Gluten-Free Peach Muffins with Almond Flour

Gluten-free peach muffins baked with almond flour.

Juicy Peach Muffins

Today is Labor Day. And here I am working. Editing photographs of peach muffins and writing up a new gluten-free recipe. No rest for the wicked. Or the self-employed. We bloggers toil at our living daily, working through holidays and oftentimes, dinner. We tend and tweak and pretty much live a nerdy geek life. The opposite of glamorous.

Or maybe it's just me.

There are plenty of extroverted bloggers who travel and attend blogging conferences and hob nob. They dine together and smile brilliantly in group pictures, tweeting breathlessly their mutual squee. And I envy them. Sometimes. Just a little.

But alas, the simple truth is, it is not meant to be. I am destined, you see, to the role of wallflower and geek girl. Because the mere, fleeting snippet of a thought about flying somewhere alone, which, you know, entails the whole going through various x-ray machines and raising your arms for people wielding wands, not to mention, taking one's shoes off and rushing to put them back on so that the person (make that seventeen persons) behind you doesn't get impatient while you fumble with your buckles and your unzipped purse and boarding pass and explain to the squinting security guy that the mystery wad of metal in your bag's side pocket is only dimes and quarters you collect for Santa Monica parking meters as he picks out all thirty-seven coins just to make sure and for good measure keeps your nail clippers (in all the excitement, you didn't confess you were also carrying nail clippers). Thank goddess you packed the vibrator in your checked luggage.

And then there's the whole belting yourself into a hulking metal beast with wings that weighs goddess knows how many megatons, and snugging your pelvis to a polyester burnt orange float-able seat cushion between a shiny headed businessman who obviously ate raw onions for lunch and college professor reading the New York Times who you know secretly wants to discuss Obama's Afghanistan policy. Where is Dr. Jack Shephard when you need him?

Such visions send spikes of fear and loathing down my duodenal canal.

So I imagine muffins.

I fondle peaches at the market admiring their curve and fuzz. I peel them gently and coax out the stone pit. I slice them into jewels that will fit on the tongue and give up a burst of sweet tart juice. I stir almond meal into powder soft flours and squeeze lime juice and sprinkle cinnamon.

I bake.

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Gluten-Free Banana Mini-Muffins

Sweet little mini-muffins with big banana taste.

Sweet Morsels

Week four began Monday. My month of soft foods only is slowly winding down. I can feel the diet working, spinning its soothing magic and calming this burning monkey gut of mine with scoops of mashed potato and spoonfuls of slow cooked soups between doses of kitten cuteness and favorite comedies. My medicine has been a stew of Protonix, Culturelle, baby food, and laughing as much as possible.

I'm a big believer in the healing power of a hearty guffaw.

But I'd be lying if I didn't confess I crave texture and crunch like there's no tomorrow. Who wouldn't? After four plus weeks of nothing more al dente than a boiled rice noodle, I am sorry to tell you I wake up dreaming of potato chips. I miss the nutty terrain of a pecan cracker. The sexy chewy center of  a chocolate chip cookie. 

This yearning has not gone unnoticed.

Steve has been pondering my dearth of oral satisfaction. And always one to roll up his sleeves and pitch in, he started  rummaging around the kitchen, imagining something I could eat- without repercussion. A treat soft enough to comply with my diet's rules. A go-between bite nestled somewhere in the middle of hot buttered toast (not allowed) and pureed pumpkin (allowed, but so dead boring).  

And thus the mini-banana muffin was born. A petite friendly bite of moist banana goodness. Not overwhelmed by cinnamon (off limits). Not studded with nuts (emphatic no-nos!). Just simple, clean, honest banana taste.

In a darling, non-pointy vegan parcel.

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Gluten-Free Banana Corn Muffins Recipe

Tender and sweet corn muffins infused with the scent of banana

Gypsy Souls

Apartment hunting is more than a little fun, right? It's big fun. You get to tour unfamiliar lobbies and prowl rooms old and new. You get to peek into kitchen cupboards and step onto balconies, turning your face toward the sun to imagine greeting the day in that one particular spot on Earth (mug of fresh brewed coffee and a crisp LA Times in hand).

You wade eagerly into conversations about whether you'd prefer looking out at a roof top or a wall or a neighbor's patio ringed with bamboo. Hunting is fun. But finding the right apartment is not as simple as you might think.

While you think it would be beyond groovy to live opposite the Santa Monica Library with a ficus canopy crowning your street level view, your Honey Baby Sugarness states said library proximity holds absolutely no charm for him and he urges you to reconsider your enthusiasm, siting 1. street level noise and 2. the stop-and-go energy (and air-brakes) at the bus stop.

