Monday 2 September 2013

Whole Food, Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins

September 1, 2013

SmartCooks here.

Last of the zucchini recipes for the season. Honestly.  

I'm still swimming in zucchini and having a great time cooking it all up.  I'm coping with my little 1m x 2m vegetable plot but I wouldn't want to be working and have it any larger.  At least not while I'm working at the kinds of jobs I'm doing.  

Yesterday, the next door neighbour called me over.  She, husband and 2 kids had just arrived home from their 'small' 1/2 acre of vegetables.  For the second weekend in a row, they are drowning in fresh produce.  

She took a week off work last week (lucky!) to do a LOT of cooking and canning from last weekend's offering.  But she is going back to work Tuesday and is still faced with a new mountain of fresh produce as the picture (right) shows. The kids want to set up tables at the end of the driveway and give it to passersby.  

I offered to help with the tomatoes and cook them some fresh tomato sauce to freeze.  More on that next post.  

Flours 

Since the Wheatberry store on Main Street closed about a year ago, I've been lost in terms of what kind of flour to buy, and where to find it.  

My pick at Wheatberry was always Red Fifte Wheat, an Ontario, locally grown, organic whole-grain flour.  I had ditched the 'bleached' flours of my childhood for these more traditional and wholesome products. And the baked goods were delicious.  




I haven't had time to do a lot of searching for another Red Fife outlet.  In the U.S., bloggers rave about King Arthur Flour for cooking breads and the like, but it is not to be found in Canada.  So I'm making do with whatever until I find an accessible spot (just try driving anywhere in this city these days .... the construction is ridiculous!), with a flour I want to try.  Till then, it's supermarket unbleached stuff.  

Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins

Today's recipe is Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins, compliments of Whole Foods Market.  I adapted the recipe with various substitutes I had on hand, e.g., half coconut oil and half unsweetened applesauce.  

They can be frozen and thawed overnight before eating.  Enjoy! 

Whole Food, Whole-Wheat Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients

3 cups whole-wheat flour
1 T cinnamon
1.5 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup oil (or half coconut oil, half unsweetened applesauce)
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped nuts (i used walnuts but almonds, pecans or even pistachios would be great)
Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F for muffins tins or 325 degrees F for large loaf pan.  Blend the dry ingredients.

Make a well (or hole) in the center and pour in the eggs, oil, honey and vanilla. Stir just until mixed – do not overmix.

Fold in the grated zucchini and chopped nuts, if using.

Pour batter into greased loaf pan(s) or muffin holders and bake until a toothpick comes clean in the top/center of the loaf or muffin tins.

Muffins take about 15-20 minutes.  If using smaller pans bake for 30-40 minutes.  For larger loaf pan bake for 50-60 minutes.



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