Carrot to try?

It's surprising how long it took for me to make ANYTHING baked containing carrots ever since I made 200 some carrot cakes back in December at work. I've wanted to but the thought of what I went through; the batter splattered chef coat, carrot stained hands, pastry shortening up to my ears and the annoyance of having to take turns on the mixer and ovens when I had a deadline; made me quite unwilling to bake carrot muffins which I had craved since before December until now.

Finally, I was able to bring myself to making these carrot muffins and these are IBS safe, so good for you and better for your tummy! Enjoy!

CARROT MUFFINS - Valerie Adams

3 Medium sized carrots, peeled and grated
1/4 C apple sauce, natural
3/4 C oil
1 1/2 ts Vanilla extract
3/4 C eggbeaters
Mix wet ingredients together until complete combined

2 C flour, All Purpose
1 C granulated sugar
3/4 ts Baking Soda
1 1/2 ts Baking Powder
1/2 ts salt
1 ts cinnamon
1/2 ts nutmeg
Mix the dry ingredients together

Then fold wet ingredients into the dry.

Finally add:

1 C shredded coconut
1/2 C chopped and toasted pecans

Spray muffins pan with olive oil spray and then divide batter evenly between muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes.

I hardly eat any "real" dinner, what most people would consider dinner cause sometimes I just can't stomach it with my IBS, but the other day I concocted something so yummy! Emmm! I had some leftover cooked penne pasta and here is my creation:

CHIPOTLE PORCINI PENNE - Valerie Adams

5-6 dried porcini mushrooms (hydrated in some warm water)
1/2 tomato cut into chunks
1/2 Vandalia onion, sliced thinnly
Chipotle pepper (dried, ground) to taste

Heat up some olive oil in a saute pan, and sautee onions till soft, then add in penne pasta, toss in tomatos and the porcini mushrooms (squeese out water).
Sautee and add some of the mushroom water for flavor and moisture. Add in the chipotle pepper to taste. Dish up!

Now, I just made myself hungry. I better make dinner - but what? Hmm....

I've got the Blues

Ever since I made that blueberry pie, I've been obsessing over blueberries! I'm like that though, once I have made something using an ingredient that I greatly fear, I seem to think I can tackle anything involving that item - which is obviously UNTRUE! Luckily for me, this turned out rather tasty, well to me at least since it was just sweet enough and the blueberies were so juicy and rounded it out with a crunch from the sliced almonds meddling inside and atop the muffin.

BLUEBERRY BANANA ALMOND MUFFINS - By Valerie Adams

Mix together:

1 3/4 c All purpose flour

1/2 C sugar

1/2 ts salt

2 ts baking powder

Whish in another bowl:

1/4 C eggbeaters

2 tbs canola oil

2 mashed bananas

1/2 C vanilla soymilk

Mix the wet into the dry ingredients, then add 1/2 C sliced almonds. Gently fold till incorporated, bake for 25 minutes on 400 degrees F.

Let sit in the muffin pan for 1 minute, remove and cool on wire rack.

Then, the best part: EAT IT!!!!!!

Cream cheese filled pumpkin muffins

Sometimes I don't know why I buy the things I do when I go grocery shopping. I hardly ever use cream cheese and the only time I would ever use it is if Brandon wanted cheesecake but I only brought 1 8oz package instead of the usual 3 packages I use. I must've been in a fog or something. Anyways, I thought I would make some pumkin muffins with some cream cheese filling. Cream cheese muffins remind me of Kings Gardens back when we lived in New Zealand and I was like 14 or so. The nursery had an amazingly yummy cafe in the middle of it and the owner was SO nice. He had the BEST cream cheese filled muffins too. Boy, I really wish I could go back and see how different things are now. I might be disappointed though.
So I made this for Brandon.

PUMPKIN LOAF/MUFFINS by Jasmine Plantation Bed & Breakfast Inn

1 C water

1 C oil

1 C pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

3 1/3 C flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp soda

1/4 tsp salt

3 C sugar

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix water, oil, pumpkin, vanilla and eggs together. In a separate bowl, sift flour, bp, salt, and soda together. Add sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add dry to liquid ingredients.

