Brazil Nut Banana Muffins

Well this is week three that I along with many other people in the world have been in social isolation and working from home.

Its the first time I have been fortunate to work for an organisation, that has permitted me to work from home. Its not always been like this, a couple of years ago I worked for an organisation that pressured me to come in from my rural location to the city when we had 'The Beast from the East', even though all public transport from where I lived had been cancelled, afraid of being stranded I ended up taking annual leave that period. I am thankful that I now work for a considerate employer, I know that not everyone has that.  

In fact both D and myself have been working from home.  Its easy to get distracted with all the homely comforts, but we are disciplining ourselves.  D works from one room and I work from the other, the only time we cross paths is for lunch or in the kitchen for a cuppa.  And please don't be impressed with our expresso machine above, we have hardly used it! Its become more ornamental than useful. 

This brings me onto my Brazil Nut Banana Muffins.  I made these in the first week of social isolation.  The recipe is adapted from Heidi Swanson of 101 cookbooks from her Super Natural Cooking.  I didn't have all the ingredients to hand, for a start  I only had one leopard spotted banana. So I halved the recipe quantity and topped off with brazil nuts as I did not have the recommended pecans.  These were surprisingly good, especially the crunchy Brazil nuts which I haven't had in a long, long while - felt like a treat!  

Johanna's Raspberry Lime Muffins

It's been a busy week, so it was nice to spend some time in the garden - weeding.  Yes funnily enough, I found the act of weeding quite relaxing today. It was nice to switch off from work stuff and listen to the variety of birds tweeting  and fluttering about in the garden fighting for a chance to perch on the various bird feeders dotted around.  We even have a Great Spotted Woodpecker visiting us on a regular basis.  I sit back and admire how well the allotment garden plot is coming along.  We have begun to harvest broad beans and strawberries. The summer raspberries will soon be ready to eat too and I cannot help but  be embarrassed in the knowledge that I still had some autumn raspberries in the little freezer. 

So I was pleased when Johanna blogged her Raspberry Lime Muffins a few weeks back using frozen raspberry.  It was well timed and gave me the nudge to use them.  

I found these Raspberry Lime Muffins delicious to eat with its sticky top on the day and they were still good on the second day, very light. 

You can find the recipe for Johanna's Raspberry Lime Muffins here.  My only alternation, rather substitution was using diary milk in place of soya milk, which might explain the visual difference - I am always fascinated at how the same recipe can look different when made by different people. I also plopped a frozen raspberry on top before they went into the oven, which may explain the raspberry swirl or burst effect!

Other Raspberry Recipes 
Raspberry Crown Cupcakes
Double Chocolate Raspberry Cake
Raspberry Lemon Muffins (vegan) by Dine In, Dine Out
Raspberry Swirl Muffins

Courgette and Black Flame Raisins Muffins

Well its a Bank holiday i the UK and in true British tradition, the skies are pouring with rain.  Its a proper soggy Sunday that I dare not even go out in the garden and pick some fresh herbs for our dinner later today.  

I made these Courgette and Black Flame Raisins Muffins a fortnight ago with courgettes from the garden allotment plot, by the way the courgette plants are still giving. The recipe is from Sarah Beattie cookbook Meat-Free Any Day .  I just decided not to make the icing for these sweet vegetarian muffins as I did not have any cream cheese for the icing. 

 As the recipe makes a dozen, I decided to take some into work to share with my new work colleagues, they have been described as gannets by some of the others, so I had not doubt they would be gone.  But when I went into the kitchen later that afternoon, the number had hardly shrunk, my heart sunk a little.  Someone who did try a muffin and did really enjoy it, said to me it is because they were not smothered in butter cream or sickly sweet icing that the others may have stayed away.   In other words if it looks healthy, steer clear.  I thought it was a bit of a shame. Its the first time, I have taken something in to work, any workplace and its been hardly touched.  Well you cannot please everyone.  

Regardless, we enjoyed them, and the couple of other people in work also liked them too.  In fact, and this is not a word of a fib, one person actually asked for the recipe. 

I am sharing these Courgette and Black Flame Raisins Muffins with #EatYourGreens Vegetarian and Vegan Blog challenge hosted by me this month.  Eat Your Greens is also co-hosted by The VegHog.  Please do join in.  For those of you who have not participated before, please Follow this link on how to join in . There still a few days to join in before the deadline of the 30 August. 

Banana Muffins with Cocoa Crumble Topping

I made these Banana Muffins with Cocoa Crumble topping just before Christmas with left over ripe bananas to take into work in place of flapjacks for a change.

