Oil Free, Sugar Free Muffins!

Since I started my no sugar challenge on the first of January I have been searching for alternate ways to satisfy my sweet tooth and love of baking.  I found a promising oil-free and sugar-free muffin recipe in Vegan Fusion World Fusion Cuisine by Bo Rinaldi and Mark Reinfeld.

These muffins have a lovely, mildly sweet and fruity flavour.  They're sweetened with mashed banana, pineapple, pineapple juice and maple syrup.  They also contain a half cup of coconut which contributes nicely to the mix of flavours and texture.  I used a small can of crushed pineapple found in the pantry and supplemented the required amount of juice with some orange juice.  I was pleasantly surprised with the results.  My only reservation was with the chewiness of the crumb but this didn't detract from my complete enjoyment of the muffins.  In fact, I think I ate eight in one day which is admittedly overdoing it a bit but they were good! 

Emaho's Oil Free Muffins

Temperatures have really dropped this week and a bowl of Kathryn's Black Bean Chili over at The Hedgehog in the kitchen would be very welcome.   Kathryn has been faithfully cooking something new every week for our cooking challenge.  I applaud her and hope her transition to veganism is going smoothly.  After cooking and eating this way for over a year now, I'm having so much fun in the kitchen.

Lemony Roasted Potatoes

I've been cooking a lot of comforting and familiar foods lately because a friend and I are committed to not eating any refined sugar for about 6 weeks.  We hope to gain control over the sugar beast and once the 6 weeks are up, strictly limit intake to small amounts.  I gorged myself on far too many cookies, scones, and other treats.  My body and mood definitely took a beating from too much sugar and some repair work is in order.   

Lemony Roasted Potatoes


Now that the holidays are over, my other friend and fellow blogger Kathryn and I are back to cooking something new once a week.  I received my own copy of Veganomicon for Christmas and this week decided to make the scrumptious sounding Lemony Roasted Potatoes on page 109.  

Prep was easy, just peel and slice the potatoes into wedges.  Combine the sauce ingredients which were all things I had in my pantry - lemon, oregano, tomato paste, veggie stock, garlic, salt and pepper.  The potatoes are roasted in a covered casserole and require stirring throughout the cooking process.  The potatoes were tender with an extremely intense, lemony flavour.  You must be a lemon lover to enjoy these, my husband really loved them.  In order to balance the acidity of this dish I made a big green salad with a creamy, slighty sweet dressing and it was perfect. 

Kathryn over at The Hedgehog in the Kitchen also made a recipe from Veganomicon - Applesauce Cake.  I think that sounds like the perfect dessert to accompany my dinner.   It's too bad she lives thousands of miles way!