Healthy Caramel Oat Bran Muffins

Happy Halloween everyone! Today I am not Katie, but Deb, from Napoleon Dynamite. I have a super scary, super spooky, super Halloweenie recipe for you today...Caramel Oat Bran Muffins! Muah-ha-ha-ha-haaa. Okay, so they aren't scary, spooky, or particularly Halloweenie. I didn't even make like a white icing to render mummies on the top or anything. I know, I know. I am the worst. I just never get into the whole Holiday food decorating thing. I wish I could, but I just can't. If you want cutesy recipes (and who doesn't?) there are tons, upon tons of recipes on the world wide web that can satisfy. I'm like the food Scrooge of Halloween. I realize that makes no sense.

Anyways, I made these Caramelesc Oat Bran Muffins for a little family Halloween get together tonight. Perhaps they are a bit of a treat and a trick, though. A treat because they are obviously delicious. I am a huge fan of oat bran muffins. Quaker has the best recipe, hands down. And they are a bit of a trick because there's actually no caramel in them. Hah HAH! Yes. It's true. I'm evil...or wonderful?

So here's the story. I really wanted to put pumpkin chips in these. You know...like the little pumpkin flavored chocolate chip things? Yea, the store didn't have them. Did I imagine that these were a thing? I suppose it's possible. Anyway, without any pumpkin chips available, I decided I could put little caramel bits in them! Perfect right? Um...no. There are no vegan caramels at the Wasilla Fred Meyer. I could possibly have made some, but I didn't really have the time.

Saddened, I stood in the candy aisle all distressed and morose. Then, in my wallowing, I thought about a caramel dip I made last year with dates and how much everyone loved it. Realizing that dates pretty much equal caramel, I had my answer! I guess a more appropriate and accurate name for these muffins would be Date Studded Oat Bran Muffins, but that sound much too boring. Besides it's Halloween, so here's your trick and your treat! 

These dense, wholesome oat bran muffins are infused with caramelly sweetness and studded with soft and chewy "caramel" bits...aka...dates.

Healthy Caramel Oat Bran Muffins

Inspired by Quaker Oats (okay yes, I used the recipe from the photo of the back of the box on Amazon)

Makes 12 muffins

• 2 Tbsp. ground flaxseed
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 2 cups oat bran hot cereal, uncooked
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla butter & nut extract (or caramel extract)
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil (or coconut or canola)
• 1/2 cup dates, de-pitted and chopped (about 5)

Preheat oven to 425 F and spray a regular muffin pan with a non-stick cooking spray. 

Whisk together the flax and water in a small bowl and place in the fridge until ready to use. 

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Whisk the wet ingredients together, including the flax eggs but not the dates, in a medium bowl.

Now, gently stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just combined. Fold in the chopped dates. 

Place about 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin cup and bake at 425 F for 15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. 

Remove from pan with the edge of a knife and set on a cooling rack. Sprinkle with a bit of brown sugar if you like. 

Also, West Elm has free shipping today and...well, I did a bad, bad thing. This was me when I told Todd what I did. Heh heh heh. Source: mrwgifs.com

Listening to Gerygone & Twig – Kind of Leaving(That Is Not) (They are from my hometown!)

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Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff

One of my most beloved dishes from my life as an omnivore was a beef stroganoff. It may have been the recipe off the back of the Campbells Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup can. I'm slightly embarrassed. I know what you're thinking, but just trust me when I tell you it was legit. Being that I am now a vegan hippie, I came to the sad realization that stroganoff was one of those dishes that I was just going to have to give up (much like clam linguine). However, I was terribly and delightfully mistaken. 

I started to see mushroom stroganoff recipes floating around the internet. It had never occurred to me to just replace the beef from my favorite stroganoff recipe with mushrooms! Duh! So I set off to do just that, until I obviously observed that a very large component of said dish is the condensed cream of mushroom soup. Well shit...that stuff is definitely not vegan. Another obstacle, and more crafty work needed.

