Quesadillas and Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

Delicious

I was inspired by Vivacious Vegan's post on quesadillas here. You can make them with almost anything, but I used a low carb tortilla with refried black beans, fresh salsa from whole foods, black olives, and jalapenos. I thought about sauteing some spinach but I was soooo hungry. I served it with a simple tomato, cucumber, avocado salad dressed with some lemon juice and zest. Fold in half and toast in a non stick plan-I did not use oil but I guess you could. TIP: if you need to make a lot of quesadillas for a party (see my Superbowl post on sweet potato quesadillas) set the oven to 350. Lightly spray a cookie sheet and place quesadillas on it. Flip after 5 min and cook 5-7 minutes more. Let cool a bit and slice with a pizza cutter.

Tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby and we will be going out to western MA to party hardy with my family. I wanted to bring something yummy but not too sweet for an afternoon garden party. I've made a lot o cookies lately and so I decided to make my favorite muffins. I made these a lot this fall because they are great around the holidays, but I missed them so they are coming out one last time before summer!
Pumpkin Cranberry Orange Muffins
2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ea. cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg
1 cup maple syrup
1 can of pumpkin
1/2 c applesauce
Juice of 1/2 orange and zest of whole orange
1/2 cup orange flavored cranberries (from Trader Joe's or just use regular ones)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
NOTE: You can use pumpkin pie filling and omit spices and 1/2 cup maple syrup

Set oven to 350. Mix wet ingredients, then add dry, fold in nuts and berries, and fill lightly greased muffin cups 1/2 way. Bake 14-17 min.

Blackberry Thumbprint Cookies

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I made these from the Whole Food website. They are super easy and come together in the food processor. Instead of grinding down the almonds I just pulse the oats and then add almond meal, flour, oil and maple syrup and blend together. I used blackberry jame because it is Tom's favorite. We also made oatmeal raisin cookies from "The Joy of Vegan Baking"

Almond Joy Cupcakes

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These cupcakes are gluten free and taken from a recipe my aunt made last week. The frosting is from Licking the Beaters, a low fat vegan cookbook. You really don't need the frosting because the cakes are moist and delicious and healthy enough to eat for breakfast.

Gluten Free Almond Coconut Cakes:
1 1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup organic unrefined sugar
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

2 TBS canola oil
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 TBS flax seed meal mixed with 3 TBS HOT water (Let sit for 10min before adding to wet ingredients)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients in separate bowls. Add wet to dry, and mix until combined. Fill lightly sprayed foil muffin liners with a heaping TBS of batter. Bake 20 min. Makes 6-8 muffins.
Note: Using these muffins for breakfast would be great since they are pretty healthy. I would like to try adding some cinnamon and raisins.

Chocolate Almond Butter Frosting: Lickin' The Beaters: Low Fat Vegan Desserts by Sue Moffat
Combine the following ingredients in the bottom of a sauce pan:
3 TBS soy milk
2 TBS almond butter
4 TBS cocoa
6 TBS maple syrup (I used agave nectar because I didn't want the taste of maple)
Whisk together the ingredients until smooth. In a separate bowl mix together 4tsp arrowroot powder and 1/4 soymilk. Pour into chocolate mixture in pan. Heat on medium low and stir occasionally until thickened for 10 minutes. Let cakes and frosting cool before frosting.