Savory & Sweet: Vegan Mini-Muffins

Happy Freaking Summer. :) I have been completely slacking on new recipes since the weather has been nice! We've been grilling and eating al fresco as much as possible. 

So, I was invited to a vegan brunch yesterday.  Of course, I eat mostly plants, but don't have too many fun vegan brunch recipes under my belt, especially in the baking department.  I did a little internet research on substitutions, got some ideas, tweaked some recipes, and somehow happened to have everything on hand to make these delicious mini-muffins, Vegan style.  Perfect for parties, picnics or your daily brown bag.  Gotta say, they turned out beautifully and were a huge hit. GO OMNIVORES! ;)

Savory: Zucchini, Onion & Herb {Vegan}

Prep time - 10 min, bake time - 17 minutes
Makes 20-24 mini muffins

• 1 small zucchini, finely diced
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 2 tbsp fresh herbs (I used rosemary, thyme, parsley and mint from my herb pots)
• 2 tbsp olive oil (and more for sauteing)
• 3/4 c soy or almond milk
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1.5 tbsp honey, agave or maple syrup
• 1 c organic whole wheat flour 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch baking soda
• 1 tsp sea salt (I had rosemary gourmet sea salt on hand)
  
• 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
•  Dash cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 375. In a large pan, heat some olive oil. Saute your veggies, seasoned with a few dashes of additional salt & pepper. Saute for about 7 min, until soft and starting to turn golden brown. Set aside to reserve in large mixing bowl.  In a another mixing bowl, sift flour and rest of the dry ingredients (including fresh herbs).  In the veggie mixing bowl, add lemon juice,  lemon zest, honey, olive oil and soy milk.  Stir.  Slowly fold in dry ingredients. Spoon into greased mini-muffin pan, filling cups almost to the top.  These don't rise too much.  Bake for 16-18 minutes (rotating pan at the 3/4 time mark) and let cool.

Sweet: Banana-Pecan {Vegan}

Prep time - 10 min, bake time - 17 minutes
Makes 24 mini muffins

• 3 very ripe bananas*
• 2 c flour (I mixed whole wheat and white)
• 1/2 c raw organic sugar
• 1/2 c organic brown sugar
• 1/4 c vegetable oil
• 1/2 c shelled and chopped pecans (or walnuts)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 dash ground cloves

 *I freeze my bananas (sans peel) when they start to turn spotty.   They generally defrost very nicely in 5-10 minutes, ready for use.

Pre-heat oven to 360 degrees. Cream together oil and both sugars in a large mixing bowl. Mash bananas into the sugar/oil with a potato masher.  In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients, sifting the flour and baking powder & soda to avoid clumping.  slowly fold into banana-sugar mixture.  Fold in pecans at the end.  Spoon into greased mini-muffin pans.  This one will rise nicely.  Bake for 16-18 min (17 min works really well for me!), rotating pan 3/4 through bake time.  Let cool.