STONE FRUIT + YOGURT MUFFINS

I've been on a muffin kick this week, which is a byproduct of me buying too much produce. My eager zucchini purchase ended up in these muffins (also in her book), which are AMAZING, teetering towards dessert but with the perfect amount of moisture from the zucchini that melts away into all that delicious chocolate. I halved the recipe to get a dozen muffins and couldn't believe there were two full cups of zucchini in there. Then there are all the peaches, nectarines and plums; my favorite summer fruits, right behind ruby red strawberries. They smell so delicious and carry nostalgia for me of summers on the beach with my family, but I am the only one in our family who will eat a ripe one over the sink or chopped up in a green salad. What is not to like?!?! I question Cleo as she meticulously picks every trace of fruit from these muffins. Alas, a lot of extra stone fruit in the kitchen. These are not nearly as sweet as cake, but have a lovely almond essence and jammy fruit bits that feel like the perfect summer treat. I love them split and toasted the following day, though they are great straight out of the hand too. 

It's supposed to be nearly 100' here this weekend, so the muffin marathon will come to a swift hault. I'll leave the recipe for these right here in the meantime. 

Muffins with Stone Fruits + Yogurt

Makes 10

I made these gluten free, but you could swap in whatever flour you use regularly. Swap in unbleached all purpose for the same yield of the almond, brown rice and flax, or an equal measure of gluten-free all purpose if that is what you stock. If you prefer them dairy free, sub in a coconut or almond based yogurt. 
I love them split and toasted the following day, but they are great just straight out of the hand too. 

Ingredients

2/3 cups whole, plain yogurt
1/4 cup avocado oil (or other neutral oil)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 cup superfine brown rice flour
1/2 cup almond meal (blanched of unblanched are fine)
1 Tbsp. flaxmeal
1/2 cup light brown sugar (muscavado sugar or coconut sugar)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 heaping cup diced stonefruit (any combo of peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries), plus more for topping

turbinado (raw) sugar, for topping

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350'. Grease 10 holes of a standard muffin tin.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the yogurt, oil, eggs and almond extract together well. Add the rice flour, almond meal, flaxmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon and fold everything until fully combined. I like to let it sit for a couple minutes to hydrate, not sure if this matters. Fold in the fruit.
Fill the tins about 2/3 full. Put a couple extra pieces of fruit on top of the muffins and then sprinkle a bit of turbinado sugar on top. Bake on the middle rack for 18-20 minutes. Remove to cool completely. 

Sara Forte 2018-07-05

Gluten Free Muffins with Peaches, Nectarines and Yogurt

10

Delicious, wheat-free muffins with pockets of sweet peaches.

• 1/2 cup whole, plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup avocado oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 1 cup superfine brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1 Tbsp. flaxmeal
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup diced stone fruit

197 calories

Preheat the oven to 350'. Grease 10 holes of a standard muffin tin.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the yogurt, oil, eggs and almond extract together well. Add the rice flour, almond meal, flaxmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon and fold everything until fully combined. I like to let it sit for a couple minutes to hydrate, not sure if this matters. Stir in the fruit.

Fill the tins about 2/3 full. Put a couple pieces of fruit on top of the muffins and then sprinkle a bit of turbinado sugar on top. Bake on the middle rack for 18-20 minutes. Remove to cool completely.

PT20M PT20M PT40M

gluten free baking

Breakfast

muffin, gluten free, wheat free, yogurt, stone fruit, peaches, nectarines

PISTACHIO RHUBARB LOAF

A single scoop from Thrifty was just over a dollar. The ice cream scoop was kind of a rounded cylinder shape, and it made a "click clack" noise when the attendant would release your chosen flavor into the sugar cone or cup. It was more like a scoop and a half, really. I consistently chose apricot-mango (why, young Sara?) and my sister, rainbow sherbet. It was located inside a Rite-Aid that was both across from the city library and in the same center where we went to a weekly math tutoring program, so we were frequent visitors. It may have been dinner some nights? My mom has never liked cooking and we lived to tell the tale so no sense in fretting too much about that. My mom would also get a scoop every now and then, likely something better and chocolatey because she was older and wiser. I have a snapshot memory of the three of us sitting outside the automatic doors, against the taupe-y stucco walls, eating our treats, me complaining I didn't like my flavor and preferred the one my mom chose. She took one more big spoonful and swapped with me. She took my bullshit apricot-mango and gave me her chocolately one and while I hope I at least said thank you in that fleeting moment, I've gone back to that memory a number of times when I par down what this whole motherhood thing looks like. Yes, I hear all the self-care, don't-lose-yourself conversations and I agree, but there is also a huge part of it that is just surrendering. You surrender to the mess and the cost and the exhaustion and work and the worry. You surrender your superior ice cream flavor.  You never know how actions and words are perceived on the other side - sometimes lost or forgotten, or perhaps they stick with someone forever. 

I gave this loaf recipe a test run for our Mothers day brunch plans. The Sweet Laurel cookbook is full of grain and refined sugar free baking recipes - nearly all with almond or coconut flours and maple sweetened. The original calls for six eggs, so I risked scaling that back because we don't like when baked goods taste so, well, eggy. This makes for a looser crumb and a wetter texture and I'll take that over eggy. I added nubs of a quick roasted rhubarb for tiny pockets of tart jam throughout. You could eliminate this completely if you'd like, or maybe use lemon instead of orange and swap in blueberries. 

