss in the chocolate and cacao nibs, and mix lightly to coat the pieces with flour.
Separately, stir together the oil and coffee before pouring both into the bowl of dry goods. Stir just enough to combine and create a mostly smooth batter. Distribute the batter equally between your prepared muffins tins, and lightly sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar.
Bake for 15 – 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center pulls out clean. (Make sure that gooey chocolate chips don’t trick you into over-baking the muffins!) Let cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before letting them come to room temperature on a wire rack.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 209Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 206mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 1gSugar: 20gProtein: 2g

All nutritional information presented within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on BitterSweetBlog.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though I try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of my ability, these figures should still be considered estimations.

September 16, 2011February 2, 2023

Hannah (BitterSweet)32 Comments

Springing Up Everywhere

Stubborn as ever, the lack of spring vegetables and 30-degree sunshine doesn’t deter me from celebrating the premature arrival of the new season. Besides, the tiny buds of crocuses are already beginning to peer up from the tender, half-frozen earth, and that’s reinforcement enough for me.

Turning to the only edible that’s is reliably and unfailingly available so early in the season, the fridge has been stocked to the brim with fresh herbs. Mint, parsley, dill, basil, and cilantro; I don’t think there have ever been so many choices of flavorful greenery on hand at one time.

Because everything is better in cute little individual portions, I fashioned my bread into muffins, while bumping up the herb content to accommodate my vast selection. A cross between a light muffin and a fluffy biscuit, even I was impressed with how well this off-the-cuff adaptation came out. Add in rich, cheesy cheddar flavor, and you’ve got yourself a winning combination.

Both hearty and light, thanks to that vibrant herbal addition, these muffins managed to strike that fine balance between seasons that I’m still struggling with myself. Any combination of herbs would likely work just as well, so don’t be afraid to switch it up if you don’t have these exact greens on hand.

Yield: Makes 9 - 12 Muffins

Cheddar Herb Muffins

A cross between a muffin and a biscuit, both hearty and light, fresh herbs balance out rich cheesy flavor in this savory vegan treat.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 Cup Unsweetened Non-Dairy Milk
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1 3/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
4 Ounces (1 Cup) Vegan Shredded Cheddar
1/3 Cup Chopped Scallions
1/4 Cup Chopped Fresh Basil
3 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Dill
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts, Toasted

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and lightly grease 9 – 12 medium muffin tins.
In a large measuring pitcher, combine the non-dairy milk, oil, and vinegar. Stir well, and let sit for at least 5 minutes for the milk to curdle.
Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and powder, salt, paprika, and pepper, making sure that all of the ingredients are distributed evenly throughout the mixture. Add in the cheese, chopped herbs, and walnuts, and mix well.
Pour the pitcher of wet ingredients into the bowl of dry, and use a wide spatula to bring the two together, stirring as few times as possible to create a mostly smooth batter. A few lumps are just fine, and certainly beat an over-mixed, tough dough.
Scoop the batter into your prepared muffin tins, mounding it up in the centers. Depending on how large you want you muffins, fill the tins either just to the top, or pile the batter on well over the rim. Naturally, I like my muffins big and bountiful, so I got fewer out of the mix.
Move your muffin tin into the oven, and bake for 16 – 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean and dry. If the muffins seem slightly pale at that point, just run them under the broiler for 1 – 3 more minutes, until nicely golden brown.
Let rest in the tins for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm or toasted, along side a hearty bowl of soup, stew, or just with a faint smear of buttery spread.

Read/Eat All About It!

Have you received the March/April edition of VegNews Magazine yet? Well, you’ve got a lot to look forward to- After a brief hiatus, my column is back! Don’t miss my recipe for Tea Cake Sandwiches, perfect for dessert and tea parties alike. The brown sugar sponge cake especially turned out to be a runaway success, and has become my go-to dacquoise for all sorts of plated desserts, layer cakes, and everything in between. In this case, just add a layer of vanilla creme, ripe strawberries, and a few leaves of fresh mint, and you have yourself a sweet sandwich worth coveting.

I also had the pleasure of photographing Jesse Miner’s BBQ Lentil and Mushroom Tacos in this issue as well. Let me tell you, these things are crazy good! I have a serious distaste for all barbecue sauce in general, so that’s really saying a lot.

Lest I leave you without a recipe, don’t miss out on the Peanut Butter Ginger Muffins I shared with Leela at The Kitchn! Shockingly, I actually forgot to get a photo of these beauties, so you’ll just have to hop on over and checkout Leela’s lovely images. Now get to it, there’s plenty of food to make!

March 2, 2011March 2, 2011

Hannah (BitterSweet)26 Comments

Amazing Amazake

What Is Amazake?

“Ama-What?” is somewhere along the lines of the typical response I get when I mention this little known sweetener. Ah-Mah-Zah-Kay; it’s been around for centuries, so it’s hardly the new kid on the block, and yet so few westerners have even heard of this lovely elixir. Native to Japan, and actually the first stage of making sake (it can also be translated as “sweet sake”), it’s thick, creamy, and sweet as can be, and it’s made solely of rice. You heard right- This is just plain old brown rice!