These muffins appealed to me mostly because of the cocoa crumble topping.

I enjoyed them that evening, but also the following day at work, but D was not that keen on them for whatever reason. He ate them though.

Zucchini - Courgette, Popped Black Beans and Feta Muffins

I did have plans on making some Green Grass scones that I had bookmarked, but with the courgettes coming from my garden fast and furiously, I decided to use some of them for these Savoury Courgette, Popped Black Bean Muffins.

I had made the popped black beans over the weekend as I was curious to see what the fuss was about this trendy food gimmick of popping beans such as black beans, chickpeas and kidney beans.  Once made, I was not quite sure how to use them as not like your usual popped corn kernels that are pretty like snowflakes.  These popped black beans looked a little messy and not particularly photogenic.  

Also these Popped Black Beans were not really crunchy liked popped corn, but soft inside and a little crisp on the outside.  I didn't dislike them, but I don't think it is something that I would make at home for us again.  I'd only make it again to share it with curious guests, but then I would try a different recipe. Since making these popped black beans, I have found two other recipes that look a little more tasty.  The recipes are from Community Food Coop (2011) and Adora's Box (2012)*. I won't share the one that I used from a cookbook and I won't pretend that the popped black beans is my idea either.

I will say one positive thing about the popped black beans though, they make for an interesting addition to a salad dish scattered over.  I don't think they really add anything in flavour, but more in colour and texture.  

Hence the reason, I decided to scatter some of the Popped Black beans over these Savoury Courgette, Feta Muffins; and some were scattered with pumpkin seeds .

The savoury Courgette, and Feta Muffins were delicious though, we are still eating them - three days later.

I am sharing the Savoury Savoury Zucchini - Courgette, Popped Black Beans and Feta  Muffins with Treat Petite hosted by The Baking Explorer and CakeyBoi; 

Savoury Cherry Tomato, Paprika Mozzarella Muffins

I had a sudden yearning for savoury scones and I blame Johanna who blogs over at Green Gourmet Giraffe for this as she has been making and baking savoury muffins in her Melbourne home.  

Also, we picked up a big block of mozzarella for panini and I have been wondering what to do with the rest, so this is the first of mozzarella recipes to come....or perhaps not, that is if we use it up for more homemade panini's.

When I bit into the muffin, the scent of the spices, mostly the smoked paprika hit my face.  The flavour is almost pizza like.  I also loved the colours, the lipstick red from the cherry tomatoes was eye popping and the greens from the spring onions a little frazzled from the bake and if you look closely you can see the creamy melt from the mozzarella cheese.

We did not finish these Savoury Cherry Tomato, Paprika and Mozzarella Muffins on the day as the recipe makes a dozen.  

Look I am greedy, but even I cannot eat half a dozen.  However, we did polish them off  over three days.  I took mine into work and gave it a few seconds burst in the microwave for warmth.  It made for a change from a sweet muffins and flapjacks. 

I am sharing the Savoury  Cherry Tomato, Paprika Mozzarella Muffins with Treat Petite hosted by The Baking Explorer and CakeyBoi.; and CookBlog Share; hosted by  Hijacked By Twins; Easy Peasy Foodie and Recipes Made Easy.

Butternut Squash, Nutmeg, Raisin and Hazelnut Muffins

I had forgotten to pick up some rolled oats during our weekly shop to the supermarket.  It was on my shopping list but I managed to overlook it.  You know why?!  My husband has a tendency to squeeze in 'tiger nuts' on the shopping list - I have a rather knackered worn out tiger hot water bottle and he teases me that Ii should get it some tiger nuts which are real, so I am blaming him for my distraction and missing it on the shopping list.

So instead of making breakfast flapjacks for the working week I ended up making some Butternut Squash, Raisin and Nutmeg muffin.

Dandelion 'Honey', Marigold Mango Flapjacks

A little while back I mentioned that a work colleague gave me not one not two but three jars of her homemade golden Dandelion Honey  which also happened to be accidentally vegan.  

I have been loving the stuff and using it in place of bee honey and golden syrup. I've had it stirred simply in some herbal fruit teas as a  sweetener, used some to mustard glaze some vegetables and here in these Mango, Marigold and Dandelion Flapjacks that I made a while back

These Mango, Marigold and Dandelion Honey Flapjacks were made for breakfast.  I am terrible for eating breakfast in the morning, especially on a working day, so these suit me fine with a cup of coffee when I turn on the works computer to check e mails and such.  