If you have a mother or are one or want to be one or are struggling with the one you have or can even think of someone else who has been that figure for you, a happy Mother's Day weekend to you. 

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PISTACHIO RHUBARB LOAF

Makes one 9x5 loaf

Recipe adapted from Sweet Laurel

This recipe will not work with a 1:1 swap for a regular wheat flour or any whole grain flour for that matter. Coconut flour is super absorbent and the liquid ratio will not translate. They sell small bags at Trader Joes, most larger grocery stores, or a handful of sizes and brands online.

Roasted Rhubarb

• 1 cup diced rhubarb
• sprinkle of sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp. coconut or avocado oil

The Loaf

• 3/4 cup coconut flour
• 2 Tbsp. flaxmeal
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 4 large eggs
• zest of one small orange
• 1/2 cup orange juice (about 1 juicy orange)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup raw pistachios, divided

Instructions

Oven to 375', line a sheet with parchment. Toss the diced rhubarb with a sprinkle of sugar, teensy bit of salt and coconut or avocado oil. Roast for 10-12 minutes, just enough to take the crunch off. Remove to let it cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 350'. Line a loaf pan with parchment and grease it with coconut oil or what have you.  In a large bowl, combine the coconut flour, flax, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, eggs,  orange zest and juice, maple and vanilla. A little at a time, stir the wet and dry ingredients together. Fold in the rhubarb and 1/2 cup of the pistachios. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Chop the remaining pistachios and sprinkle them on top of the loaf. I like to add a bit of turbinado sugar on top too.

Bake the loaf for 35-45 minutes until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Remove the bread and set it on a rack to cool completely. Cut it into thick slices and toast before serving. 

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ANCHO CHILE MUSHROOM TACOS

I came across this quote from Rob Bell via my friend Stacy's blog :

You and I were raised in a modern world that taught us how to work hard and be productive and show up on time and give it our best...
We learned lots of very valuable skills, but we weren't taught how to be here, how to be fully present in the moment, how to not be distracted or stressed or worried or anxious, but just be here, and nowhere else - wide awake to the infinite depth and dimension of this exact moment.

 As someone whose work and personal life come with an extreme amount of overlap, I have a tough time enjoying things for what they are. My husband is also my work and parenting partner. I feed my family, but testing and writing recipes is also my job. When I am with the kids, I feel like I should be working on something - often irritated because I know I have to hustle for my own living. Or if I am working, I feel like I am missing moments with my kids. I don't know any of us come equip with how to just be here - it's cultural, often generational, the extent of which indicative of ones' personality.  When I feel the most at ease, is when I am simply doing whatever it is I need to be doing. If it is working,  then I just live in that time, cooking or writing, going through the motions of something I understand how to do, being grateful that I have flexibility and generally enjoy what I am doing. Or if I'm corraling my kids at a park or building block towers, that I may see the "depth of that exact moment". How do you practice that in your own life? I have to make those decisions consciously, does it ever become a habit? Asking for a friend ;) 

I figured I would make obligatory tacos this Saturday for Cinco de Mayo. Maybe we'll have some friends come over, do bean and cheese burritos for the kids, make margaritas with fresh grapefruit juice. Having people over, sitting around a table in the backyard, may be the easiest place for me to just be in the moment. It is the place where my mind does not dart around between which bills I need to pay or how dusty the open shelving is or how I may grow my brand or researching Kindergarten options. Even if we can't be savoring every little thing, our angst pulling our brains to other places, I think there is always at least one place that it feels easy to just be there. For me, that is the table. Hope you can name where that is for you, and be in it or doing it, soon. I've found that recognizing it is the biggest step forward. 

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ANCHO CHILE MUSHROOM TACOS

Serves 2

I assume about 1 larger portobello per person, once sliced, it gives you two full tacos with all the garnishes. Multiply as needed for however many you are serving. If you do not stock these spices, your favorite taco seasoning is fine, just be mindful if it includes salt or not.

The Tacos

• 4 medium portobello mushrooms (about 1.5 lbs.)
• 2 Tbsp. avocado oil
• 2 tsp. maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp. orange juice (apple cider vinegar will do)
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ancho chile powder


• 4 corn tortillas, warmed 

The Garnish

• pickled onions
• fresh lime
• avocado
• cilantro
• shredded cabbage, optional
• queso fresco (or soft goats cheese)

Directions

Stem the mushrooms. In a small bowl, combine the oil, maple, salt, cumin and ancho chile powder. Arrange the mushrooms on parchment and brush the spice mixture on both sides of the mushroom. This can be prepped a few hours in advance.

Preheat the oven to 375'. Roast the mushrooms for about 20 minutes or until they are browned and collapsed down (they should look wet and shrink in size). If the weather permits, you can grill the mushrooms over medium heat for 6 minutes on each side (or until they collapse a bit).

When cool to the touch, cut the mushrooms into slices on a diagonal. Arrange the tacos with some smashed avocado (lightly salted), a pile of mushrooms, pickled onions, cilantro, shredded cabbage (if using), cheese and a squeeze of fresh lime. Enjoy. 

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