Then I put filled 1/4 of the muffin tin with the batter, then added a tbs cream cheese filling (I just added 2 tbs sugar and 1 egg to room temperature cream cheese) and then topped it off with more batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Pumpkin Apple Spice Bread

This is another recipe from "Eating for IBS" by Heather Van Vorous. It is amazing what canola oil can do as a replacement for butter. It keeps the muffins so tender and moist and you can't even tell that it does not contain egg yolks at all. I was baffled by the power of the egg whites in this recipe. Amazing.

TOPPING:

1 tbs flour
5 tbs brown sugar
1 ts cinnamon
1 tbs canola oil

Combine ingredients and set aside

SIFT INTO A LARGE BOWL:

3 C flour
3/4 ts salt
2ts baking soda
1 1/2 ts cinnamon
1 ts nutmeg
1 ts cloves
1/4 ts allspice
1/4 ts ginger

Whisk ingredients with a wire whisk or fork until thoroughly blended.

IN A LARGE BOWL BEAT WELL WITH ELECTRIC MIXER:

16 oz can pumpkin
3/4 C canola oil
2 1/4 C granulated sugar
8 organic egg whites

Fold into wet ingredients:
2 large granny smith apples, peeled and chopped (~ 2 C)

With wooden spoon, add dry ingredients into wet stirring till blended. Pour batter into two non-stick loaf pans or muffin tins sprayed with cooking oil. Sprinkle on topping and bake 50 minutes at 350 Degrees F or for 30-35 minutes for muffins. Cool on racks.

The time is drawing near to when we head over to Pensacola Florida. The reality is hitting me that I will be returning to school. To culinary school and that pretty much freaks me out. It's like, going into an unknown domain. Not only am I so out of touch with school, but the thought of Chefs almost scare me. I imagine them at the top of the hierarchy and me at the end of the bottomless pit. Them glaring down at me, testing me to see if I will pull through this program. Am I being stupid? or is my anxiety justified, just preparing me for the true life as a pastry/baking student. A lowly, lowly nobody. I hope I can pull through......

SNOWED IN WITH NIAN GAO FROM MOM AND BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

Am I thankful or what that I did not have to work today! It has been snowing since 12:30pm. I went to Barnes and Nobles for some IBS books and 20 minutes later, the place was covered in snow. I got outter there and drove like a turtle home. Scary, an oregonian driving in the snow. What's scarier are Ohioans driving - period!

By 3:30pm we had a good 3-4 inches of snow...

And it just keeps on a comin!

NIAN GAO!!!!

Momma sent me nian gao she made, from a recipe I found for her online somewhere. I forget where but I cut some up and dipped it in eggs than fried it and ate it....ahhhhh chinese food...drool!!!

BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

Emm....butter + mashed up overripe bananas + white choc & milk choc chip swirls..................... Oh yeah, I didn't make it cause I wanted to eat it....

Yeah, it's for Brandon :-D

SINNIMON STRUSEL MUFFINS

So, I got this recipe from King Arthurs Bakers Magazine, and the picture looked so much like Cosco's cinnamon muffins that I just had to try and make it. See, working isn't so bad when it's slow. I get to read magazines!

TOPPING

1/3 C brown sugar
1/4 C diced pecans

1/4 C rolled oats

1/2 C flour

3tbs soft butter

Mix till crumbly

FILLING

1/3 C brown sugar
3 tbs melted butter

1 tbs cinnamon

Mix together

BATTER

1/2 C butter melted
3/4 C milk
2 eggs
1 3/4 C flour
1/2 C rolled oats
2 tbs cornstarch
3/4 C sugar
1 tbs bp

1/2 ts salt
1/4 ts nutmeg
1/2 C cinnamon chips ( I used chocolate chips)

Whisk melted butter, milk and eggs. Whisk together dry ingredients and add to liquid. Dviide in half and fill 1/2 muffin tin then add 2 ts cinnamon filling and top with remaining batter. Sprinkle topping and press lightly into batter.

Bake at 400 Degrees F for 20-25 minutes.

Toptional icing: 3tbs cream and 1 C confectioners sugar. Ice after muffins are cooled.