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#65: Red White & Blueberry Muffins {vegan+grainfree+glutenfree}

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red white blueberry muffins 1

[Post #65 for 365 days of Vegan, Gluten-Free, Portable Power Pucks]

Following in a trend I have been setting for myself for, oh, the past 5 years or so, I offer you a holiday-themed recipe…post-holiday.

Unlike past holidays, I will no longer beat myself anymore for this shortfall. Instead, I’m giving my tendencies a positive spin. I like to celebrate a holiday on the holiday, and, even better, continue enjoying the holiday for several days after. It takes a lot of pressure off of making a single day perfect (this is an especially good trick for birthdays; I highly recommend the birthday week).

Hence, to commemorate this 4th of July week, I offer my red, white and blueberry muffins, made grain-free, gluten-free and vegan with one fell swoop (the swoop being chickpea flour).

The berries this summer have been nothing short of glorious. I have been eating them by the fistful and freezing hoards, too. But there is something uniquely luscious about berries baked into a sweet, tender batter. The heat intensifies the flavor, and the contrast between golden crumbs and inky berries in a single mouthful is nothing short of summer bliss.

Blackberries, blueberries and raspberries will work best in this recipe; strawberries have too much water to work in this recipe exactly as written, so save those for eating alongside. However, other summer fruits, especially stone fruits (e.g., apricots, nectarines and peaches), will work swimmingly in place of the berries. If you want to get fancy, add some chopped basil (berries + basil = swoon) or fresh mint from the garden (about 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped).

These are worth turning on the oven, no matter the heat and humidity–happy eating, everyone!

red white blueberry muffins 2

Blend

#65: Red White & Blueberry Muffins {vegan+grainfree+glutenfree}
 
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Recipe by::
Recipe type: Breakfast, Bread, Muffins, Snack, Portable Power Pucks
Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • 1 cup chickpea flour
  • ¼ cup natural cane sugar
  • ¼ cup coconut flour
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ⅔ cup nondairy milk (I used almond milk)
  • 3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil, melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup fresh raspberries
  • ½ cup fresh blueberries
  • Optional toppings: 2 to 3 teaspoons Turbinado sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line 10 cups of a standard muffin tin with foil or paper liners.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour,sugar, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the milk, oil, and vanilla; stir until blended and smooth. Gently fold or stir in the berries. Divide batter evenly between prepared cups (batter will only fill about ½ of the cup). If desired, sprinkle tops of muffins with Turbinado sugar.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 14 minutes until ligh golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in tin and then transfer muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Storage: Store the muffins in an airtight container at (cool) room temperature for 1 day, in the refrigerator for 5 days or the freezer for 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 muffin Calories: 118 Fat: 5 g Saturated fat: 3.6 g Carbohydrates: 15.5 g Sugar: 6.9 g Sodium: 72 mg Fiber: 3.2 g Protein: 3.5 g Cholesterol: 0 mg

Additional Nutrition Information
*High in dietary fiber
*High in manganese
*Very high in phosphorus
*High in vitamin B6

#64: Lemon Poppyseed Muffins {vegan+grainfree+glutenfree}

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lemon poppyseed 1

[Post #64 for 365 days of Vegan, Gluten-Free, Portable Power Pucks]

Confession. I made these muffins in a rush.

We were heading out of town for the fourth and I wanted to (a) bring some muffins along for the ride and (b) take some pics of said muffins for a post while away. I also had to teach a spin class, fold piles of laundry, make dinner and pack. So while I mixed the batter for these lemony muffins as I have on other occasions, I forgot to line the muffin tin and instead greased.

The result? Much darker (than usual) muffins. But I photographed them anyway, because they were still absolutely delicious.

lemon poppyseed 2

So do as I say, not as I did for this batch of muffins: use liners and these will be perfectly golden brown.

It is due to the chickpea flour in the recipe. One of the reasons I like using chickpea flour in sweet recipes (cookies, quick breads, cakes) is that it has a natural sweetness that wheat and grain flours do not. As a result, you can generally cut back (significantly) on the total amount of sweetener used without any sacrifice in flavor or texture.

However, it also means that chickpea flour baked goods with sugar in them will brown faster than their grain flour equivalents. For cookies, lower temperatures often work better, and for muffins and quick breads, a shield (a paper or foil liner for muffins/cupcakes, parchment paper liners for loaves an cakes) helps to regulate even browning.

And if you forget (as I did) don’t fuss. The browned edges are pretty amazing (cookie-like) and the interiors and crumb are light, lemony and fluffy. I decided to “frost” a few with some lemon nondairy yogurt just before eating. Oh la la lemon! This is entirely optional, but wow, it made these extra-special.

lemon poppyseed 3

I hope that all of you  are enjoying the holiday weekend!

lemon poppyseed 4

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins {vegan+grainfree+glutenfree}
 
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Recipe by::
Recipe type: portable power pucks, muffins, breakfast
Serves: 8 muffins
Ingredients
  • ⅔ cup nondairy milk (I used almond milk)
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 cup chickpea flour
  • ¼ cup natural cane sugar
  • ¼ cup coconut flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil, melted
  • 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
  • 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
  • Optional toppings: lemon nondairy yogurt, additional lemon zest and poppy seeds
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line 8 cups of a standard muffin tin with foil or paper liners.
  2. In a small cup or bowl, combine the milk and lemon juice. Set aside for 5 minutes.
  3. Ina medium bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour,sugar, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the milk mixture, oil, poppy seeds, and lemon zest; stir until blended and smooth. Divide batter evenly between prepared cups.
  4. Bake in the preheated oven for 19 to 23 minutes until browned and a toothpick inserted in center of muffins comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in tin and then transfer muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  5. If desired, add the yogurt, zest and poppy seed toppings just before serving.
Notes
Storage: Store the muffins in an airtight container at (cool) room temperature for 1 day, in the refrigerator for 5 days or the freezer for 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 139 Fat: 6.5 g Saturated fat: 4.6 g Carbohydrates: 16.7 g Sugar: 7.5 g Sodium: 158 mg Fiber: 3.2 g Protein: 4.3 g Cholesterol: 0 mg

 

#58: Chickpea Flour Beer Bread {vegan + glutenfree}

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chickpea flour beer bread 1

[Post #58 for 365 days of Vegan, Gluten-Free, Portable Power Pucks]

Yeast bread.