I have used dried mango pieces in these flapjacks, but you can use any other dried fruit, but to keep it in the yellow fruit theme - golden raisins, apricots, peaches.

I have also made a fresh cranberry version, but did not get round to getting a picture of it, which is a shame as I loved how the fresh cranberries had burst and splattered into the oats.

Turmeric Mango - Apricot Oat Flapjacks

These are British style flapjacks enhanced with turmeric, apricot and mango pieces. 

I don't have breakfast during the working week, so a banana, flapjack and coffee are what gets me to lunch on a working day and today was no different.  

I make flapjacks all the time and vary them wit different dried fruit or fresh seasonal fruit.  Recently its been strawberry flapjacks with strawberries from the garden, but I wanted to experiment a little.  
Turmeric seems to be trendy at the moment, so I thought I would chuck a teaspoon into my flapjacks just for a change.  Not only were the oats a golden autumn yellow, the turmeric also imparted its flavour and that was okay with me as I don't mind turmeric, but D was not overly keen on having these particular ones for his breakfast, saying that his preference was the other ones I usually make.  He thought these were more suited for a snack.

These Turmeric Flapjacks are so easy to make vegan, just replace the butter with a vegan alternative. Just be careful not to overcook them or under cook them.  

Velvet Green Spirulina Flapjacks

Anyone who has used spirulina will know why I describe it as velvet.  The powdered form is textually very velvety.  Anyway, I only made these velvet green Spirulina Flapjacks as I was wishing to use up my very large packet of Spirulina and the one thing I was adamant I would not make was another darn groovy green Smoothie.  Blogosphere and cookbooks gearing towards healthy eating are laden with Spirulina Smoothie recipes, so I gave that a deliberate miss and went for something completely different.

I have plans on making a Green Goddess Granola, but that is on the back burner for other far more creative greeny bites. 

Unlike other spirulina recipes that are super duper healthy: no butter, no sugar - this flapjack is made with both butter and sugar.  I have shared a link below of a healthier, vegan and raw version below, if you want to check it out.  Surprisingly, I actually liked these, but I don't often make the same flapjack recipe twice - who knows... 

The distinct spirulina flavour does come through, but not too strongly.  D didn't even notice it unique flavour until day two.  His excuse for the first day is that he must have been very hungry.   

I know the Autumn Forest green photograph I share here, does not sell it much but sometimes its not about the looks, but the flavour; and I will be making these again, as D has asked for them again - I wonder if I can make the green even bold next time round.

Black Tahini - Sesame Seed Butter Flapjacks

Flapjacks are back on the menu for our on the go work breakfast bar or energy injecting power snack.

I made these particular ones with Black Sesame Seed Butter, they were so good that I made them twice!  

As you can see the artistic streak came out. I splodged the black sesame seed paste here and there, but could have easily spread it out over the top neatly had I had the patience and inclination.

I mentioned previous, when I made the Black Sesame Seed Butter, D wasn't that keen on them, but when I stirred it into some flapjacks he absolutely loved it.  

Sweet Potato 'Halwa' Muffins with Popping Blueberries

Homegrown blueberries stud this sweet potato muffin. 

These may not look much to look at, but my oh my they tasted gorgeous.  They were dense, but in a good way and not dry at all.  

I describe them as 'Halwa' as that is what the texture of these muffins reminded me of, especially when they were splendidly still warm.  I am sharing this with CookBlogShare from Hijacked By Twins, this week it is being hosted by SneakyVeg.

Caribbean Sweet Potato - Coconut Milk Oat Slice

A week or so back I made these Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk Oat slices.  They were utterly gorgeous, scented with nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger - all very warming.  Every time I took a bite into these soft, sticky flapjack cake-like slices, it set me up in a happy daze.  

Let me tell you though this was meant to be a Caribbean Sweet Potato Pone.   I had full intentions on following the recipe from Caribbean Modern and not to stray from the written recipe, unless of course I genuinely didn't have the ingredients at home (mixed spice being one of them).  Normally when I do a cake bake style recipe I measure out all the ingredients and set them out in front of me, but I went into a daydream.  I blame the spices: cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and just kept pouring the coconut milk from the can into the bowl.  I realised this when it was a little to late, so to salvage the mixture, I quickly stirred in some rolled oats.  It was a happy and delicious mistake, make the pone a little more dense and perfect to eat for breakfast. You can eat this sticky treat with your fingers, or with a spork!