How Is Amazake Made?

Okay, so there’s more to it than mashing up a batch of cooked rice*, but not too much. Hard to find in the mainstream market place but easy as can be to make at home, the only stumbling block in the whole operation is locating a source of koji, brown rice inoculated with friendly bacteria that will help to ferment your cooked rice into something a bit sweeter. Found in the refrigerated section, usually not too far from the miso (another byproduct of koji, by the way) in your local Asian market, or like all other things, various online specialty stores.

Your koji is likely to come with a set of instructions as well, and you’re more than welcome to follow along with those, but I personally went with the suggestions outlined here, which actually come from the book Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz. By the way, if you’re the least bit into any of this crazy fermentation stuff, I highly recommend you check out this book.

Lacking an incubator or appropriately sized dehydrator to stay at a low, steady heat for a number of hours, I simply set my oven to the “proof” setting, stuck a thermometer in there to monitor it, and let it go. Your oven may run hotter or cooler, so be sure to check where the heat is before sacrificing your amazake to an adverse environment. Think of it as a delicate little rice baby, and handle with care! Checking frequently is key, as there’s no set time that it will be “done;” Just dip a finger in periodically and taste it. When it tastes sweet, you’re good to go, and that’s all there is to it.

You can leave it chunky if you’d like, but I prefer to move mine into the blender briefly to get a lusciously smooth puree. The result is so thick, you can actually eat it like pudding! Traditionally served as a hot drink, you can thin it out with water (maybe 3/4 cup water to 1/4 cup amazake) and heat it up with some grated ginger for a historically correct experience. However, I happen to think that it can work as a fantastic sweetener in many baked goods.

What Can You Do With Amazake?

Unlike white sugar and most sweeteners used in baking, amazake will not give you the same degree of browning, and it will never produce that tooth-aching, candy-like sweetness that you sometimes get from say, a cupcake with mile-high frosting. And that’s the good news, if you ask me! Perfectly suited for more subtle, delicate treats with nuanced flavors, I found it to be the perfect addition to breakfast items especially, such as pancakes, scones, and of course, muffins.

Despite my initial trepidation about serving these borderline “hippie” carrot spice muffins to an omnivorous crowd, they were quite possibly the hit of the party, a half dozen snatched up in a minute flat. If the threat of a less sweet baked good still strikes fear in your heart though, never fear; I have just the thing to fix that.

A generous smear of chocolate icing should do the trick!

*Don’t let the whole brown rice concept hold you back, either. I also made a batch of amazake with millet, and another with quinoa, to great success! Use the same proportion of koji, but go wild and try any cooked grain you can think of!

Yield: Makes 12 Muffins

Amazake Carrot Muffins

Sweetened with brown rice amazake, these muffins are a sweet but healthy treat!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

Amazake Carrot Muffins:

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
1/2 Cup Chocolate-Covered Crystalized Ginger, Chopped
2 Cups Shredded Carrots
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Water
1 Cup Homemade Amazake**

Amazake Chocolate Icing (Optional):

1/2 Cup Homemade Amazake
3 Tablespoons Light Agave Nectar
1/2 Cup Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and either lightly grease or line 12 muffin tins with papers. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices until all the dry goods are thoroughly combined. Add in the chocolate-covered ginger and carrot shreds, tossing to coat, to prevent either from just falling to the bottom of your muffins.
Separately, whisk together the oil, water, and amazake, and then pour the wet mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients. Switch over to a wide spatula, and stir just enough to bring the batter together, with minimal lumps. It will be very thick.
Evenly distribute the batter between your prepared muffin tins, mounting it up in the center (I find that an ice cream scoop helps keep things neat and even, but you can always just use a large spoon.) Bake for 18 – 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and dry.
If you’d like to make icing to go along with your muffins for a more dessert-like treat, simply stir together all of the icing ingredients until smooth. Apply as desired.

Notes

**Being so much thicker than commercial amazake, which is intended to be used as a beverage, you certainly can substitute the latter in these muffins. Just remove the water and use a total of 1 1/2 cups amazake instead.

By Special Request

It was an innocent enough question- A simple query, with no ulterior motives. Muffins, pistachio muffins, to be precise, were the object of one good friend’s desires, and no recipe could be found. Might I possibly have one, hidden away some place by chance? Despite the volumes of unshared recipes and ideas stashed away in various notebooks and files buried deep within my hard drive, I hadn’t yet thought to make such a breakfast cake… And yet all of a sudden, it felt imperative that I did.

After all, pistachios are one of my all-time favorite nuts, and they get so little attention, it’s just pitiful. So much praise and love is lavished on almonds, cashews, and the like, but this darling green gem is all but forgotten in the corner of the bulk bin. Though it would be impossible to accommodate all baking requests, this one quickly became much less of a favor for a friend, but a treat for myself!

Adopting the project in a blink of the eye, I set about plotting how I could make mine better than the average, neon-green and highly artificial bakery-style pistachio muffins. Instead of abandoning the traditional albeit exaggerated coloring altogether, it seemed a fun challenge to preserve it in a more natural fashion.

