Zucchini Almond Muffins/Zucchini Almond Bread (Gluten-Free/Dairy Free)

If your garden runneth over with the bounty of summer zucchini, this is a great way to use them. I like to grate any extra zucchini as the season goes on and freeze it in 2- and 4-cup portions so it is all ready to go when I want to bake.  Also, that way I have garden zucchini muffins all year long! Zucchini also works great roasted and pureed into a zucchini sauce.  On the outside chance your family is a touch *particular* about green things, then using zucchini puree is definitely a good option.  As an aside, you can also substitute zucchini puree in lots of recipes where you would use apple sauce. 

I actually find that they work better with frozen/thawed zucchini because the zucchini releases so much water when it thaws.  That way these aren't all greasy like so many zucchini muffins and zucchini breads are with the water left in the mixture to repel the oil out of the muff.

Flour note: My favorite GF flour is a homemade combo of freshly ground buckwheat groats combined with any mix of garbanzo/brown rice/amaranth/sorghum/teff.  Of course you could use gluten/wheat flour of any kind here, just omit the ground chia. 

Recipe Sub notes: I have had great success cutting back oil and subbing in apple sauce, pumpkin or pureed squash and yam.  Also grated carrot works really well in place of zucchini if you like.  Any sugar will work but I love the caramel-y flavor that the coconut sugar lends. Coconut oil could be used in place of the olive oil but I'm just not a big fan of the flavor of coconut oil in my baked goods. You might love it!

Zucchini Almond Muffins (or bread)  

• 2C  flour (any type you want- see note for GF) 
• 1C  almond flour or almond meal 
• 2Tbl  ground chia seeds
• 1Tbl  baking powder
• 1tsp  cinnamon
• 1/2tsp baking soda 
• 1/2tsp sea salt  
• 1/2C  olive oil (or coconut oil)
• 3/4C coconut sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2C almond milk
• 2C grated zucchini

 Optional: 1/2 cup mini choc chips, blueberries, nuts or the like

Directions
Preheat oven to 350deg. Grease either 4 mini loaf pans, 12 muffins or 24 mini-muffin tins.

In large bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together thoroughly.

In separate bowl whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs and milk- then mix in the zucchini.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, then fold in your optionals if using.  Scoop the batter into your pans or muffin tins and bake!

Mini loaf ~35 min
Muffins ~22 min
Mini Muff~12 min

This recipe adapted from Zucchini Almond Bread in Nourishing Meals; Healthy Gluten-Free Recipes for the Whole Family. 

Full size muffs with blueberries and grated zucchini

Mini muff with pureed zucchini and chips, also delish!

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (Gluten-free/Dairy-free)

These super tasty muffins and packed with great sustaining protein and fats making them a perfect quick breakfast.  Also they ridiculously easy to make!  Even my peanut butter loathing daughter thinks they are delish.  However, after the first bite of the first batch, she and Mike bit into their muffs and immediately made haste to the kitchen to manually apply chocolate chips.  Clearly they were correct in their assessment and thus, this recipe strongly suggests the chip application.  Also, in the first batch I made, instead of 2 bananas, I used one banana and about 3/4c left-over cooked oatmeal from these muffins made last week.  I liked them that way, but most of you will enjoy more banana I suppose.  I also like to add a couple of tablespoons of ground flax for lots of reasons- great nutrition, fiber and such- but also flax and psyllium husk are great additions to gluten-free baked goods as they help with the binding that gluten otherwise provides as well as help bind in moisture.  Your option to add or not, they are fine either way.

Ingredients:

• 1c Peanut butter (Natural)
• 4 lg eggs
• 2 bananas (see note above)
• 1/4c maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 Tbsp coconut flour (really any flour should work)
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
• (optional) 2T ground flax seeds/psyllium husk 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Blend all ingredients except chips in food processor until smooth.  Mix in chips, then divide evenly between 12 muffin tins and cook for ~25 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy! 

Banana Applesauce Muffins (Gluten & Dairy-free adaptable)

Actually, I made these into mini muffins.  The mini muffin is a curious item.  So cute and tasty, anyone would want to pop one in.  Or six.  Thankfully, Mia is no different from the rest of us in this department.  A muffin is a fabulous way to pack a billion tasty and nutritious things into a tiny package and feel good about what  you are selling and who you are selling it to.  The mini muffin just makes it easier. 

