Blueberry Peach Oat Muffins (vegan)

Two weeks from today I will be in Ireland.

 

In other words, my family has only two weeks left to enjoy being spoiled by a private chef.

I get to cook all day, they experience the good life, you get all the recipes.

It's a Win-Win-Win.

But they are seriously burned out from oatmeal, with still over a month of winter left.

And waking up while it's still dark to make them breakfast isn't likely to happen.

 

Luckily these Blueberry Peach Oat Muffins can be whipped together the night before

and ready when the sun comes up.

Or, in this case, before.

Peach and ginger add a burst of warmth to these hearty blueberry oat muffins.
Enjoy while counting down the days until spring!


Yields 1 dozen muffins

Add some sunshine to these gray winter mornings.

3/4 cup soymilk plus 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons flaxmeal mixed with 6 tablespoons warm water

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of ground ginger

1/2 cup baking oil (I use sunflower)
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup diced peaches

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare muffin baking tin with paper liners.

In one cup, whisk together the soymilk and the apple cider vinegar, and in another cup, the flaxmeal and warm water. Let both set for ten minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir the oats, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, salt, nutmeg, and ginger. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine the soymilk/vinegear mix with the flaxmeal slurry and stir in the baking oil, blueberries, and peaches. Add to dry ingredient mix, stir until no large flour lumps remain. Distribute batter equally among the lined muffin pan and bake until lightly browned and an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 15-17 minutes. Remove from oven and enjoy warm or cooled.

Fruit Sweetened Blueberry Spiced Granola

Homemade granola not only is miles healthier than store-bought cereal, but it's also incredibly more delicious. Making your own granola is the best way to kick the cardboard box habit. Even if it boasts having fiber and whole grains, it's still full of sugar, processed soy, and preservatives. And the high sugar, high oil granola sitting next to it on the shelf is even worse!

This Blueberry Spiced Granola has anywhere from 25% to 50% of the amount of added fat of most recipes. Plus it is sweetened naturally, with applesauce, prunes, and blueberries. No sugar, no expensive agave or maple syrup. Best part, no yummy crunchy clusters were sacrificed.


Luckily it is easy to make your own. If your mornings are busy, then mix everything together, toss it on a sheet, and bake it the night before. Nothing like having a relaxing night that is filled with the aroma of baking granola. This batch can last you at least 3 mornings. And you'll save money too! As always, I encourage you to experiment with different fruits, nuts, and seeds. Granola should never be boring!


Blueberry Spiced Granola

3 cups rolled oats (I used 1 1/ 2 cups old fashioned and 1 1/2 cups steel cut)
3 tablespoons rice bran
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
6 prunes, pureed in food processor
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used light olive)
1 tablespoon almond butter
1 tablespoon flaxseed
1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup walnut pieces


Heat oven to 350F. Light a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together oats, rice bran, and spices. In a small bowl, whisk applesauce, pureed prunes, oil, almond butter, flaxseed, and salt. Mix wet ingredients into dry, and fold in blueberries. Spread an even layer on baking sheet and bake until golden, about 15-20 minutes.

When cool enough to handle, transfer to bowl and fold in pumpkin seeds and walnut pieces. Enjoy as is or pour almond milk over. Store tightly sealed in  the fridge.

Strawberry Blueberry Granola Crumble

Happy Fourth of July! Another holiday, another excuse to bake something exciting. Don't even think that using red, white, and blue sprinkles will cut it for America's birthday. You want to impress her, bake with the fruit grown from her land.

I'd salute it.

You cannot get any more summery-American than this Strawberry Blueberry Granola Crumble. Ripe strawberries, plump blueberries, hearty oats ... the sweet, simple, guiltless desserts are always devoured the quickest. My advice: Make two, bring one to the  BBQ tomorrow and keep the other safe at home.


1 1/2 cups oats, ground in the food processor

3/4 cup oats
1/2 cup slivered almonds
dash of salt
dash of cinnamon
3 tablespoons coconut oil
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 quart blueberries
1 quart strawberries, diced
2 tablespoons arrowroot
squeeze of lemon juice

Heat oven to 350F and lightly grease a clear casserole dish.

Mix together ground oats, whole oats, almonds, salt and cinnamon. Add oil and syrup, mix using finger tips until a coarse crumble is achieved. Set aside.

In a large bowl toss blueberries, strawberries, arrowroot, and lemon juice until fruit is all-coated. Pour into casserole dish. Using a large spoon, drop granola crumble on top. Bake until topping is golden and fruit is steaming, about 20 minutes. Let cool a bit before eating. If feeling adventurous, serve with coconut ice cream.

Blueberry Cobbler

Most weekends, I find a recipe I want to make, only to come home and find I have none of the ingredients. Never one to deprive myself of dessert, I "made it work"with this amazing blueberry cobbler, a recipe altered and veganized from the Blackberry Cobbler recipe in Mary Engelbreit's Sweet Desserts Cookbook. She actually only does the artwork in the cookbook, so I'm not really sure why her name gets such big letters and not the chef, but whatever. The book is full of simple, too-sugary, buttery desserts. Her intentions are all good, and with some changes the recipes can be adapted for the sweettoothed vegan.

Messy is beautiful, beautiful is messy.

This cobbler is DELICIOUS. Now, I have a real bias toward my beloved blueberry, and other fruits can be used in place, but the blueberries really add a lot. This dessert went unbelievably fast, if I didn't have blueberry staining all over my mouth and hands, I probably would have mistake the whole thing for a wonderful dream.

Topping:
3/4 c whole wheat flour
1/3 c sugar
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
3 T vegetable oil (I used grapeseed)
1/3 c + 1 T almond milk

Filling:
2 c fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 c sugar
2 1/4 t whole wheat flour
1/16 t allspice

Heat oven at 375F.

Mix dry topping ingredients in a small bowl. Press in oil and almond milk until mixture has a crumbly texture. Set aside.

Mix filling ingredients together in a medium bowl. Pour into an ungreased pan or pie tin. Drop topping on blueberry filling, in spoonfuls until well covered (it will spread).

Bake for about 20 minutes, until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbling.

Let cool shortly and serve warm or cold.