He favors a bright and airy but characterless spot on 6th Street opening to a quiet common courtyard. But you can't get past 1. the spongy beige wall-to-wall and 2. the cross-alley neighbor's clear view of your living room (hence, My Lovely, your sure-to-happen morning-brained half naked sprint to fetch the ringing cell phone forgotten in your purse the night before--- not a pretty sight).

So you brew a cup of coffee, open a bag of potato chips and hash out priorities- what is mutually essential and what might not be. What you can live with and what you cannot. And vice versa. This is a marriage, after all. Two gypsy souls.

You make lists (yes, I make lists). I'm visual. I need visual aids. Diagrams are good. Multiple colors (I'm a Sharpie lover). Arrows for emphasis. Stars. Circles. Big decisions require maps. Direction. Emphasis.

Le smack down-

Meh wall-to-wall carpet vs street noise
New kitchen! vs Ahhh, soaking tub!
Sky roof view vs neighbor dancing in his underwear (or vice versa- see above)
Walking to beach vs walking to library
Privacy vs proximity
Location, location, location (is that like, Practice, practice, practice?)

You hone and define your hopes and needs on a lined piece of yellow paper. You sip more wine. You tinker. Smile. Find agreement.

Hardwood floors win. Roof top view and new kitchen- win. Big windows- no brainer. Proximity to beach- double no-brainer.

Progress.

And here's a muffin to go with it.

Tender corn muffin goodness scented with banana.

Banana Corn Muffin Recipe

I love using mashed banana  in vegan baking. The mashed sweet fruit gives egg-free muffins a pull-apart tenderness. Not to mention- the combo of cornmeal and banana? Delicious.

Ingredients:

Whisk in a mixing bowl:

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Cornmeal

3/4 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup potato starch or tapioca starch

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup packed organic light brown sugar

1/4 cup organic cane sugar

Pinch of nutmeg

Make a well in the center and add in:

1/2 cup light olive oil

1 cup banana puree

1/3 cup coconut milk or other non-dairy milk

1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer whisked with 1/4 cup warm water

2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon lemon juice or light tasting vinegar

1 tablespoon honey or organic raw agave nectar

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line twelve muffin cups with paper liners.

Beat to combine. The batter should be smooth and medium thick. If it feels too stiff add a spoonful of coconut milk to thin. If, by chance, the batter is very thin, add a sprinkle of potato starch to thicken it.

Spoon the batter into the twelve muffin cups. Use wet fingers to smooth tops, if necessary. Bake in the center of a preheated oven till domed and firm to the touch. This might be anywhere from 18 to 25 minutes (a wooden pick inserted into the center should emerge clean) depending upon your oven, and humidity.

Cool the pan on a wire rack for a few minutes; then turn out the muffins to continue cooling on the rack (this prevents the bottoms from steaming).

Serve warm. Wrap extra muffins individually in foil; bag and freeze for best taste. These beauties make an easy, not-too-sweet on-the-go treat.

Makes twelve muffins.

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

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Karina's Notes:

• For those of you who cannot bake with cornmeal, I'm wondering if a combo flour mix of almond meal and buckwheat wouldn't be to die for?

• For those of you using eggs, use two free-range organic eggs, beaten.

• Gluten-free vegan batter really is different from traditional wheat flour based batter. It's not just a rumor. Gluten-free egg-free muffins won't puff and rise as much as their wheat based cousins. So fill your muffin cups a bit higher than you used to.

• This is a gum-free recipe, but if you prefer, add a teaspoon of xanthan gum or guar gum. The honey or agave helps add stickiness.

Also Try:

Karina's Gluten-Free Pumpkin Corn Muffins and Blueberry Corn Muffins

More gluten-free corn muffins from food bloggers:

Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins at Baking Beauties

The Gluten-Free Homemaker's Ham and Cheese Corn Muffins

Gluten-Free Grilled Cornbread Muffin at I Am Gluten-Free

Gluten-Free Blueberry Corn Muffins

Summery, fresh blueberry corn muffins- gluten-free.

Blueberries and corny goodness ...

August is fast approaching. I am trying not to think about it. I am baking blueberry corn muffins. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt. Or so I'm told. I am constructing my best defense to put off thinking about hauling our ocean-loving selves back to the dusty stoic hills of Ojo Caliente- 913 miles away from my sons, 915 miles from the sea.