I didn't put any grated zucchini or carrot in these today out of sheer laziness, but you certainly could add a cup or more in when you mix the batch together.

And a note on gluten-free here.  Never before has gluten free shined brighter than in the quick-bread.  Really.  Any quick-bread recipe you read always says to 'not over mix' or 'mix just until dry ingredients are wet' and such.  This is so you don't over activate the natural gluten in typical flour.  With gluten-free flours, you can go to town and skip the xanthan gum.  They turn out great!

Banana Applesauce Muffins

• 2 cups flour (you choose your type*)
• 1tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/4c brown sugar & 1/4c agave syrup)
• 1/3 cup milk or vegetable oil (I used almond milk)
• 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbls lemon juice
• 1 cup mashed banana
• 2/3 cup apple sauce
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

* for my gluten-free flour today, I mixed 1/2 cup each buckwheat, garbanzo, brown rice flour with 1/2c potato starch.  You can use what ever you want here!

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350deg.

2.  Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together well to fully blend.

3.  In separate bowl (I just use a 3 cup wet measuring cup), mix all wet ingredients together, then pour the wet mix into the dry ingredients and combine.  Again, if you are using standard flour, avoid over mixing.  Gluten-free?  mix it up. 

4.  Pour into greased muffin tins (or papers). See cooking times/amounts below:

Makes:
42 mini-muffs (filled cups), cook 11-13 minutes
14-16 standard sized muffs, cook 20-22 minutes
1 loaf pan, cook maybe 45-55 min?

Let cool in pan 5-10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Mini-muffin, shown to scale in my hands.  So darn cute!

Mia appraises her mini.  Again to scale.

Maple Syrup Oat Scones (Gluten-Free/Adaptable)

I saw this scone recipe a few weeks ago on the Smitten Kitchen website and pretty much rushed out and made them that day.  I have only made my gluten-free adaptation, but I imagine the original version as she posted was amazing as well.  The only downfall of the gluten-free version is that they don't rise as much, but anyone who eats gluten-free baked goods or bread knows this is the way it goes.  Also, I have this need to always cut some of the butter or oil from most of the baked goods I eat, so this also likely affected the fluff factor, as my version cut 1/3 of the fat.  Furthermore, I am constantly playing with different flours to increase the protein and nutrient value, so a simpler flour mix may also be lighter.  You choose!

We ate every last scone in an 18-hour period and I have just been too busy to make them again, or I would have made them a few more times since.  Mia loved them and not just because we had "scones for dinner" that night.  These will surely make a great addition to any Easter brunch or any regular breakfast (or dinner!) for that matter.

For the standard flour version, I will simply send you here for the original post that I adapted the following recipe from.

Gluten- free Maple Syrup Oat Scones (makes 8-10 scones)

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour, plus extra for dusting surface (or see below for the combination I used)
• 1/2 cup oat flour (see this recipe for how to make this flour if you don’t have it on hand, or use a different flour to substitute if you like)
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 very heaped tablespoon baking powder (very heaped)
• 1 very heaped tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 3/4 cup (unsalted butter, cut into pieces (I used 1/2c butter and 1/4c applesauce)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup milk or buttermilk (I used almond milk)
• 1 egg, beaten (for glaze) (I skipped this because I forgot- no big deal)

(Fawn’s GF flour combo: 1/3c buckwheat flour, 2.3c Tom Sawyer’s flour, 1/4c brown rice flour, 1/4c crushed pecans, 1/4c garbanzo flour)

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Butter a baking tray or line one with unbuttered parchment paper.

2. Whisk the flours, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a large bowl. With a pastry blender or your fingertips, work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. In a small dish, combine the milk and syrup, then add these liquid ingredients to the butter-flour mixture. By hand or with a rubber spatula, bring everything together to form a dough. If it feels too dry, add a little more milk but not enough that the dough is too, too sticky.  Remember that gluten-free baked goods will not have the same consistency of their gluten-full counterparts, so the dough will be much stickier here.

3. On a lightly floured surface, pat or roll the dough out until it is 1 1/4 inches (3 cm) tall. Using a 2-inch (5-cm) cutter, cut the dough into rounds and place them on the prepared tray so that they almost touch. Glaze the tops with beaten egg (or not)  and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the scones are lightly golden.

