Sunday, May 29, 2011

Cozy Weekend: Heart Shaped Casserole & Banana Maple Muffins

Portland. Spring. Overcast. Rain.  I can either hide under the blankets and watch the food network all weekend (not a bad idea!), or I can take advantage of a few more days of perfect baking weather.  Warm oven as a mood lifter? Alright.  Wear a summer dress in the warm kitchen because it's too cold to wear it outside?  Okay.


Sunday morning breakfast: Banana maple muffins with golden raisins, mandarin orange zest, and maple glaze.  I started with the banana chocolate chip muffin recipe from The Joy Of Vegan Baking, replaced the chocolate chips with golden raisins, used maple syrup instead of water, added the zest of one mandarin orange + cinnamon + nutmeg, then glazed  with a mixture of maple syrup + vanilla + powdered sugar.  So yummy, warm and sweet.   They're quick to throw together, too.  Only 45 minutes from open cookbook --> mouth.  To make them just a little bit healthier I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose white. 

Friday (and Saturday) night's dinner was a heart-shaped casserole inspired by the Creamy Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe from Vegan Yum Yum.  Except when I went to make it I didn't have any ingredients from the original recipe and had to wing it with what my pantry had in stock.


The filling was spinach penne, cremini mushroom, kale, and onion with a vegan cheesy sauce.  This was topped with buttery seasoned bread crumbs, then baked for 25 minutes in a 425 degree oven until golden brown and bubbly.


Mmmm, warm and saucy.  Tastes good warmed up the next day, too.  So, home baked meals, hot coffee and quality time indoors will keep me cheery over this dreary, grey weekend.  These two have the right idea:

 Happy long holiday weekend :)

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for your comments Nikki - Egypt seems to be getting used to the collar - she still has grumpy moments - and I hope your kitty feels better soon as well x

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  2. cute kitty photo. hope the skies clear up for you soon!

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  3. Oh my gosh, those muffins sound amazing - I love the raisin, orange and maple combo!

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  4. yummy eats (those muffins!) and cute kitties! yay

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