Veggie Yogi

Food, health and prosperity for the body

Orange Cranberry Muffins

♦ March 28, 2012 ♦ Leave a comment

You may know that cranberries are a great source of antioxidants, but do you know where they come from and how they are harvested? A few years ago I found out when I visited a cranberry farm in Ottawa, Ontario. Turns out they are related to the blueberry and grow on vines in bogs. They are typically flooded several times during the growing season. At harvest time the bog is flooded and then special equipment agitates them to shake them loose from the vines and they float to the top of the water. The cranberries are then corralled and removed from the water. Kind of interesting don’t you think?

So after all that effort to harvest these yummy berries here’s a delicious way to enjoy them. Orange is an awesome complement to cranberry and combined with whole wheat flour and just a touch of sugar these muffins are a treat you can feel good about eating. No need to feel guilty about eating one, or two, or maybe even three!

In my first attempt to make these last weekend I accidentally made them without the sugar. So I can tell you they are ok without the sugar if you put honey on them! But I recommend you include the sugar as shown in the directions below–my second attempt! 🙂

Here is what you will need:
1 cup white flour
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs or 3 egg whites
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup orange juice (and maybe a little more if they seem dry when you mix them)
1 cup frozen or fresh cranberries
2 tbsp grated orange rind (2 generous tbsps!)

Makes 12 muffins

Adapted from Jean Pare’s cranberry muffin recipe in Company’s Coming Muffins and More.

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Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Once it is well mixed, make a well in the middle.

In a separate bowl beat eggs until frothy.

Mix in oil, orange juice, cranberries and grated orange rind.

Pour the egg mixture into the well. Stir just enough to moisten. Add a little additional orange juice if it seems too dry.

Spoon batter into lined or greased muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!! 🙂

Samosa Cakes

♦ March 18, 2012 ♦ Leave a comment

In my quest for an accompaniment to my crockpot lentil dahl I came across this great alternative to traditional samosas. They contain all the yummy filling without the effort of the pastry and deep frying. And of course they are healthier for you since they are not deep fried.

I first found these on Vegetarian Ventures and was impressed by how easy and delicious they looked. Shelly adapted the recipe from the cookbook Vegan Brunch and I adapted it again. I hope you enjoy them!  Thanks Shelly for passing this great recipe on!

 

I recommend mixing the ingredients in the morning of the day you are going to serve them…. perhaps along with your crockpot lentil dahl. They need to completely cool before you fry them. That way most of the effort is done in the morning and you just pull them out when you’re ready to fry and serve them.

Makes appox.15 patties.

Here are the ingredients you will need:
2 lbs of potatoes – washed but not necessarily peeled and cut into cubes so they cook faster
1/8 cup canola oil plus 2 tbsp
Dash of tumeric
Dash of salt
Lime juice
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 onion diced
1 cup carrots, grated or finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp cumin
2 tbsp green chilies
1 cup frozen peas
1/8 cup whole wheat flour
Extra oil for pan frying

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Place potatoes in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Then let simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft. I left the skins on my potatoes in order to keep those nutrients, and they turned out just fine.

Drain the potatoes and then mash. Add the 1/8 cup of canola oil, dash of turmeric and salt.

Place 2 tbsp of canola oil in large frying pan with mustard seeds on medium heat. Cover with a lid until the mustard seeds have popped--about a minute.

Add the carrots and onion and saute for about 10 minutes.

Add garlic, ginger, cumin and green chilies. Cook for a few more minutes. If it is dry add a little lime juice.

Add the veggie mixture from the frying pan into the potatoes. Add the peas and mix together.

Mix in the flour. Add salt if desired.

Mix together. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until completely cooled. If you are running short on time you can put them in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Be sure they are well cooled though or they will fall apart.

Once the batter is completely cooled, form into patties and fry in a little canola oil. I made a ball a little larger than a golf ball and then flatted it like a burger. Then as I was cooking them I pressed them down a little flatter.

Cook on medium heat for 3 minutes on each side or until browned.

Serve with your favorite indian sauces--samosa chutney, mango chutney, mint chutney, tamarind date sweet and sour sauce, which can be purchased at your favorite Indian grocery store.

Crockpot Lentil Dahl

♦ March 18, 2012 ♦ Leave a comment

Here’s a delicious and easy-to-make recipe that will leave your house smelling like an Indian restaurant!  I hope to make this the first in a series of easy-to-make Indian crockpot recipes, so stay tuned.

The recipe is adapted from “Lentil Dhal-icious” in Cooking Vegetarian.

Makes approx 8 servings

4 tsp canola oil
1 medium sized onion
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp grated ginger root (or minced from store but fresh is always better)
1 can tomato paste
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp garham masala
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp corriander
2 cups lentils
4 cups water
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups celery
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (low-sodium)

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Add in tomato paste, curry powder, garham masala, cumin and corriander. Mix together and cook for approx 2-3 minutes stirring constantly. Now your house will smell delicious! 🙂

Place spice mixture at bottom of crockpot and add remaining ingredients starting with the lentils. Add lentils, carrots, celery, diced tomatoes and water.

Cover and cook on high for approx 6 hours or until lentils are cooked. Stir well.

Serve with rice and/or other yummy Indian dishes. I'll try to post more soon! 🙂