"heaping"!

Just use a glass to cut the scones if you don't have a biscuit cutter.  Delicious!

Oat Soda Bread (Gluten-Free Adaptable/Dairy-Free Adaptable)

People, this is NO APOLOGIES GLUTEN-FREE BREAD!  With crust and chew and no strange sponginess.  Gluten-free eaters will know what I am talking about.  I haven't even made the recipe with wheat flour because it is so dang tasty without.  I can only imagine that the gluten-full recipe is amazing, too, maybe even with spelt or rye as noted in the original recipe.  I have been making this for several weeks now and keep varying the gluten-free flours I use and they are all delicious in different ways.... use Tom Sawyer's flour for a more white, neutral flavor; use garbanzo &/or brown rice flour for a more substantial and round flavor with more protein; use quinoa and .....  you get the picture.  I think the next time I make it I will try it in part with my new favorite 'flour' of finely crushed pecans or almonds to make a good breakfast version.  Anyway, eat it plain with good salted butter, with jam, soup or the next day as a PB & J.  So good!  And very fast to make, too.  I strongly recommend making at least 4C worth of the oat flour, because you will want another loaf very soon and this  makes it even faster the next time.

Ingredients:

• butter, to grease pan
• 2 c rolled oats
• 2 1/4C unbleached all-purpose flour*, plus more for dusting and kneading
• 2tsp xanthan gum* (only if making gluten-free)
• 1 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp fine-grain sea salt
• 1 3/4 c buttermilk**, plus more if needed, and 2T. for brushing
• mixed seeds - sesame, caraway, poppy, etc. (I like black and golden sesame seeds)

* If Tom Sawyer's Gluten-Free Flour here, it has the xanthan gum mixed in, otherwise you can substitute your favorite gluten-free flour mix and make sure it either has xanthan gum in it, or use approximately 1tsp Xanthan Gum:1cup flour.  Round down for partial cup measurements, for example here, use 2tsp Xanthan Gum with the 2-1/4c flour
** I made my own buttermilk as noted in this previous recipe for buttermilk biscuits, using 1-3/4c soy milk or almond milk with 1-3/4tsp white vinegar

Instructions:
1.Preheat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the middle of the oven. Butter and line a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan (or one with ~8 cup capacity) with parchment paper and set aside.
2. To make the oat flour, use a food processor to pulse the rolled oats a few times. Then process into a fine powder - another minute or two. If you are buying oat flour, not making your own, measure out a scant 2 cups. (skip this step if you have oat flour in your pantry already, I don't typically)
3. Sift the flours, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the flour and pour in the buttermilk. Stir just until everything comes together into a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured counter top and knead for 30 seconds or so, just long enough for the dough to come together into a cohesive, slightly flattened ball without many cracks or fissures. If your dough is on the dry side, add more buttermilk a small splash at a time.
4. Now ease the dough evenly into the prepared baking pan. Brush all over the top and sides with buttermilk and sprinkle generously with mixed seeds or flour, 2 tablespoons or so. Slice a few deep slashes across the top of the dough. Bake for about 30 minutes, then quickly (without letting all the hot air out of the oven), move the rack and the bread up a level, so the top of the bread gets nice and toasted. Bake for another 20 minutes, or until a hard crust forms and the bread is baked through. It will feel very solid and sound hollow when you knock on it. Carefully lift it out of the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Oats in the food processor~

"buttermilk"- actually almond milk with vinegar in this batch. 

Yes!

Adapted from this recipe by Heidi Swanson.

Cream Biscuits & Buttermilk Biscuits (Gluten-Free/Adaptable & Dairy-Free Adaptable)

I have been making lots of biscuits lately.  I have been craving Chicken Pot Pie and wanting to get the biscuits right before pulling it off.  Also, they are super fun to make with Mia.  She loves to pat them down and smush them and mix them and fling them around.  Somehow she also discovered that the dough is delicious and now I have to restrain her from eating them all raw.

Anyway, these are easy to make, reduced in fat from the typical biscuit, fast, tasty and easily modified for the Gluten-Free or Dairy-Free eater.  So many reasons to make delicious biscuits tonight!  I'd say start-to-finish-in-my-mouth 30-40 minutes depending on how much help I get.

They are great plain or with butter and jam, honey or agave- or maybe make a breakfast sandwich with eggs and ham? yes!

