Delicious Vegan Zucchini Muffins

I am definitely not a vegan. And it is highly unlikely that I will ever be a vegan. Still, I was led to try something new to accomodate my son, Gavin. We had him tested for food sensitivities in the spring and to our surpise, he is highly sensitive to egg whites, among other foods (most of them ones that I enjoy using in baking!).

This was, to my mind, a huge problem. I am a really good "morning mom". I love getting up early and surprising my family with warm muffins, scones, sticky buns - whatever strikes my fancy. With egg whites (and yolks, to a lesser degree) on the list of foods to avoid, my breakfast repetoire has been seriously depleted.

I started searching the local library database for healthy baking books and I stumbled across a book called Babycakes by Erin McKenna. The book is described as, "Vegan, gluten-free, and (mostly) sugar-free recipes from New York's most talked-about bakery". I was intrigued and requested the book right away.

I was totally blown away by the book. The recipes looked really good and they were definitely well tested, but would they work in my kitchen? I started gathering the variety of ingredients needed, which was more expensive than I anticipated, but not difficult to find at my local, natural foods store. Agave nectar for sweetness, coconut oil for the fat, and whole spelt flour to take the place of my standard all-purpose. I had the rest of the ingredients needed and I went to work making these zucchini muffins.

The muffins were a revelation. Everyone enjoyed them, even Alan, who pretends not to be picky, but actually is. Although the kids were slightly concerned about the green flecks from the zucchini, they ate them up, too. I really liked the texture of the muffins and it was amazing to me that they could contain no eggs, flour, or sugar and still taste so good. The proof that these were winners was later that night. There were three muffins left covered on the counter, and upon seeing them, Alan and I both helped ourselves to a late-night snack (something I normally try to avoid). That left one, and when I came downstairs in the morning, it was gone.

Vegan Zucchini Muffins

2 cups whole spelt flour
1/2 cup flax seeds, ground
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup agave nectar
3/4 cup rice milk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ground flax, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. Add the oil, agave nectar, rice milk, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and fold in the zucchini just until evenly distributed throughout the mixture.
3. Fill the muffin cups evenly. Bake the muffins on the centre rack for 22 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees after 15 minutes. The finished muffins will bounce back slightly when pressed, and a toothpick inserted in the centre will come out clean.
4. Let the muffins stand in the tin for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

*Coconut oil is solid at room temperature. The book didn't say anything about how to use the oil in the recipe, so I gently heated the oil in a small pan just until it liquified.

Creamy Iced Coffee

While in Harrow this summer, we found ourselves hiding from the rain in the local library. I eventually wandered back to the cookbook section, my curiousity kicking in. I was delighted to see a few books that were new to me, and I quickly added those to the pile for checking out.

The one book that I absolutely loved reading was called Eating Royally by Darren McGrady. Former chef of Princess Diana, Mr. McGrady spent many years working for the royal family. Not only were the stories fascinating, the recipes all sounded delicious, as you can imagine they would be for Queen Elizabeth and her family.

This drink reminds me of a "Starbucks frapuccino" without the blended ice - not something you should have every day, but a real treat once in a while. Apparently, this iced coffee is served at summer garden parties. I used the whipping cream that the recipe called for, however using a lighter cream won't make this any less good. I added all of the simple syrup to the coffee mixture without thinking; the iced coffee became just a little too sweet for my taste. I would suggest adding the simple syrup to your taste.

Creamy Iced Coffee

1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups water
5 cups strong coffee, chilled
1 1/4 cups cream (whipping cream or something lighter)

1. In a small pot, combine the sugar and water. Bring to a boil and reduce the mixture by half. Chill before using.
2. In a large bowl, combine the coffee, cream and the sugar syrup. Pour the mixure over ice and enjoy.

In the Garden: Tomato Plants

This summer, I have tried my hand at vegetable gardening. Before digging up our yard, I decided I would give container gardening a chance. I have 15 large tomato plants, most of them in pots, 4 or 5 cherry tomato plants, several types of lettuce, sweet peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, celeriac, eggplant and lots of herbs.

Ever since my canning escapades last year (see The Art of Canning, Sept. '08), I have been dreaming about growing my own tomatoes for canning. And the tomato I have had in mind is the San Marzano. An Italian tomato with a wonderful reputation for canning; how could I resist? I also have two heirloom varieties - brandywine and oxheart. And the rest are yellow pear tomatoes, I think.

