I love fall. It's been my favorite season for as long as I can remember. It may be because I was born in October so I looked forward to the celebrations and presents I'd get as a child (not that I mind celebrating or getting presents now either...) but the incredible colors that would briefly adorn the trees outside my window, the heaping piles of leaves on the ground my siblings, friends and I would jump in, the carving of pumpkins and toasting their seeds...it was all just simply magical and beautiful, even now.
Janani Urreta, host and server at Bedford Post, is also a private chef and graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts. She sent me a wonderful auntumnal recipe for pumpkin muffins from the cookbook "Vegan with a Vengeance" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz that I have posted for you below ~ I haven't made them yet but the weekend is fast approaching! Brunch at my house?
Pumpkin Muffins
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup pureed pumpkin (fresh or from a can; do not use pumpkin pie mix)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons molasses
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat over to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a twelve-muffin tin or line with paper muffin cups. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, soy milk, vegetable oil, molasses and salt. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. Fill the muffins cups evenly and bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Variation - Fold in a cup of either chopped fresh cranberries or chopped walnuts, or a mixture of the two. If using, add these ingredients after the wet and dry ingredients have been combined.
If you are in the Westchester area and are interested in food store tours, private cooking lessons and personal chef services with all plant-based foods, contact Janani at [email protected].
Janani Urreta, host and server at Bedford Post, is also a private chef and graduate of the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts. She sent me a wonderful auntumnal recipe for pumpkin muffins from the cookbook "Vegan with a Vengeance" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz that I have posted for you below ~ I haven't made them yet but the weekend is fast approaching! Brunch at my house?
Pumpkin Muffins
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup pureed pumpkin (fresh or from a can; do not use pumpkin pie mix)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons molasses
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat over to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a twelve-muffin tin or line with paper muffin cups. Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, soy milk, vegetable oil, molasses and salt. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. Fill the muffins cups evenly and bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Variation - Fold in a cup of either chopped fresh cranberries or chopped walnuts, or a mixture of the two. If using, add these ingredients after the wet and dry ingredients have been combined.
If you are in the Westchester area and are interested in food store tours, private cooking lessons and personal chef services with all plant-based foods, contact Janani at [email protected].