Carrot Raisin Muffins

Sometimes you just need a muffin. Today was that day. I skimmed through my cookbooks and ended up with the Happy Herbivore Cookbook by Lindsay Nixon. I just happened to have everything on-hand, so I decided to go for it. And, with a special thanks to my friend, Elena, I had the whole wheat pastry flour which the recipe called for. If you want the original recipe, you can find it on page 43 of the HH Cookbook.

I did make some changes to the recipe, to make it work to my own tastes, so the recipe below is my version of the original. Also, I made only 6 muffins because there is no way in hell that I need or want a dozen of these babies sitting around my house. Even though they're super low in fat and calories, excess of any food is bad, except chickpeas because they are absolutely infallible in my eyes. Hey, they is my blog and I can say anything I want about chickpeas!

According to the cookbook, each muffin has 103 calories and 0.3 grams of fat. I think my version adds a calorie more. Whatever. One calorie is nothin! I will warn you that the tops of the muffins look dried out, but the insides are anything but. They are lovely and tasty. And, the omni family chowed the rest of them.

On to the recipe! Makes 6-7 muffins.
Ingredients:

• 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (though you can use regular all-purpose)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• 1 dash nutmeg
• 1 dash allspice
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup plus 1 heaping TB of unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/2 tsp plus a few drops vanilla extract
• 1 medium carrot, shredded
• 1/4 cup golden raisins

 Method:

1. Preheat oven to 360 degrees F. Prepare a muffin tin with liners or spray the metal pan instead.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the spices, sugar, flour, baking powder/soda, and salt.
3. Add the vanilla, applesauce, and carrot and use a whisk to gently mix until just combined. Fold in the raisins. The batter will seem sort of puffy/airy, but it is supposed to be that way, so don't fret.

4. Use a large spoon or 1/4 cup scoop to fill the cups 3/4 of the way full.
5. Bake in your oven for about 20 minutes. Mine took a minute or two longer. Check doneness with a toothpick. Then let cool on an cooling rack. 

I ate mine by itself, but it is also good with a tiny bit of Earth Balance spread. I am thinking that next time I make these, I might add some chopped walnuts for a little more protein and texture. But, overall, I really, really like these!

Today's earth-friendly tip:

I like to use these unbleached muffin papers that are easily found at health food stores. Mine sells a box for $1.50. The box isn't lying when it says that you don't need to grease the liners. I have no problems with sticking, ever. Anyway, the point of this is that we should be taking steps toward reducing the number of items we are sending to the landfills. And, if we have the space, possibly starting our own compost piles (to which we can add these muffin papers). Home composting is easy, check out this great website for tips articles on getting started. There are million different bins you can buy, and the dirt/tea produced is magic for your flower beds and gardens!

Well, enough chat for now, here are photos of the box so you can read for yourself how great these babies are.