Anyone out there want to buy a charming casita with mesa sunset views? Two kiva fireplaces. Saltillo tile floors. Vigas. All the rustic Southwest vibe you could ask for. Price reduced (thrice). To less than what we paid for it.

I don't pretend to understand the bigger picture, the honking beast of our lumbering economy. I'm no good at math- even when the economy is not melting down, humming along to its own sweet tune, nevermind comprehending the intricate ins and outs and ups and downs of depression economics and the breathtaking depths of Wall Street greed and extra sensitive interest rates that pout and pose and tease like strippers sending brokers into sweating Xanax popping frenzy. Not to mention, I cannot wrap my poetic visual brain around those epic taxpayer funded Wall Street buy-outs.

I'm an artist. I have always lived by the seat of my pants, without health insurance, without an IRA. I don't live by a plan. I live by intuition. Inspiration. I play with paint (not a skill valued by many people in our big screen spectacle loving culture). So I probably shouldn't have become a home owner. It was probably my fault. I should have known better. I've learned my lesson. I'm letting go. I'm saying no to mortgages. For now.

And I'm baking muffins.

I'm trying to practice my best Zen-Lebowski detachment (the waves help). And yeah. We still have three weeks. Miracles happen.

As always?

I'm hoping for the best.

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Quinoa Muffins with Pecans

High protein quinoa flakes make this gluten-free muffin yum.

Not since my Quinoa Breakfast Cake recipe have I enjoyed a morning treat more. I am seriously digging these cute little quinoa beauties. I started out imagining a quinoa breakfast bar, an easy to-go treat that might fuel my morning walks on the beach (I've been walking three miles almost every day- which is a minor miracle, for those of you who remember the trippy Richard Gere incident). I wrote up a recipe I thought might create a higher protein snacking bar I could munch with my mug of Irish Breakfast Tea as I browse, bleary-eyed and yawning through the morning chirps over at Twitter.

But it became apparent rather quickly this batter was born to be muffins. I could just tell. It had that perfect stretchy je ne sais quoi that I knew deep down in my private tiny girl heart would urge the dark chocolate studded dollops of earthy quinoa goodness to rise into tender golden domes like champs.

So I followed my intuition and switched gears and veered into Muffin Land.

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Big Banana Muffins (Gluten-Free)

Gluten-free banana muffins. Oh yeah.

Sometimes you crave banana bread but not the slice. 

You have a hankering for the whole, not the part. A thing intact. Weighty and complete and an entity all on its own. All yours. Maybe it's the simplicity you want. The curve and weight of it snug in your hand. Hefty but compact. Portable.

You want a muffin.

Maybe even a big muffin. A jumbo muffin tender and sweet and fragrant. Worthy of sinking your teeth into. Worthy of the calories. That kind of muffin. The trouble is, most standard gluten-free muffins turn out so small they resemble snack time for tiny people. I'm not exactly sure why, but I've noticed the shrinkage factor with gluten-free baking in general. You use the same amount of flour as an old school wheat flour recipe, but when all is said and done, when the muffins are baked and cool and ready to wrap- or better yet, nosh- you hold one up to the morning light to inspect it and think, What the Hades happened? Did it shrink- or is it me? Am I imagining this minor disappointment?

Am I getting neurotic about muffin size now?

I don't have the answer for you. I'm a cook not a scientist. But I suspect it is the lack of gluten that makes the difference between yummy-plump and expansive and, well, shrunken and kinda sad. Gluten is a giving protein that lends breads and muffins that lovely je ne sais quoi (French for, I don't know what). That It Factor, that elastic, rising... generosity (even if it is evil for celiacs).

My point? I began to wonder if twelve Lillipution muffins were worth the effort. If I might be better satisfied by going for six. The jumbo set. Less servings, true. But.

Maybe baking these babies larger would produce a more muffiny muffin. You decide.

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Gluten-Free Muffin, Scone + Brunch Recipes

Here is my collection of favorite brunch-worthy gluten-free muffin, scone, and coffee cake recipes for breakfast in bed, brunch by a cozy fire, or a laid back morning spent reading the Sunday paper on a sunlight dappled patio.

I've also included my best egg recipes- easy frittatas and crustless quiches (my all time favorite brunch egg dish is the spicy Eggs Diavolo served on creamy polenta). And if you haven't tried one of my crustless quiches studded with roasted vegetables or my light but filling pasta frittata-- Babycakes, what are you waiting for? 

If you're going vegan continental, browse my bakery recipes for tender scones, tea breads, and warm, fall apart muffins. Or zap up a smoothie. 

There's no excuse to reach for the cold cereal box.

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