Cajeta (Dulce de Leche) Muffins

I’m a big fan of muffins. Any kind.

I like the texture, the variety of flavor combinations, the taste. They’re like individual little cakes—delicious and not too sweet. I don’t feel guilty eating them for breakfast. I probably should. But, I don’t.

The cajeta my sister and I made recently—made with unpasteurized goat milk courtesy of her beau, natural cane sugar, mexican cinnamon sticks, and vanilla bean—seemed like a great sweetener for muffins. The cajeta is rich and caramelly and crazy sweet. It begged to be merged with gluten-free flours and oats,  popped into the oven and transformed into a lovely subtle cajeta flavored muffin.

So, I obliged. That cajeta knew what it was talking about.

Cajeta might be found in Mexican/Spanish markets. You can make your own—this is the recipe I follow. (Some health food or grocery stores carry goat milk.) Or, you can buy or make your own dulce de leche and use it instead of cajeta.

Cajeta (Dulce de Leche) Muffins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.

Mix up one faux egg, whisking together until foamy:

1 ½ teaspoons EnerG Egg Replacer

2 tablespoons warm water

Place the following ingredients in a large bowl, whisk together and set aside:

1 ½ cups gluten-free flour mix*

¾ cups gluten-free rolled oats

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

In a separate bowl (or a 2 quart measuring cup if you have one) mix together until fully blended:

1 6-ounce container coconut or soy yogurt

½ cup hemp milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup cajeta or dulce de leche

¼ cup canola or grapeseed oil

1 faux egg (prepared above)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon baking soda

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix together with a spoon or spatula.

Spoon (or scoop with an ice cream scooper) the batter into the muffin liners. You can top with a few chopped nuts and a sprinkle of sugar (optional).

Place in the center of the oven and bake for 20 minutes—a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

*Any pre-blended gluten-free flour should work. I use either Authentic Foods Gluten-Free Multi Blend Flour or Better Batter.

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Kale Chip Combos

Everyone’s making Kale Chips. Kids and adults alike are digging into these simple, tasty, and good-for-you snacks. That’s fortunate for kale since it’s a green that’s a little tough (pun intended) to love. And this is coming from a woman who loves her greens.

Some of you may disagree with my assessment of kale. That’s only fair and I accept it. In fact I want to know more about why you love kale and what you do with it because given a choice I’ll pick chard, spinach, or escarole instead. Maybe you can change my mind.

Having said that I’m impressed with kale’s nutritional value and would like to eat more of it. It’s high in vitamins K & C and rich in calcium. And, it’s an impressive anti-inflammatory leading to the boast it helps fight rheumatoid arthritis. Kale has been said to possess anti-cancer properties and to be a powerful antioxidant. So, despite its “tough” guy appearance it’s clearly worth it to add kale to your diet.

We had Kale Chips for the first time this week and liked them. Alone they’re crispy treats. With goat cheese on rice crackers or blended with pecorino romano (made from sheep’s milk) and baked into crisps they’re divine. Again—simple, tasty, and good-for-you.

Please, please, please, don’t forget to tell me how you best like to use kale. If you have a recipe please feel free to leave a link!

Kale Chips

Kale, about 1/4 pound

Olive Oil

Salt

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Wash and thoroughly dry the kale. Break it into pieces about half the size of the palm of your hand. Take care to remove the fibrous stems.

Spread the kale pieces on the cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of coarse salt. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes or until crisp.

Remove, cool and eat as is or use in one of the recipes below. I was able to store mine in an airtight container for about a week.

Notes:

There seem to be quite a few recipes for dehydrated kale chips on the internet so if you prefer to make them that way take a look around. Here’s one that seemed pretty simple from “We Like It Raw”.

I have it on good authority you can also make “chips” from fresh spinach or chard. Haven’t tried it yet but plan to.

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Kale Chips with Goat Cheese Appetizer

Rice crackers

Creamy goat cheese

Kale Chips

Cracked pepper

Place a tiny dollop of goat cheese on the cracker. Gently press a small piece of crispy kale chip onto the cheese. Top with a half teaspoon of goat cheese and sprinkle with freshly cracked pepper.

Serve immediately.

Try other toppings like: fresh herbs, chopped kalamata olives, or minced red onion. Lots of options!

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Kale Cheese Crisps

Kale Chips

Pecorino Romano cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Place about 1/2 cup of grated cheese into a small bowl. Take 6-8 kale chips and grind between your fingertips to create fine kale chip flakes. Add them to the bowl with the cheese. Mix together.

Spoon the cheese/kale mixture onto the lined cookie sheet. You want little piles (about 1/4 inch high in the middle and 2 1/2 inches across) of the mixture placed about an inch apart.

Bake about 5-8 minutes until the edges turn golden brown and you notice the cheese has begun to melt and slightly bubble. Watch them carefully—they can go from perfect to burned pretty quickly.

Remove from the oven and let them cool thoroughly. Gently peel the crisps from the parchment.

These are best on top of a bowl of your favorite soup. Bet they’re great topped with a dollop of something creamy—maybe hummus. Pecorino Romano is a sharp cheese so these crisps will be a bit strong in flavor.

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