Caribbean Pone is traditionally made with cassava root, and evaporated milk or condensed milk. If you interested in making one with cassava,  then follow this link  Caribbean Cassava Pone.This one, as you will know from the blog title is made from Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk accidentally adapted from the Sweet Potato Pone featured in Caribbean Modern by Shivi Ramoutar. I've borrowed the cookbook from the library.  I have to praise my library as I am get to take out cookbooks that I would not normally flick through or buy, but this one I am really tempted by as I have bookmarked a number of recipes including cornmeal baked okra and Tamarind dressed Sweet Potato & Beetroot Salad. It is for this reason is one of my Bedside Cookbooks: Caribbean Modern by Shivi Ramoutar .  I am selfishly sharing some of these sliced sweeties with Waste Not Food Challenge hosted by Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary, as the sweet potatoes needed using up, I always buy way too many and then don't know what to do with them. 

Strawberry Flapjacks

Not quite summer yet, but the strawberries in my garden are beginning to reward us slowly.  I harvested a good handful a few days back.  

D was hinting that he would like something sweet in his lunch box for work to snack on like flapjacks or muffins.  Truth is I've been a bit slack making both.  I used to make them on a regular basis as neither of us has breakfast in the morning, especially on working days and this was a good way to address that gap in our diet.  Well this time round I was more than happy to to the hint.  

As I only had a good handful of strawberries, I sliced them thinly  for a couple of reasons.  To make them stretch, but also I did not want the juices to make the flapjack soggy, just add enough moisture and natural strawberry flavour.  They were simple, summery and lovely, I think though they could have done with a drizzle of white chocolate just to make them appeal to the eye more, but they were perfect for filling that hunger pang in the morning.  

Fudge Like Peanut Butter Seed Bites

These Peanut Butter Seed Bites are ridiculously sweet and rather moreish.  

I sliced them originally in flapjack style, but after taking a bite of one.  I decided to cut them in half again, as they are super sweet and a bite or two would be suffice. 

I describe these bites as fudge like, as they are rather fudgy to touch, but when you bite in its full of seeds and dried fruit.  

Apricot and Almond Muffins

I can't believe its been a long while since I shared with you all a muffin recipe, I am surprised really as I have been making them.  

These Apricot and Almond Muffins were actually made with fresh apricots, rather than dried ones.  I assure you I did not bring home the little golden fleshy balls out of season, D did, but I forgive him this time as he was good and ate most of them with Greek yogurt and honey.  There were only a few left in the fruit bowl that I decided to go ahead and bake with as all the other ingredients were close to hand.

Once out of the oven and cooled down, D took one bite and said'Yum, these are really nice'. He said they reminded him a little of frangipane tart but one made with apricots; and I have to agree.

Beetroot and Raspberry Bakewell Oat Bars

I made these Beetroot and Raspberry Bakewell Bars early in the week, for us to munch on while we work or for a easy breakfast bite.  The reason I've mentioned Bakewell in the recipe title is because these Oat bars reminded me of Bakewell tarts, not just because of the raspberries but also the content of the ground almonds.  

The raspberries are from my garden.  I  have admit that they have been tasting that good in the raw, a bit on the watery side, but when cooked or pureed there is a complete transformation in flavour, which have made these a delight to eat.  I also picked a small beetroot from the garden, unsure what to do with it - I decided to grate and throw it in with the raspberries into these oaty bars, you barely know it is there as its gets lost with the raspberries.  

I am sharing some of these Beetroot and Raspberry Bakewell Oat Bars with Alphabakes hosted this month by Ros of The More Than Occasional Baker and Caroline Makes.  The letter this month is 'R' and Raspberries are just so seasonal right now; and Credit Crunch Munch with Camilla of Fab Food For All and Helen of Fuss Free Flavours.  This month it is being hosted by Sarah at Maison and Cupcake.  

Whole Hazelnut and Molasses Oat Bars

I know these whole hazelnut and molasses oat bars look chocolatey, but the oats here have been stained by the black strap molasses.  

What I like about the look of these Oat bars is that they just shout out autumn to me - my favourite season.  

Vegan Mincemeat and Cranberry Flapacks

I was very disappointed in myself in that I did not get round to making my own Chocolate Yule Log for the festivities. It was something I had planned and was actually looking forward to making - just time got the better of me. I did however get round to making about a dozen mincemeat pies from scratch each topped with star shaped pastry lids including the vegan mincemeat filling.

