Zucchini Blueberry Muffins

Here's my recipe for the super low sugar zucchini muffins that I talked about last post. These can be made into muffins like I did or even in a loaf pan for a larger loaf. Usually I opt for the muffin version because of several reasons. One being that they bake much faster which means the oven in on for a shorter amount of time in my house! Two being that they are easier to give away if they are in muffin form.

Inspired by this recipe from EatingWell.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar + 5 drops stevia liquid 
• 1/3 grapeseed oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 2 cups whole wheat flour (I used 1 cup regular and 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup blueberries (this would be yummy with chocolate chips also)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin cups. This made approximately 18 muffins for me.
2. Whisk milk, eggs, sugar, stevia, oil and vanilla together. Stir in zucchini. 
3. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add liquid ingredients. Stir just until combined and then add blueberries. 
4. Transfer to muffin cups. Bake until golden brown, approximately 20 minutes. 
5. Remove from pan and let cool. Enjoy with a good pat of grass-fed raw butter. So good!

Happy Earth Day!

Local everything: raw milk cheddar, free range eggs,
freshly harvested beet greens, spinach,  & epic sourdough!

This is how I start my Earth Day celebration! Actually I didn't even realize that it was earth day until I was reminded by my fabulous neighbor as I ventured over to bake an amazing loaf of bread in the wood fired oven. I am so thankful for this beauty of a earth that I get to inhabit and the beauty of people that we are put on this earth to commune with. Praise the Lord for His many blessings!

I have been without a levain, aka sourdough starter, for quite some time now after mine died last summer when my fridge crapped out on me while away for a week. With that being said, yesterday I managed to steal a bit of levain from the master of all great bread in Manhattan and was able to get together a loaf to bake this morning. I am definitely a little rusty on my skills since I honestly haven't made any artisan bread in over 6 months. I haven't really even eaten any great artisan bread in over 4 months. For a while I was attempting a gluten free diet but I have officially decided that artisan bread is way too amazing for me to go without. So crusty bread thank you for returning to my life!

Going into the magical oven!

This is the real deal folks!

Not too shabby, but certainly not ideal looking.

Hope you can enjoy this Earth Day 2012 and take in as many close encounters with the ground that we walk on in a special way today. Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. 

Paleo Pumpkin Bread

I found this great recipe that I wanted to try: Paleo Pumpkin Bread. I was a little apprehensive because I haven't had good luck with creating bread like substances using almond flour and no flour involving gluten. But this was amazing. I used the great Vita-Mix to create a blend of almond and hazelnut flour, but I'm sure it would work just fine in any food processor. Then I blended up the eggs with honey and pumpkin. Combine the two with spices and voila! into the mini loaf pan and bake. I used a loaf pan a little bit bigger than she suggests so my loaf was not nearly as tall as the picture on her site, but it still was a great success for me!

Yummy! I haven't actually put butter on a slice of bread in ages!

This recipe is so good and healthy and life giving. Seriously, there is no gluten involved, lots of good protein from the almond flour and three eggs involved. It also has virtually no added sugar except for the small amount of honey and the natural sugars found in pumpkin. It involves all things natural and real which is definitely difficult to find in gluten free baked products. So good!

Greatness

The past week or so has been a whirlwind of greatness. I love it when life is busy because time flies by so fast, however, in these moments I tend to get slack on my healthy eating and exercise. Tonight I decided it was time for a nice green smoothie. This smoothie is chock full of greatness: fresh picked swiss chard, nice and ripe banana, plain nonfat yogurt, orange juice, ice, and a sprinkle of hazelnut meal. Delightful!

I got to bake some no-knead bread in the amazing outdoor wood-fired community oven last night. I've eaten my very large fair share of that crusty bread today. Mmmm good.

Copain

I decided on a name for the artisan bread bakery that I have in my imagination. I found it in a comment list on a blog that I read frequently. A nice person from France had commented on the situation that made her think of the French word copain. Copain means friend, buddy, or pal in French and taken apart the two root words indicate breaking bread with friends.  Co (with) and pain (bread). That's it! Copain is the name of the bakery I have where quality artisan crusty bread is produced, similar to what would be found in France. This bread would be enjoyed with many copains (friends) in an atmosphere of comfort, sharing life with one another.

Check out this media link for a correct pronunciation.