Carrot Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 pound carrots
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup corn oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 Granny Smith apple

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. and oil eighteen 1/2-cup muffin cups.
• Into a large bowl sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and whisk in sugar. Coarsely shred enough carrots to measure 2 cups and chop pecans. Add shredded carrots and pecans to flour mixture with raisins and coconut and toss well.
• In a bowl whisk together eggs, oil, and vanilla. Peel and core apple and coarsely shred. Stir shredded apple into egg mixture and add to flour mixture, stirring until batter is just combined well. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling them three fourths full, and bake in middle of oven until puffed and a tester comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Cool muffins in cups on racks 5 minutes before turning out onto racks to cool completely. Muffins keep in an airtight container at room temperature 5 days.

epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/carrot-muffins-15101

Sautéed Cabbage

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 medium head green cabbage, sliced into ¾" thick slices
• 2 Tablespoons butter, cut into 2 pieces
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Red pepper flakes, optional

Instructions:

• Heat a 12" skillet with olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until onion is softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir, cooking an additional 30 seconds.
• Turn heat up to medium-high heat and add about ⅓ of the cabbage. Stir to mix onions and garlic with the cabbage. Now leave it alone and let the cabbage start to brown, but be careful not to let it burn. Using a spatula, turn the cabbage over and let other side brown slightly. Season lightly with a dash of salt.
• Add another ⅓ of the cabbage and 1 tablespoon butter. Flip cabbage again after a couple minutes.
• Finish with remaining cabbage and last tablespoon of butter. Once cabbage is browned to your liking, add more salt to taste and pepper, if desired. Remove from heat, season with red pepper flakes, if desired. Serve.

gooddinnermom.com/sauteed-cabbage/

Mini Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cakes with Beet Glaze

 

Ingredients

For the Mini Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cakes: (makes six 5-inch cakes)

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• zest from 2 lemons
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) sour cream

 

For the Beet Glaze:
(makes around 1 cup)

• 1 medium beet

• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted

Instructions:

For the Mini Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cakes:

• Preheat the oven to 350 (F). Prepare your mini cake pan by spraying each cavity with baking spray; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, gently whisk together 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoons baking powder until well combined. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and the zest from 2 lemons. Paddle the two ingredients together on the mixer's lowest speed for a minute or so — this will release the oils from the lemon zest and infuse into the sugar. After a minute, add 1 cup unsalted butter and increase the mixer to medium speed. Continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• While butter and sugar is creaming, combine 3 large eggs, 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1/4 cup sour cream in a large liquid measuring cup. Gently whisk together until combined. 
• With the mixer on medium speed, alternately add the dry ingredients (from the 2nd step) in three batches and the wet ingredients (from the 4th step) in two batches, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat until the batter is just combined, before scraping down the sides of the bowl and folding in the rest of the unmixed ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula.
• Use a cookie dough scoop to to scoop approximately 1/2 cup of batter into each prepared muffin cavity. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops of the cake appear matte and the shiny center has disappeared — do not bake until the cakes are golden, or they'll be too dense and dry. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes before turning them out onto the wire rack to cool completely. Allow the cakes to cool completely before glazing.
• For the Beet Glaze:
• Preheat the oven to 450 (F).
• Peel the skin from 1 medium beet and cut into quarters. Roast in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes until tender. Once tender, allow the beet to cool in the pan on a wire rack until cooled completely.
• Once the beet is completely cooled, combine the beet quarters with 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice in the bowl of a blender or a food processor. Blend on high until the beets form a smooth puree. Strain the puree into a small bowl — you should have 1 - 2 tablespoons of bright pink beet-lemon juice.
• Add 1 tablespoon of the juice to a bowl containing 1 cup confectioner's sugar. Whisk to combine until completely smooth. If your mixture is still lumpy, you can add more juice one teaspoon at a time, but be careful not to add too much at once or your glaze will be too liquidy. Use immediately — if you wait too long, the glaze will set and be difficult to work with.

hummingbirdhigh.com/2014/05/mini-lemon-sour-cream-pound-cakes-with.html