Food Whims

I’m gonna be honest. I’ve had a little trouble finding inspiration this past week. I keep searching through my mind for things to write about: things happening in my life, foods I have cooked lately, foods I have eaten recently. But nothing came rushing to the front of my mind. Hence the silence.

So, instead of writing about anything substantial. I’m gonna just give you one recipe, three ways.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins (Original Recipe)
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 1 dozen full-sized muffins or about 3 dozen mini muffins. If you wanted these to be cupcakes instead of muffins, you could always leave off the cinnamon-sugar topping and instead top with a cream cheese frosting once the cupcakes/muffins are cooled. This is the recipe I used for the pumpkin cupcakes that I made for the wedding a few weeks back.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/3 cup safflower oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350º. Put liners in muffin cups.

In a small bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin-pie spice, 1 cup sugar, baking soda, and salt until smooth. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined.

In another bowl, stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 Tablespoon sugar.

Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. (If making mini muffins, it only takes about 15 minutes.)

Cool in pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins (Gluten-Free)

Ok, this one’s simple. Replace the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free flour mix. If you have a favorite, use that. If you have your own mix, use that. My personal favorite that I keep in my pantry is King Arthur’s All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Mix. I didn’t need to use any gums in this recipe as the cupcakes stayed together well enough without them.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins (Vegan)

For a vegan version, replace the eggs with a flax meal slurry. In a small bowl, combine 3 Tablespoons flax meal with 1/2 cup water and let sit for a few minutes until it begins to thicken. Follow the same directions as above, adding the flax meal slurry when you add the eggs.

I’ve become obsessed with running recently. After a long hiatus I am getting back into the groove and loving it. An instructor at school asked me what I think about when I’m out for a long run and it got me to thinking…

When I’m running, my mind is all over the place. But, the one thing that is always in the back of my mind is this speech:

Whenever I am toward the end of a run, that little voice inevitably comes up and tells me that I should stop. It tells me that I can’t run a step further. When those words enter my brain, I take a deep breath and push further because I know that if I can defeat that little voice in my head, I am growing a tiny bit stronger. And with that strength I can defeat any obstacle.

I am striving to integrate that same perseverance into my cooking. As I enter into specialty baking and try to omit, substitute, and insert different ingredients I encounter many obstacles and I fail often. Very often.

But, I keep trying.

The voice tries to tell me things like: “Give up, stick to mainstream baking.” Or, “You are throwing money down the drain by experimenting with these ingredients.”

To which I reply, “I hear ya,” (Mama did you get the reference?) “But my mission is not to do something easy. My mission is to make great tasting food that makes people feel great.”

Then I throw out the failed product and start over.

Case in point: The Carrot Muffin Challenge

I am on a mission to create a great gluten-free muffin with carrots in it. I know it can easily be done, but for some reason the first few attempts were not so successful. I think I tried to alter and tackle a bit too much at the start so I just ended up frustrated. After the third try, I decided to trash my original idea and go a different route.

And I think I succeeded

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