Mixed, baked and ready to eat in 20 minutes.

Gluten-free and vegan.

No grain flour.

Light and tender, but firm enough to handle toppings of any kind.

It’s made with nothing more than beans, beer, and some leavening basics.

It’s real.

It’s great.

It’s beer bread made with chickpea flour.

chickpea flour beer bread 2

The sky-high rise of these mini breads comes from baking soda and touch of baking powder instead of yeast. That yeasty flavor I mentioned earlier? It comes ready-to-use in a handy can or bottle of beer. You can go for a powerful beer flavor (no thank you), or follow my lead and use a mild-flavor beer. The range of gluten-free beer options has expanded tremendously in recent years, so choose a beer with a flavor profile you like (slightly sweet, dry, bold). Even the tasteless varieties work great, so if someone leaves some questionable ale at your house, make lemonade from lemons (or, rather, bread from bad brew). Oh, and if you are not following a GF diet, use any darn beer you like.

Other than the beer, this is grain-free bread. Yet you would never guess it from the taste and texture. Check out the interior:

chickpea flour beer bread 4

I may be the first to concoct a chickpea flour beer bread (it’s fun to have a first!) but bread made from beans, notably chickpeas, is nothing new. It’s a bread-making staple in India, the south of France (socca), parts of Italy (farinata), the middle east, and Northern Africa. Many of the traditional breads from these regions are flatbreads, so it’s fun to give chickpea flour bread  my own Yankee spin (i.e., made in a muffin tin, risen, slice-able, toast-able, and spread-able).

I am pretty confident you will make this recipe a keeper. Happy baking (and eating!).

 

 

chickpea flour beer bread 5

Collage

#58: Chickpea Flour Beer Bread {vegan + glutenfree}
 
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Recipe by::
Recipe type: Bread, portable power pucks
Serves: 6 breads
Ingredients
  • 1-1/4 cups chickpea flour
  • 2 teaspoons natural can sugar (or sugar/sweetener of choice)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ cup (6 oz) beer (certified GF as needed)--I recommend a mild-flavor beer
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400F. Grease or spray 6 cups of a standard size muffin tin.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and baking powder.
  3. Slowly pour the beer down the side of the bowl (to prevent a lot of foaming); add the olive oil and stir until combined. Immediately divide among prepared muffin cups.
  4. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes until risen, golden brown and set at the centers. Let cool in the tin on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes, then remove from tin. Serve warm or cool completely.
Notes
Storage: Store the cooled breads in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, in the refrigerator for 1 week or freezer for 2 months.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 piece Calories: 124 Fat: 3.8 g Saturated fat: 0 g Carbohydrates: 17 g Sugar: 4 g Sodium: 156 mg Fiber: 4.3 g Protein: 4.9 g Cholesterol: 0 mg

 

#57: Blueberry French Toast to Go {vegan + glutenfree}

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blueberry french toast 1a

[Post #57 for 365 days of Vegan, Gluten-Free, Portable Power Pucks]

I hope all of you will forgive me, but sometimes a weekend post needs to be short and sweet. Children and partners need attention, meals must be delivered at church, weeds require plucking, laundry awaits washing and folding, and a British mystery that needs reading is threatening to put everything on hold.

But we all need to eat, so allow me to share what was on the menu at chez powerhungry: individual French toast pucks, sweetened with maple syrup, loaded with summer blueberries, and finally dusted with powdered sugar.

blueberry french toast 3

Chickpea flour and psyllium do their thing as a a great egg substitute, binding these gently sweet treats into perfect portability. You can sit down and eat these with a fork, head out the door to conquer  your Saturday to-do list, or get around to that book while you nibble away.

blueberry french toast 4

Use this as a recipe, subbing different summer fruits all summer long. Now, on to that chore list of my own chapter 7 of my mystery!

blueberry french toast 5

blueberry french toast collage

#57: Blueberry French Toast to Go {vegan + glutenfree}
 
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Recipe by::
Recipe type: Portable Power Pucks, breakfast, brunch
Serves: 6 pucks
Ingredients
  • ⅓ cup chickpea flour
  • 2 teaspoons whole psyllium husk
  • Optional: ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom (or spice of choice)
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 cup nondairy milk (plain or vanilla)
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup (or sweetener of choice)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1-3/4 cups GF ¼-inch bread cubes (or regular, rustic-style bread if GF not needed)
  • ½ cup blueberries
  • 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil, melted
  • Optional: 1-2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400F. Grease or spray 6 cups of a standard muffin tin.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, psyllium, optional cardamom and salt. Gradually whisk in milk (going slowly means fewer lumps). Whisk in the maple syrup and vanilla. Add the breadc cubes. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Gently stir in the blueberries an coconut oil; divide mixture equally between prepared cups.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven for 13 to 15 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in tin on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around edge of each cups and remove puck. Serve warm, room temperature or cold. If desired, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.
Notes
Storage: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or the freezer for up to 2 months.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 puck Calories: 120 Fat: 3 g Saturated fat: 2.1 g Carbohydrates: 21.1 g Sugar: 10.5 g Sodium: 113 mg Fiber: 5.1 g Protein: 3.8 g Cholesterol: 1 mg