Kumquat Cashew Bran Muffins

A local grocery store had kumquats for $2 a pint, so I picked some up. I had no idea what to do with the odd little citrus fruits. They are entirely edible except for the seeds. The skins are sweet and the pulp is tart.

In my respiratory infection-induced delirium, I decided muffins would be a good way to use some of these mystery fruits. If you don't have kumquats available, try chopped apples instead. I wasn't sure how these would turn out, but they are quite good and Turbokid loves them.

Kumquat Cashew Bran Muffins

1/2 cup untoasted wheat germ
1/2 cup wheat bran (alternatively, you can use all germ or bran totaling 1 cup. I only had 1/2 cup germ left, so I used both)
1 Tbsp ground flax seed mixed into 3 Tbsp water
1 cup almond milk (I used vanilla)
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp blackstrap molasses
4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp oil
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup chopped and seeded kumquats
1/2 cup raw cashew pieces

Preheat oven to 400F.

Mix wheat germ and wheat bran together in a mixing bowl. Stir in flax mixture and almond milk and let sit briefly until some of the moisture is absorbed. Mix in sugar, molasses, baking powder, salt, and oil, then mix in the white whole wheat flour. Fold in chopped kumquats and cashews.

Fill lined or greased muffin cups with the batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Raw Coconut-Lime Cookie Balls

My current obsession is raw cookies. They are free of most allergens, quick to make, and a healthy snack to eat in the 3-second lull between group exercise classes and chasing two hyperactive toddlers. This is a variation of the versatile sunflower seed cookie I posted last week and they taste like Lara Bars. If you want a more Larabar-like bar, you can roll them flat and cut them before refrigerating instead of rolling them into balls.

Raw Coconut-Lime Cookie Balls

1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup unsweetened dried coconut (plus more for rolling cookies in)
1 cup pitted dates
1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
1 Tbsp coconut oil

Pulse almonds, seeds, and coconut in a food processor until a coarse flour forms. Add dates and pulse into the dates are well incorporated. Add the coconut oil and lime juice and process until a dough forms.

Roll 1/2 Tbsp-sized portions of dough into balls and roll the balls in shredded coconut, if desired. Refrigerate for a few hours to overnight, and store in fridge.

Cranberry-Orange Coffee Cake

Do you still have cranberries left over in your freezer from the winter holidays? I always freeze a bag or two for use later in the year. This sweet and tart coffee cake is a tasty way to use some of those leftover cranberries. If you don't have fresh or frozen cranberries, dried will also work, but you'll want to reduce the sugar a bit.

Cranberry-Orange Coffee Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat or white whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup sugar (1 cup if using dried cranberries with added sugar)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
4 Tbsp coconut oil
1 Tbsp orange zest
1 cup orange juice
2 cups fresh/frozen cranberries or 1 cup dried cranberries

Topping
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 Tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. In a mixing bowl, combine flours, sugar, salt, baking powder, coconut oil, and zest with a fork or your fingers until a coarse meal forms (no clumps of flour or coconut oil). Stir in orange juice until well mixed and then fold in cranberries. Pour batter into a 9x9 cake pan and smooth the top.

In a small bowl, stir together topping ingredients until well combined. Sprinkle topping over batter.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Lavender-Lime Shortbread

These light and delicate shortbread cookies are great with tea. The lavender and lime combination may seem odd, but the flavors blend together wonderfully.

Lavender-Lime Shortbread

1/2 Tbsp dried lavender (food-grade)

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp finely grated lime zest

1/2 cup non-dairy butter, salted (I used Earth Balance)

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

fresh lime juice

Grind lavender to a coarse powder with a mortar and pestle or with a spice grinder. Stir lavender, sugar, and lime zest together in a mixing bowl. Add the softened non-dairy butter and cream the mixture together. Add flour and salt. Beat until a soft, crumbly dough forms, adding lime juice if necessary if dough is too powdery.

On a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper, form the dough into a loaf. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for an hour. 

Preheat oven to 350F. Removed dough from fridge. Cut the dough into 1/4 inch thick slices and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Let cookies cool for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool completely, then ice if desired. 

Makes about 18 cookies.

Icing (optional)

1 cup powdered sugar

1-2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp lime zest

1/2 tsp ground dried lavender

In a small mixing bowl, stir together ingredients. If the icing is too thin, add extra sugar, and if it's too thick, add more lime juice.

Spoon icing onto the cookies and let set for at least half an hour.

