Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Cinnamon-Raisin Muffins

I used to love raisin bread. But it's difficult to find vegan ones in a normal bakery. I've only found one so far, but they just offer it from time to time. That was the inspiration for these Cinnamon Raisin Muffins based on this recipe. They were good, but not the texture I was looking for.


But they were tasty nevertheless and now they're gone because apparently I cannot stop eating when I'm home all day.

Thankfully, I also eat healthy things, including huge amounts of kale. This meal came out so good that I had to share!

1 onion
1 cup cooked brown lentils
6 leaves kale (or so)
2 dried apricots, chopped

Sauté ingredients together and add the following sauce:

2 tsp tomato paste
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp water



We ate it with polenta (made with thyme and lots of nooch) and raved for hours!

I keep the stems of the kale I eat everyday and make veggie broth every week. And the broth is as good as the kale itself!

I'm still sending applications, but everything's moving a bit slow, probably because of the financial crisis? and the upcoming Christmas? So no news from that front yet.

28 comments:

VeggieGirl said...

Love the bread AND the meal!!

shellyfish said...

Hopefully you'll find something soon, I know the market is very slow here.
I'm so jealous you can find kale! Lucky you!

Jennifer (of Veg*n Cooking) said...

Sorry the muffins didn't turn out quite how you wanted them too. They still LOOK fantastic though.

Your kale dish sounds amazing, I love kale and I love lentils. I haven't had kale in a few weeks, I think I need to remedy that!

I hope you find something soon - it has to be frustrating, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

jessy said...

sorry the texture was a bit off, Alice - the muffins look super yummy to me though! :)

i totally had kale for lunch today and just tossed the stems in the compost pile! argh! i need to remember to save them, too! we save our other veggie scraps for veggie stock as well - i don't know why i didn't save those stems! thanks for the reminder! your sauce ingredients (and the whole meal, actually) sounds sooo super stellar! i'm love'n the maple syrup. delightful! yay! and i don't think your polenta could look any more awesome! what a fantastic dish, Alice! wow!

i will still keep my fingers crossed on the job front for ya! (and send you hugs & happy thoughts, too!)

Vegan_Noodle said...

Ooooh, that dinner does sound delicious!
Best of luck with the applications! I'm sure you'll find something soon...

Sarah said...

Ah hah you are so right about the cannelloni. I think I ran out of marinara sauce. I had like a half of a huge jar and it was barely enough to coat and cover. ergh. Failure only leads to success is what they say. I best live by it, :)

shelby said...

I want that bread!!! And the kale! Everything looks delicious!

River said...

Sorry the muffins were disappointing but they really do look yummy!

Good luck with the job search! Something great will have so come up eventually!

Vegetation said...

Mmm both look yummy! (I too have that eating issue when home alone all day and yummies on the bench...)

Becca said...

If I oculd I would send you some Brazilian vegan raisin cinnamon bread they have here! I"m sorry that you can't find it in stores!

aredcardigan said...

Vegan baked goods can be hard to find but you can bake and it does look like muffins.( I cannot bake to save my life)

The kale dish looks fabu. Will try that out!

Lisa (Show Me Vegan) said...

I love your kale and lentil recipe. That sounds SO good!

Bianca said...

Yum. Kale and polenta. That sounds like a super satisfying meal. Good luck with the job hunt.

jd said...

I love that kale and lentil dish, it really looks delish! (Haha, that rhymed!)

I actually saw some beautiful purple and green kale at Whole Foods a couple days ago and haven't been able to stop thinking about it since...

Your recipe is calling my name!

PS I'm having a hard time with the job hunt thing too, boo :(

tofuparty said...

Love the idea for the kale. I'm not such a big kale-fan. But these times it's almost the only seasonal food you can find.

seitanismymotor said...

I hear you on the raisin bread! I crave it all the time. Kale and lentils =super healthy deliciousness.

Cynthia said...

I love love love kale! Your kale sounds delicious, especially with polenta, and making broth from kale stems is GENIUS. (I have a big bag of veggie trimmings in my freezer right now waiting to turn into veggie broth.)

Liz² said...

those look delectable! raisin muffins are the best kind I think!

DJ said...

I love kale and lentils in every possible combination - this looks so goooood!

Mafalda said...

Mama will definitely try this recipie! I love kale! Mama's dad has a small garden and he plants a lot of veggies for mama and me. Mama has a friend that will come from germany in February..do you have some tips of vegan food that she can bring to mama? Cause we don't to many have vegan products in Brazil.

kisses, Mafaldinha

Sal said...

The dinner looks awesome. You have made me want polenta.

allularpunk said...

i always feel better about consuming lots of baked goods once i balance it out with some greens. i'm not sure that it actually matters in the grand scheme of things, but it does ease my conscience.

Joanna said...

your dinner looks amazing. i just bought a bag of dried lentils for the first time. i'm so excited to cook with them!!

how do you make your polenta? i've only made polenta once, but it firmed up really fast. what kind do you use?

VeganCowGirl said...

The muffins look so fresh and tasty! I love raisin bread toooooo!

It is uber hard to find Kale in Brussels.....jealous. Your meal looks great - love the sound of the polenta.

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Well, the muffins look good! I love kale! yum yum.

Urban Vegan said...

Kale dish looks especially lovely.

miss v said...

:(

tofufreak said...

ooh everything looks super yummy! :)