Back in the early spring, my sister brought me several little tomato seedlings, half of them San Marzanos. I nursed those little guys along for what seemed like ages. Around the time that rhubarb came into season, I noticed that my tomato plants were not only incredibly long and skinny (some over 10 inches long with hardly any leaves), but they were also changing from green to a weird gray-green colour. I knew I had to act fast. I threw the baking sheet full of plants into the back of the car and headed over to see Steve at Cooper's farm for some advice. He told me to that they would have to be fertilized as soon as possible and I left with instructions on what I needed to do.

Instead of heading to a garden centre, I drove over to Farmer Jones' place. I told him I had a 911 emergency with my tomato plants. He looked them over and then we went out to his shed, where he mixed up some fertilizer in a watering can. He poured the mixture over my plants and told me that most of them would probably live. He assessed that the plants weren't getting enough sun and that I should be putting them outside in the sun during the day. But not in the wind. Quickest way to kill a young tomato plant is to let the wind burn it. Farmer Jones was generous with his advice, and for his trouble, I baked a rhubarb custard pie for him and his wife.

While the tomato plants got back on their feet, I carted those things around like they were a third child, moving them around our deck several times a day depending on the sun and the wind. Finally, it was time to get them planted. I mixed potting soil with manure and most of them went into the several pots that were purchased especially for them. I should mention that my sister was here again, prodding me to get the darn things into soil before I really lost them for good. I was nervous, unsure if the spindly little plants would really be able to survive without coming into the house at night.

Those little plants have now turned into some pretty big plants, most sporting some degree of green fruit. As it turns out, our deck isn't that great for catching the strong afternoon sun and my plants have suffered somewhat. My neighbour Nancy, the gardener, suggested that I move the pots to the west side of the house where the sun beats hardest. I am still dragging the plants around; for watering (I really need to buy a second hose to reach them), for cutting the grass underneath them, and for research (how will they do against this fence?). Nancy has even taken one of the plants over to her house to see how it does in a certain area of her garden. When you have 15 plants, and they say that one plant will feed a family of 4, you can afford to share the wealth! (Our raspberry bushes are behind the pots, not producing much fruit, but taking up more room every year...)

I was in Niagara at my sister's house last week. She has tomatoes in her garden, some in the ground and some in pots, all of them enjoying the same prime location. We have come to the conclusion that the plants in the ground are doing much better because of two things. The pots don't hold moisture very well and it is easy for the plants to dry out. We also believe that there are a limited amount of nutrients in the pots and the tomatoes in the ground are able to spread their roots farther and access all of those good things in the soil.

Then there is the question of organic. Of course, if I'm going to be growing fruit and veggies for my family I want them to be organic. But is it really organic if I have to feed those plants with Miracle Gro tomato food? Probably not. Farmer Jones never uses any chemicals on his plants (he doesn't use the fertilizer that he mixed up for me). What's his secret? Chicken manure. Hard to come by, unless you have a flock of chickens. I might try composting to see if I can produce some ultra rich soil for next year. Improving the quality of the soil is probably one of the most worthwhile things that I can do. For now, I'm going to keep gardening, asking questions, and feeling good that next year will be even better... and there is nothing like a clean slate.

Cheesy Stuffed Zucchini

I have two zucchini plants this year. Neither of them are doing anything remarkable (they need more sun) but that might be a blessing. The farm that we receive our veggie share boxes from has a bumper crop this year and every week there are at least a couple, sometimes more, of these most versatile of vegetables in our boxes.

I came across a version of this recipe on my friend Tamara's blog and went to work. Her recipe called for chopped tomatoes but I substituted those for the cooked potatoes, making this a vegetable and starch all in one package. I also added the Parmesan cheese, because I believe that there are few foods that don't benefit from a sprinkling of genuine Parm. The only thing that comes to mind is ice cream...

Stuffed Zucchini

2 medium zucchini, green or yellow
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 c. onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 c. cooked potato, chopped small
1/4 c. bread crumbs
1 1/2 T. capers, drained and chopped fine
1/2 c. fresh basil, chopped fine
1 c. goat cheese, crumbled
Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the zucchini in half, lengthwise, and trim both ends. With a teaspoon or grapefruit spoon scoop out the centre of each half and reserve the zucchini flesh for later.
2. Put the zucchini shells in a baking pan and add a 1/2 cup of water. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes, until the shells are softened but still firm. Remove from the oven and reduce the heat of the oven to 350. Drain the water from the baking dish.
3. Heat the oil a large skillet and the onion. Saute for about 5 minutes. Chop the reserved zucchini flesh and add to the pan along with the garlic and the potatoes. Cook for another 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and season with salt and pepper.
4. Fill the zucchini halves with the stuffing. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake for another 15 minutes or so, until the cheese is melted and starting to turn golden.