Muffins

I used an adaptation of this recipe as my "go to" muffin recipe for the past year or so. I never bothered to add the crumb topping, partly from laziness and partly because I like for my muffins to remain relatively healthy.

I decided, however, that adding a sugar + butter crunchy topping wouldn't be so bad if I cut some of the fat and sugar recipe from the muffin itself. The result was fantastic! While the muffin wasn't overly sugary, the sweet and crunchy topping made up for it. "My" recipe is only a slight adaptation of the one above, but I'll post it here as well. It's also doubled, which makes about 18 muffins for me.

Muffins

Ingredients:

• 3 tsp "Ener-G" egg replacer + 2 tbsp water (this is the binder, but you could replace it will 2 tbsp apple sauce, or a mashed banana)
• 3 cups flour
• Slightly less than 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp ground flax seed
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup oil 
• about 2/3 cup soy or rice milk (see below)
• 1 cup of berries

(crunchy topping)

• 0.25 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp vegan margarine
• 2 tbsp flour

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease/line the muffin pan.
2. In a measuring cup, wisk together the Ener-G powder and the water. 
3. Add the oil to the measuring cup, then add in enough milk to equal 2 cups. 
4. Mix together the contents of the measuring cup with the sugar, flour, flax seed, baking powder, and salt. 
5. Fold the berries into the batter.
6. Pour the batter into the muffin pan.
7. Mix the crunchy topping ingredients in a small bowl until there are no large lumps. 
8. Sprinkle the crunchy topping on top of the muffins. 
9. Bake 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Garlic Zoom Review

I was graciously given a gift card to Bed Bath & Beyond for Christmas, which I immediately spent. In fact, I already knew what I wanted! After breaking my second garlic press in less than 12 months (granted, one was inexpensive - but the other was really well made), I knew I had to find another way to chop the ridiculous amount of garlic I use.

Enter, the "Garlic Zoom"!

This nifty device rolls along the counter and minces garlic. I wasn't convinced it would work, but after breaking so many garlic presses in my life, I had to give it a try. Just load the garlic in top...

Roll it across the counter top a few times, and that's it. I like that you have control over how finely minced the garlic is (unlike a traditional garlic press). It's fast and kind of fun :)

Above is the "top" door open, but it's also hinged in the middle so that the blade can easily pop out to make scraping out all of the garlic-y goodness possible. There is no more waste or mess than with a traditional garlic press (in fact, I think this is easier to clean!)

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Fast
• Easy to clean
• Variable mince size

Cons:

• Possible blade dulling after use?
• Only minces 2-3 cloves at a time

Overall I'm very happy with this little gadget. True, it really only has one purpose in the kitchen. But when you eat as much garlic as we do, that's something I can live with!