Berkshire— So far, I’m thinking of this as the summer of abundance! We have experienced abundant heat, I’m overextended because I made abundant plans, and if we are lucky, we will soon have an abundant harvest! Francesco and I planted our garden a bit late this year so I was unsure how everything would fare, but judging by the blooms on the zucchini plants, I anticipate that it won’t be long before we have many zucchinis on our hands! We will bring a few with us wherever we go and gift them to friends (we are already doing this with cherry tomatoes,) and we’ll be looking for ways to use the rest. This recipe offers an easy-to-prepare, easy-to-eat solution for the happy problem of many vegetables. We are calling these Garden Muffins. They don’t have any grains and the batter smells so delicious even as you’re mixing it!
Garden Muffins
2 1/2 cups almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup finely chopped dates
1 cup unpeeled finely grated zucchini (almost one medium zucchini)
1/4 cup avocado oil
3 large eggs
1/2 cup grated unpeeled apple or carrot
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Line a muffin tray with 12 paper liners.
Combine the dry ingredients (not the dates) in a bowl.
Use cheesecloth to wrap and squeeze the grated zucchini to extract the excess water.
Once the zucchini is dry, transfer it to a separate bowl and add the avocado oil, eggs, maple syrup, grated apple, and vanilla, and stir well.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix in the chopped dates.
Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake for about 25 minutes.
Drizzle a little maple syrup over the top before serving.
Tips:
A little extra baking time may be needed depending on how much water was left in the zucchini. You’ll know they’re done when they are golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean.
You can replace the apples with carrots if you grow carrots in your garden.
Store frozen finely grated zucchini in freezer bags to make these muffins again in the fall when you have just-picked apples.