Buttermilk* Biscuits: (Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Edition)

Ingredients:

• 2C All Purpose Flour (I used Tom Sawyer's GF flour)
• 2t Baking Powder
• 1/2t Baking Soda
• 3/4t Salt
• 4T Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled (can use Earth Balance Spread as a pretty good sub)
• 2/3c Buttermilk*

*A great way to sub for buttermilk is to use 1c milk mixed with 1t white vinegar and let stand for 5 minutes until thickened.  In my case, to avoid the dairy, I have used soy milk, 'whole grain drink', MimicCream and others.  All work great!

 Directions:

1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 450.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in large bowl.
3. In separate bowl, whisk melted butter and buttermilk* together
4. Gently stir the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with spatula until just combined (do not over mix or biqs will get tough and the absolute opposite of flaky)
5. Gently roll out or pat out on floured surface until about 3/4" thick
6. With 2-1/2"biscuit cutter or upside-down cup, cut out biscuits and place on parchment lined baking sheet for 11-13 minutes, until golden brown.

Cream* Biscuits(Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Edition)
Now, these are even faster and equally tasty!

Ingredients:

• 2C All Purpose Flour (I used Tom Sawyer's GF flour)
• 2t Sugar
• 2t Baking powder
• 3/4t Salt
• 1-1/2c Heavy Cream or MimicCream

  Directions:

1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 450.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together in large bowl.
3. Stir in cream until dough forms, about 30s.
4. Gently roll out or pat out on floured surface until about 3/4" thick
5. With 2-1/2"biscuit cutter or upside-down cup, cut out biscuits and place on parchment lined baking sheet for 11-13 minutes, until golden brown.

Banana Bread (Gluten-Free)

I nabbed this recipe from my youngest sister-in-law's good friend Ali after she put something about it on Facebook (another strange and wonderful byproduct of social networking).  I wish I had it together in my early twenties to think of dietary changes as they related to other aspects of my life- my post-partum life may have been a touch easier!  I thought this was delicious, but there may be some of you out there who don't like the heartiness of the buckwheat flour.  For you people, there are options.  I loved the texture it added.  This is really only one of my first attempts at actual baking and I am quite pleased at the results.  The Gluten-free flour game is tricky and very expensive, so not to be messed with too much in my kitchen yet.  I made several modifications to reduce the fat, sugar and replace the eggs.  I noted the changes I made as well as her tips along the way.  I think I enjoyed it the most when I toasted up two thin slices the next day and made a banana bread-almond butter sandwich!

Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour
1 cup buckwheat flour (Ali just use's 2 cups rice flour)
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup app sauce
1/2 cup plus 2T canola oil (original recipe called for 1 cup plus 2 tbsp butter and no applesauce)
1/2 cup sugar
2-3T agave (original recipe called for 1 1/4 cups sugar and no agave)
23 oz bananas (I use 3 average sized ones)
4 large eggs (I used Ener-G egg replacer and flaxmeal vs. eggs here for my particular needs)
4 tbsp icing sugar (Ali just use regular sugar) (I didnt even bother with the icing bit, too lazy)
1 tbsp lemon juice

*Ali says "Sometimes i omit the lemon "icing" and put 1 tea of both cinnamon and nutmeg to give it a little more fall flavor."

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350

Sift flours with baking powder and salt.
Beat the oil or butter, applesauce, sugar (and agave if using) and bananas together until smooth and then briefly stir in the eggs (or egg replacer). Stir this into the flour mixture until blended. Pour into a large loaf pan and bake for about 50 min.
Cool for 10 minutes and then mix the sugar with the lemon juice and drizzle over the top. (Ali says: "I like it lemony so I use more lemon juice")

ENJOY!

I am so thankful for the wonderful people in my life and for those of you I have not yet met. 

Croutons & Bread Crumbs (Gluten-Free.... or not)

I have been making various things lately that I have wanted breadcrumbs or croutons in the gluten-free variety.  I haven't seen any in the store, but they are so darn easy to make, that I had to get on it.  I typically make croutons out of all left-over bread or bread-like items in the house.  If I don't, I will just end up tossing it into the compost and I hate throwing food away (see 'hot dog croutons' below).  If I just turn it into croutons, Mike and Mia will take down the whole batch in an afternoon for snacks like they are potato chips.  This is a triple bonus for me of using food before it spoils, often getting good hearty grains into the family's bellies and having just what I need around in a pinch.  The same now goes for Gluten-free breads. 

