Tag Archives: 2015 cookbook challenge

Vegan Carrot and Apple Muffins

2 Replies

I’m pleased to say that the 2015 cookbook challenge is still going strong!  This week’s recipe is thanks to Thug Kitchen once again, and it’s the perfect breakfast/snack/anytime treat: Vegan Carrot and Apple Muffins.

vegan carrot apple muffins close upThe inspiration for this week’s recipe came from my fridge.  After realizing we had an abundance of green apples and carrots it only made sense that they would go into a baked good.  And lucky for me, Thug Kitchen had the perfect recipe to use up some of the extra produce.

I followed the recipe exactly except swapping shredded coconut for the chopped nuts (because I didn’t have any) and was quite pleased the way they turned out.  They have a hearty bran flavor and are loaded with carrots and apples so obviously they are a health food.  Almost.

vegan carrot and apple muffins flowersI’d like to try a version of these using some buckwheat flour, and if I’m feeling really ambitious, a paleo version as well.  But one step at a time.

Vegan Carrot and Apple Muffins (from the Thug Kitchen Cookbook)

*makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/4 cups almond milk

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups shredded carrot

1/3 cup shredded apple

1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375F.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners or cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix all of your dry ingredients.  Slowly add the almond milk, olive oil, vanilla, carrot and apple and continue to mix until well blended.

vegan carrot apple muffins tinSpoon your batter into the muffin tins and bake for about 20 minutes.  Cool, eat, enjoy.

Favorite muffin recipe?  And go!

Pork Sausage with Swiss Chard

1 Reply

One of the cookbooks that was on my Christmas wishlist was David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen.
I’ve been a huge fan of Lebovitz’s blog for quite some time now, and loved his novel My Life in Paris.  I spent one lazy Sunday afternoon pouring through his book with a glass of wine when I stumbled upon his Pork Sausage with Swiss Chard recipe and knew I had to make it for the 2015 cookbook challenge.

my paris kitchen david lebovitzThe original recipe called for chicken livers which I wasn’t on board with, but we followed the rest of it to the letter.  Plus the recipe called for the sausages being wrapped in bacon, and you can’t really go wrong when bacon is involved.

We don’t have a food processor so we chopped all of our ingredients by hand and then mixed it all together in our Kitchen-Aid stand mixer.  From start to finish it took a little over an hour and yielded 4 delicious sausages that we paired with some roasted root vegetables.

pork sausage with swiss chard Making this recipe got me all excited for our upcoming one year wedding anniversary trip to France this May.  Oh did I mention we are going to France?  Burgundy and Champagne, here we come.

Also if you are looking for a beautifully shot cookbook with lots of delicious recipes then I highly recommend this one.  It’s quickly becoming one of my favorites!

Guacamole Fish Tacos

4 Replies

Living in Southern California, it is pretty much a prerequisite that you must love guacamole.  And yet, I don’t have it often enough!  But in the spirit of the 2015 cookbook challenge and to celebrate the return of Portlandia, I decided to make Guacamole Fish Tacos from the Portlandia Cookbook.

guacamole fish tacosI’ll be honest, this recipe was pretty straightforward and easy to make.  The main modification I made was with the fish.  The original recipe called for red snapper (which I love), but we are both trying to be more conscientious about our seafood choices thanks to Seafood Watch, so we opted for wild sole and rockfish from Santa Monica Seafood.  Another good seafood tip?  Buy wild over farm raised and fresh over frozen as often as possible.

santa monica seafoodOnce we got our fish, the rest of the recipe came together pretty quickly.  We whipped up the guacamole, sautéed the fish and vegetables, assembled the slaw and warmed up the tortillas.  The great thing about fish tacos is you can customize them however you want, as long as there’s guacamole involved of course.

guacamole fish tacos taco bar

One of my lovely friends from LA joined us for dinner and we created a build your own taco bar with all of the fixings.  I knew this recipe was a winner when there wasn’t a drop of guacamole left after.

fish tacos and cheese

Guacamole Fish Tacos (adapted from the Portlandia Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh fish (see note above)

4 avocados, mashed

1 red onion, chopped

1 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

flour tortillas

sour cream or other cheese for topping (I used Tillamook Cheese)

Directions:

Grill your fish to your liking (I also recommend baking in parchment paper)

While you fish is cooking, assemble the guacamole ingredients in a large bowl and mix until everything is well blended.  Since many people have different preferences to how they like their guacamole, I recommend seasoning to your liking.

Warm your tortillas in the oven.  Assemble your fish taco, devour, and repeat.