Matcha, my beloved green tea powder, fit the bill perfectly. Contributing both a vibrant hue and delicate flavor, this is a mix far more complex than the typical plain old nut muffin. Richly flavored with both ground and whole pistachios, those green kernels definitely steal the show, but leave enough room for a delicious cameo by the subtle sweetness of maple syrup, the bitterness of the green tea, and the gentle acidity of the lemon, creating one well-balanced baked good.

Yield: Makes 6 Large Muffins

Pistachio Matcha Muffins

Richly flavored with both ground and whole pistachios, those nuts are the clear headliners, but leave enough room for a delicious cameo by the subtle sweetness of maple syrup, the bitterness of the green tea, and the gentle acidity of the lemon, creating one well-balanced baked good.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 Cup Shelled, Toasted Pistachios, Divided
1 1/2 Cups White Whole Wheat Flour, Divided
2 Teaspoons Matcha Powder*
1 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Lemon Zest (Optional)
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Instructions

Preheat your the oven to 400 degrees, and either lightly grease or line 6 standard muffin tins with paper wrappers. Set aside.
Pull out your food processor or blender and place half of the pistachios, along with 1/2 cup of the flour and all of the matcha in the bowl. Pulse the mixture until you achieve a coarse but even meal. Transfer the dry goods into a large mixing bowl.
To that, add the remaining flour and whole pistachios, plus the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. Stir to evenly distribute all of the ingredients.
Separately, whisk together the oil, maple syrup, apple sauce, and vanilla before pouring these wet ingredients into the bowl of dry. Use a wide spatula to bring the batter together, stirring as little as possible to make sure you don’t overwork it and end up with tough muffins; A few errant lumps are just fine.
Mound the batter up nice and high into your prepared muffin tins (I used a large cookie scoop – About 3 – 4 tablespoons – and placed two full scoops inside each indentation.) Slide your muffins into the oven, and immediately reduce the heat to 375 degrees.
Bake for 18 – 22 minutes, until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool for at least 10 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack.

Notes

*To make a purely pistachio muffin that’s still green, substitute 1 tablespoon of spinach powder for the matcha. Otherwise, you can omit it entirely.

Welcome, Fall!

Perhaps I’m jumping the gun a bit, but an undeniable chill has blown in, and now that it’s September, I can’t contain my excitement for fall any longer. There are just so many things to eat, every day of autumnal weather must be used to the fullest! Unfortunately, my enthusiasm is a bit premature, as it still isn’t quite cold enough to layer on the heavy winter blanket, a mistake I paid for at 4 am, waking up in a pool of my own sweat.

Summer may still be hanging on with a loosening grip, but the kids are returning to school and the evenings are no longer quite so sweltering at least, so I’m fully prepared to embrace the incoming season. How better to get into a fall state of mind than bake something with sweet, warming spices?

Falling back on my favorite set of chai spices, a simple sort of muffin seemed to be in order. Perfect for a quick morning breakfast should you be one of those lucky students returning to an earlier schedule, each hearty little quick bread is both a sensible breakfast or snack. Spelt flour adds in a good dose of whole grains, hazelnuts provide a spot of protein, and these babies are only modestly sweetened.

I happened to be lucky enough to find the persimmon pulp in my freezer, stored from last year’s bounty, but any other fruit pulp would work beautifully as well.

No Persimmon? No Problem!

To keep with the autumnal theme, I might suggest:

Unsweetened apple sauce
Pumpkin puree
Mashed butternut squash
Sweet potato puree

For a delicious change of pace, you could also try:

Mashed banana
Cooked, blended carrots
Vegan yogurt

So don’t wait any longer- Greet the incoming season now, and enjoy it with muffins!

Yield: Makes 6 Big Muffins

Chai Latte Persimmon Muffins

For a spicy, seasonal, and healthy breakfast or snack, look no further than these persimmon muffins. Spelt flour adds in a good dose of whole grains, hazelnuts provide a spot of protein, and these babies are only modestly sweetened. Most importantly though, they're positively crave-worth flavor is off the charts!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 5 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 Cup Persimmon Pulp (Approximately 2 Hachiya Persimmons)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, Packed
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 1/2 Cups Spelt Flour
1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Chopped Hazelnuts
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Instant Coffee Powder
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
3/4 Teaspoon Ground Cardamom
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/8 Teaspoon Salt
6 Teaspoons Granulated Sugar, for Topping (Optional)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and lightly grease 6 standard muffin tins.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the persimmon pulp, oil, vinegar, brown sugar, and vanilla until smooth and homogeneous. In a separate bowl, combine the spelt and all purpose flour, hazelnuts, baking soda, coffee powder, spices, and salt, and mix thoroughly so that the ingredients are well distributed. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir just enough to bring the two together, being careful not to over do it and create gluten- A few errant lumps in the batter are just fine.
Evenly distribute the batter between your prepared muffin tins, and really mound it up in the center for each muffin. It may seem like a lot, but don’t be shy and really pile it on. This will get you nice, big, mushroom-y tops. Sprinkle each raw muffin with 1 teaspoon of sugar, if desired.
Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each muffin comes out clean. Let rest for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.