Lemon Basil Bread

I love the smell of fresh-baked bread. It invokes sweet memories of childhood and experiments have correlated experiencing the smell of fresh bread to being kinder to strangers. Scents can invoke memories and alter moods in unexpected ways and the scent of bread brings many people comfort.

I've been using this recipe for a couple years. Many homemade bread recipes require eggs or milk, but this is simpler. I've livened it up from the usual yeast-salt-flour combination and given it a kick of herbs and citrus. The oat flour can be replaced by whole wheat, but I recommend keeping the all-purpose flour as is so the bread does not become too dense for the fresh citrus flavor.

Lemon Basil Bread

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 package)
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup oat flour
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2-2 tsp fresh lemon zest
2 Tbsp fresh basil, minced
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted (canola or another vegetable oil also works. Olive oil has too strong of a flavor for this bread).

In a small bowl, dissolve 1 Tbsp of the sugar and the yeast in the water. Let stand for about 5 minutes, or until bubbly.

In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup of the all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup of the oat flour, the lemon juice, lemon zest, basil, salt, the remaining 1 Tbsp sugar, and coconut oil.

Add the yeast mixture and mix until well combined. Add the remaining flour and stir well. The dough will be a little sticky.

Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place for about 40 minutes, or until the size is approximately doubled. Punch the dough down. Place the dough in a greased loaf pan. Smooth the top and pat the dough to fill the corners. Cover the dough again and let it rise another 40 minutes, or until doubled.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 35-40 minutes. The bread is done when the loaf sounds hollow when the crust is golden and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool, then slice and serve with non-dairy butter.

Note:
Agave butter is great with this because the sweetness balances out the tartness of the lemon. Just mix 1 tsp of agave nectar into 2 Tbsp of non-dairy butter like Earth Balance.

Fruit-Infused Water

I have trouble getting Turbokid to drink water. His father has a juice habit and it has rubbed off on him. I've been encouraging him do drink more water by trying two different things. I either mix just an ounce of juice in with seven ounces of water in his sippy to give the water flavor, or I make up a pitcher of fruit-infused infused water. This is also good for people who need to drink more water but don't like it plain.

When I was pregnant with Messy Mouse, my midwives always had a huge pitcher of infused water out on the counter at the birth center. Every appointment, they had a different flavor. We had to avoid some of them because they contained mango or cherries, but the ones we could drink were greatly enjoyed by Turbokid. He especially liked any combination with strawberries. I dealt with morning sickness all nine months, so the ginger infusions were particularly refreshing.

Infused waters are easy to make. All you do is combine thinly sliced fruits and herbs in a pitcher, cover with filtered water, and let sit for 8 hours or overnight. Then just strain out the fruit and enjoy the water. You can even make smaller quantities in jars if you have a couple slices of fruit leftover from another cooking project.

It is fun to experiment with different combinations of fruits and fresh herbs or just combinations of fruits if you don't have fresh herbs on hand. Here are some tasty combinations to add to a pitcher (approximately two quarts) of water:

Lemon-Cucumber
1 sliced cucumber
1 sliced lemon
10-12 mint leaves
1 Tbsp thinly sliced ginger

Lemon-Basil
1 sliced lemon
1 sliced cucumber
8 basil leaves

Strawberry-Orange-Ginger
4 sliced strawberries
1 sliced orange
1 Tbsp thinly sliced ginger

Raspberry Lemonade
handful of raspberries
1 sliced lemon

Rosemary-Citrus
2 sprigs rosemary
2 sliced limes
1 sliced orange

Peach-Basil
1 sliced peach
handful of raspberries
8 basil leaves

Ginger-Pear
1 sliced pear
1 Tbsp thinly sliced ginger
1 cinnamon stick

Strawberry-Citrus
5 sliced strawberries
1 sliced lemon
1 sliced orange

Broiled Grapefruit

Looking for a quick, light, hot breakfast without all the grains or a fruit to compliment a heartier meal? I had one lonely grapefruit left so I made this. Broiling the grapefruit mellows the tartness, so even people who don't normally like grapefruit may like it this way.

Broiled Grapefruit

1 red grapefruit
1 tsp coconut oil or Earth Balance
3/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the broiler on your oven. Cut the grapefruit in half. With a small knife or grapefruit knife, score the fruit along the membranes and rind. This will make it easier to scoop out after cooking.

In a small bowl, stir together the coconut oil or Earth Balance, sugar, and cinnamon until well combined. Spread the mixture over the grapefruit halves and place the halves on a cookie sheet.

Broil for 3-5 minutes. Serves one, but the recipe can easily be multiplied to serve more.