There are lots of ways to make croutons and breadcrumbs, so be creative with what you add in.  I am just offering some thoughts of quick & easy.  Store leftovers (hah!) in very air-tight container.

Note:  Use whatever bread you want or have here.  If I want Gluten-Free, I use either Udi's Brown Rice Bread or Great Harvest's French because it is what I buy.  If I don't care, I use whatever is around and it is typically hot dog buns or bagels or something left over from a gathering of some kind.  It is all delicious with oil,  herbs and salt!

Directions/ingredients:

For Croutons:
Preaheat oven to ~400.

-Cut bread into about 1/2 inch cubes (however much you are using)
-Toss bread into medium bowl
-Drizzle around some olive oil over the bread (maybe several tablespoons?).  I don't use a lot in an effort to minimize excess fat, but fat is flavor, afterall.
-Sprinkle in some spices.... I often use a combination of  lemon pepper, basil, garlic powder, salt, pepper and red chili flakes. 
-Toss everything together in the bowl, then pour onto ungreased cookie sheet
-Cook for ~12 minutes, stirring once or twice to cook evenly on all sides
-Let cool before using

Plain Jane here, no fancy stuff.

Breadcrumbs:
Once croutons are cooled, place in food processor or blender and pulse for a few seconds until you get the texture you want.  If you are making breadcrumbs only, you may want to leave out the spices when you toast them.


Gluten Free.  Coarse texture good for salads and pastas.

Gluten-Free.  Fine texture for breading.

No, really.  Hot dog buns make great croutons!  Dont judge.

see?

 Also.... a few weeks back, this was posted on Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef.  Slightly different technique, but the point is it is easy and they are so great to have on hand!

Whole Wheat Tasty Muffins

AKA: MamaFawn's Whole Wheat, Flaxmeal, Zucchini, Carrot, Applesauce, Banana, Molasses, Reduced Sugar, Low-Fat Muffins.

AKA: Power Muffins

Mia loves these.  Mike loves these.  I loved these.  They are neither gluten-free, nor dairy-free, but they are amazingly tasty and packed full of goodness for big and little ones alike.  This recipe is heavily modified from a zucchini bread recipe originally in a Cooking Light cookbook.  This was originally motivated by trying to find a delicious way to deliver major amounts of nutrients to the little one, but quickly morphed to Mom & Dad's favorite morning snack.  This is one of the few things I truly miss in my wheat-free world.  I have to continue to develop my wheat-free option, so far I'm not there.  Anyway, these have snuck green veggies into even the most discerning Mini-tasters.

~Makes 18-20 small muffins or 12 muffins and a loaf~

~I usually freeze 12+ muffins and pull out from the freezer as needed~

3c shredded zucchini/carrot*

4c flour **

1/3c -1/2c white sugar (or less, as you like it.  The original recipe called for 1c!)

1/4c brown sugar

5t baking powder

1.5t cinnamon

1/2t salt

1/2t nutmeg

1.5c milk, soymilk or yogurt***

2t vanilla extract

2lg eggs lightly beaten (or egg substitute)

6T vegetable oil****

1/2c or so unsweetened applesauce (optional)

3T or so blackstrap molasses (optional, great for flavor and extra iron)

1-2 bananas, either smushed up or finely chopped (optional, good for natural sweetness and potassium)

1.  Preheat oven to 350°

2.  Mix dry ingredients in big bowl and make a well in center

3.  Mix wet ingredients together and add zucc/carrot

4.  Add zucc/carrot/misc.  mix into center of dry ingredients stirring just until combined

5.  divide evenly between muffin tins &/or loaf pans (either use cupcake liners or non-stick spray)

6.  Cook muffins 30-40 min, loaf pan usually requires 50-60min. 

* I use whatever is on hand or sounds good.  Maybe even some frozen, drained spinach would be good for some extra nutrients?

**I usually use about 2.5c whole wheat, 1c white and .5c flax meal.  Use whatever you like to mix

*** Use nonfat for big people if you care, or use full fat for the babies, depending on your goal!

**** I usually use only 3T oil and 3T applesauce in addition to adding extra applesauce for fun, as with the milk, modify your fats as you see fit for your needs