Fatty McFatson

I was craving some serious fatty fat tonight. SO, I hauled out the coconut milk, pine nuts, peanut butter and olive oil, and threw a party. I made the summer squash and tomato dish yet again (a new family favorite) and indulged us all in some noodles with spicy Thai peanut sauce topped with shiitake mushrooms (fresh from the farmer's market!) and broccoli.

I love making peanut sauce because it's easy to do without a recipe. If I want a quick and sweet peanut sauce, I melt peanut butter in veggie broth, adding brown sugar and curry powder to taste.

If I want a more decadent sauce, like I made tonight, I still start with a little veg broth, melt the peanut butter, add some red Thai curry paste and a can of coconut milk, and then salt and cayenne to taste. (I could use more expensive curry paste for the same kick, but I like to cut a cash corner here and cheat with cayenne instead.) It's one of the few things I make without measuring...I eyeball it and taste through the whole process. (Oh, it's tough tasting peanutty coconutty sauce, but somebody has to do it.)

Then for dessert (of course this meal needed a dessert!) I made DELICIOUS Kiwi Banana Muffins from (what else?) Color Me Vegan. The muffins were tart and delicious (and made with gluten free flour they turned out great!), and the zest from one divine Minneola tangelo really made them special...oh, yum.

None of these food items matched, or even coordinated. But they were all delicious. It was all so worth it. Salads and smoothies tomorrow. :)

Kiwi Banana Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour (I used Bob's Gluten-Free All Purpose)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
zest from 1 medium orange (or tangelo. :) )
3 ripe bananas, peeled
8 ripe kiwis, peeled and divided (maybe less; read directions before peeling)
1/2 cup non-dairy butter, softened (I used Organic Earth Balance)
1/3 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil muffin pan (or two; recipe makes 12-14 muffins)

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, orange zest, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl or in a food processor or blender, mash/puree the bananas and 5* of the kiwis.
(*you are looking to get about 1/2 cup of kiwi puree. My 5 kiwis gave me a whole cup; so try 2 or 3 at a time and see if you need more.) Add the butter and sugar and stir to combine. Your non-dairy butter will probably look chunky in the mix; that's okay.

Chop the 3 remaining kiwis into bite sized pieces. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, add the chopped kiwi, and stir to combine.

Spoon the batter into individual muffin tins. If using GF flour, feel free to fill the cups pretty high...mine didn't rise too terribly much. Or at all, even. The book didn't specify, so I went on the generous side of 1/2 full, but could have done more. If you're using regular flour, I can't vouch for it.

Bake for 15-20 minutes (mine took 20) or until a toothpick inserted into the center of your muffins comes out clean.

Cool for ten minutes on wire rack. (Don't cave to temptation and dig in, those kiwi chunks inside are HOT!) Slather with Earth Balance butter for a sweet, tart and salty decadent treat. :)