Even without the soup, I managed to make a stroganoff that is just as good if not better than any animal based stroganoff, and that's coming from a serious carnivore and stroganoff extraordinaire (my Pops). I did it! Now I can savor in that creamy, mushroomy, rich stroganoff once again. And without any guilt! Peace has once again been restored. Now onto the next omnivore recipe to conquer....clam linguine!    

Rich and creamy, this vegan stroganoff features chunky mushrooms and a thick, savory, cream based sauce. No dairy or beef required!

Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff

Inspired by Campbells and All Recipes

Serves a crowd (about 10 people)

• 3 Tbsp. vegan butter
• 2 medium yellow onions, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 lbs. of mushrooms, sliced (I used 1/3 portobello and 2/3 cremini)
• 12 oz. vegan sour cream (I like Tofutti) 
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 
• 2 Tbsp. vegan Worcestershire sauce (check the cheap store-brand one)
• 1/2 Tbsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. vegetable broth paste (Better Than Bouillon)
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 24 oz. pasta, dry (I used Campanelle)
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Heat the butter in a very large, rimmed frying pan. Add in the onions and garlic. Saute until fragrant and the onions become soft. 

Bring a very large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, then drain and set aside until ready to use. 

Add the mushrooms to the onions, and saute until browned, about 10-15 minutes. 

Now, whisk together the sour cream through the black pepper in a medium mixing bowl, very well to combine. Add to the mushrooms and stir well to combine. Cook on low, until thoroughly heated.

You can serve this stroganoff two ways. Either add in the cooked pasta and chopped parsley to the mushrooms and toss to coat.

Or, serve the mushroom mixture over the hot noodles with some parsley sprinkled on top. 

Swayin' to Lorde – 400 Lux

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Hazelnut Maple and Poppy Seed Spiced Corn Cakes

The weekend calls for regale and fanciery. Yes, I know the latter is not a real word. But it's real to me, and it means that on either Saturday or Sunday morning, Todd and I will have an extravagant and downright snobby breakfast. It will be fit for someone who does not reside in a tiny thimble of a house in the wilds of Alaska, and who does not live with a giant, shedding, beast of dog that steals your spot in bed in the dark of the night. This imaginary person also probably isn't vegan. This imaginary person is obviously not us...  These Hazelnut Maple and Poppy Seed Spiced Corn Cakes definitely qualified as one of these breakfasts. These are super hearty and delightfully filling. Todd and I could eat only eat half of our portions...but that may be because we split the entire batch of nine pancakes. What? Gluttony goes hand in hand with regale...you know it does. 

Sweetened with maple syrup and Hazelnut Kahlua, these dense corn cakes lend a good, crunchy, and wholesome bite from the polenta, hazelnuts, and poppy seeds. Spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg for seasonal flare!

Hazelnut Maple and Poppy Seed Spiced Corn Cakes

Inspired by The Sweet Life

Makes 9 medium pancakes

• --Wet--
• 1 cup soy milk (I used unsweetened, plain)
• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tsp. Hazelnut Kahlua 
• --Dry--
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup  polenta (or cornmeal for a finer consistency)
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
• dash of freshly ground nutmeg
• --Add-Ins--
• 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
• 2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

In a large bowl, whisk together the soy milk and the vinegar and allow to rest for about 5 minutes or until it's curdled slightly. 

Meanwhile, in another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. 

Now, whisk the maple syrup and Kahlua into the soymilk mixture.

Heat a large frying pan over medium-low heat and spray with a non-stick cooking spray.

Slowly and gently add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir to combine. Do not overmix! A few lumps of flour are okay. Gently stir in the hazelnuts and poppy seeds.

Once the pan is hot, drop a 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and allow to cook until bubbles begin to form throughout the pancake. Spray the top of the pancake with cooking spray and flip. Cook about 1 minute then remove and repeat with remaining batter. 

Top with a pat of vegan butter and additional maple syrup! 

Now go make these, and lavish in your opulent breakfast!

Chair-dancing to, The Oh Hello's – Eat You Alive

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