As you may know, many traditional recipes use meat suet in their mincemeat, nowadays in the U.K we are fortunate to have access to vegetable suet. However, I am aware that not everyone is able access vegetable suet in their countries, so I prefer Rose Elliots method of introducing mashed banana in its place. Another benefit of this recipe is that it can be made and used immediately, no decanting and sealing in jars, and its not overly sweet like some that are just too heavy on the sugar. The only main change I have made to the recipe is the addition of cranberries and apricots, namely for visual presentation, so that the coloured dried fruit glimmer like precious gemstones. Mmmm the real spice girl in me, (not the girl pop-band wannabe), but the girl who likes her spices has been thinking about the addition of chilli next time...

Anyway, as well as the mincemeat pies which after a while lose their festive appeal, I decided to use some of the mincemeat in some flapjacks, a good decision, I have to say as I preferred them much more to the mincemeat pies.  These mincemeat flapjacks sliced handsomely and to boot, were quite tasty and fruity sharp. 

I am not expecting you to go out now and make this mincemeat recipe from scratch, but if you do have some mincemeat left over in jars, well why not think about making this flapjack recipe or even my Mincemeat and Apple Crumble Tart (see side-bar).   I am linking this recipe with Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes. Jacqueline is hosting January 2013 Edition #20 of  Bookmarked Recipes: a monthly blog event initiated by Ruth of Ruth's Kitchen Experiments.  Before I go , I wanted to share whilst catching up on my blog -reading, I noted that fellow blogger Kath at The Ordinary Cook had also made some Mincemeat Bars - see here for her tasty version.

Mincemeat and Cranberry Flapjacks
Ingredients
Makes about 16
250g butter
250g golden caster sugar
175g golden syrup
425g rolled oats
200g - 250g mincemeat (make sure its suitable for vegetarians) home-made or from a jar
To make your own vegan mincemeat see recipe below
Small handful of dried cranberries
Small handful of dried apricots, roughly chopped
Method
Preheat oven to gas mark 4 or 180oc.
Grease a medium sized baking tray about 8inch by 8 inch square.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup.Take of the heat, then evenly stir in the oats and the prepared mincemeat and a handful of dried cranberries.
Using a spatula, carefully turn out into the baking tray and press down. Place the tray in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes or until the sides are golden. Remove from the oven. Allow to cool, before slicing

Vegan Mincemeat

Ingredients
Enough for 3 dozen pies

250g cooking apples, peeled and chopped 

400g mixed dried fruit such as currants, raisins and sultanas

50g dried cranberries
40g dried apricots, rouhgly chopped
50g dates, roughly chopped

1 large ripe banana, mashed

 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg,

½ teaspoon mixed spice

4 tablespoons of Rum or Brandy

Method
Simply mix all the ingredients in a bowl.  Leave overnight for the flavours to meld then its ready to use straight away.  Adapted from Rose Elliot - The original British Queen of Vegetarian Cooking.  The original recipe can be found here from The Guardian.

Fairtrade Banana Flapjacks

I'm ordinarily a muffin and mug of coffee breakfast kinda girl, but lately flapjacks have been finding their way on my breakfast menu, or at snack attack times.  I also have a 10 year old nephew who adores flapjacks so I partly made some to share with him and his cousins. 

I've made banana fair trade banana flapjacks before: a variation with sesame seeds and sultanas; and another with flaked coconut.   However the recipe below make a large dense variation.  One bite and you know you've been smacked in the face with a banana shake!  I mean, these are seriously bananaree - if such a word exists!?

To make these Bananaree flapjacks look a little pretty and appealing to the eyes, I decided to slice one half of the bananas and pressed them gently into the top.  This gives the onlooker an indication of what's in the oaty slab cakes too.

I am sharing some of these banana flapjacks with the Breakfast Club #22, founded and hosted by Helen of Fuss Free Flavours. The theme this month is Fairtrade and for this recipe I have used fairtrade bananas.  I did nearly add some fairtrade chocolate to these, but then decided to keep them purely banana.

Banana Flapjacks
Ingredients
Makes about 16
250g butter
100g golden caster sugar
150g golden syrup
2 ripe fairtrade bananas, mashed (keep back half a banana if you wish to press some into the oaty mixture)
425g rolled oats
Method
Preheat oven to gas mark 4 or 180oc.
Grease a medium sized baking tray.  My tin measured 8inch by 8 inch with greaseproof paper.  In a large saucepan, melt the butter, sugar, golden syrup and mashed bananas.Take of the heat, then evenly stir in the oats.
Using a spatula, carefully turn out into the baking tray and spread out evenly.  Gently press down down the sliced bananas if using. Place the tray in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until the sides are golden. Remove from the oven. Allow to cool, before slicing.