Lemon Chia Seed Muffins.

These are my new favorite muffins and have been for 6 months now (it's now May when I'm actually posting it). I love lemon. And I love the health benefits of chia seeds. The combo is a match made in heaven. Shayne even likes these, and he's not a huge lemon fan. Ya done it again Mama Pea. Thank.you.

"Slightly sweet, moist and just lemony enough, they are classic, but won't hinder any drug tests."
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (i use almond)
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup unbleached organic flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/3 cup coconut oil
2/3 cup agave nectar and/or maple syrup
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine milk and lemon juice and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chia seeds.

To the milk mixture, add coconut oil, agave or maple syrup, applesauce, vanilla, lemon extract and lemon zest.

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined.

Fill each well of a muffin tin that has been lightly greased or line with muffin cups 2/3rds of the way full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until slightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Sweet Potato Fries with Basil-Garlic Mayonnaise.

I loooooove sweet potato fries. And these are good. And the mayo to dip 'em in are even better! SO good. It's a Giada de Laurentiis that I veganized. It wasn't hard... swap out the mayo for vegenaise and you're good. Although I'd like to think there was some more skill to it. 

I haven't gotten my family to love sweet potatoes the way I do... I blame it on their father's revulsion to them. So, I enjoy these all on my own. And I'm totally, and completely... okay with that.

5 sweet potatoes, cut into about 1 by 5-inch "fries"

drizzle of olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried

2 teaspoons kosher salt (I go way easy, maybe a 1/2 teaspoon)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup vegenaise

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 400*F.

Place the sweet potato "fries" on a foil-lined baking sheet and toss with olive oil. Bake until golden, about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile combine the basil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. In another small bowl combine the mayonnaise, garlic, and lemon juice, and stir to combine. **

When the sweet potato fries come out of the oven, sprinkle with the basil salt. Serve with the garlic vegenaise alongside for dipping.

**I always go sooo light on the olive oil that the basil salt never really sticks to the fries. So, I just add it to the garlic vegenaise. 

Lemon-Poppy Seed Poundcake.

I made this poundcake to take to a couple of friends during Christmas... but only one of the mini loaves actually made it out to them. Why? Anything that happens at my house that is crazy can usually be related back to Coco. While cutely bowed, labeled and wrapped in saran wrap... she got a hold of them with her little fists and squeezed the crud outta them. Sigh. At least I got a picture before all that happened... and the remainder friends that had to settle for some granola got a kick out of it. "That sounds like her!" They'd say. So Shayne and I enjoyed the crumbled loafs. They were awesome, crumpled and all.

But... at the sole house that the lone loaf safely made it to, Matt & Mandy's... I told Matt that it was vegan and he said, "Really? It is? I'm sold, I cold be vegan if I can eat this." Whether he was teasing me or just making me feel good is still to be decided. But, he did eat like half the loaf while I was standing there... that's a good sign.

There are 2 different glazes... Alicia couldn't decide between the 2 to put in her book so she did both. One is "sweet, glossy, and elegant while the other is fruity and colorful."

Lemon-Poppy Seed Poundcake

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup maple sugar
2 teaspoon egg replacer
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup soy, rice or nut milk
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup safflower oil (i used coconut)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon lemon extract
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

lemon maple glaze
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons kuzu, diluted in a bit of cold water

berry glaze
1 bag frozen berries, thawed
maple syrup to taste
vanilla to taste

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Oil the pans (you can use 3 mini loaf pans, a muffin tin, or 4 mini bundt pans).

Combine the flours, sugar, egg replacer, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the milk with the lemon juice and set aside for a few minutes; it will look curdled. Whisk in the oil, syrup, and lemon extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir just until combined. Fold in the poppy seeds.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans, and bake for 15 to 25 minutes (mini loafs and muffins take about 15 to 18 minutes; loaf and bundt pans take 20 to 25 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake completely in the pans on a baking rack.

If using the lemon maple glaze, combine the syrup and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the diluted kuzu, and continue stirring until the glaze comes to a boil. Simmer for 1 minutes. Drizzle over the cake, and serve.

If using the berry glaze, whiz the berries in a blender with the syrup and vanilla extract to taste. Drizzle over the cake, and serve.

The Kind Diet

Alicia Silverstone

page 188