Post-Kid Kitchen: Leftover Fruit and Vegetable Muffins

The world seems to be full of recipes for "leftover cereal muffins"—a great way of using up that little bit of extra oatmeal or Cream of Rice or other hot cereal. Except that I never have leftover hot cereal. But I always have leftover raw fruit and veggies because I have a child who likes to ask for a carrot, eat two bites, and leave the rest. Or I'll be cleaning out the fridge and find half an apple languishing in an airtight container.

This week, I decided to try folding these "Westley leavings" into baked goods, and lo and behold! Delicious muffins!

A note about ingredients: I use egg replacer powder and Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose baking flour because that's what I keep around. Because I hate mixing flours and love Bob and his moulin rouge. As for fruit and veggies, you can really use whatever's lying around—provided you think it would taste good in muffins. The first batch I made was apple-raspberry: half a green apple, shredded, and a big handful of fresh raspberries. The second batch (the one I decided to photograph) was carrot-raisin...plus four raspberries that Westley left on his breakfast plate.

Leftover Fruit and Vegetable Muffins
Makes 1 dozen

1 cup gluten-free oats
1 cup almond milk

1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp egg replacer powder, plus 2 Tbsp warm water
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil -or- 1/3 cup applesauce plus 2 Tbsp canola oil

1 1/4 cups all-purpose gluten-free baking flour
1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
Leftovers! (I used about two medium carrots, shredded, along with 1/3 cup raisins and four fresh raspberries.)

In a large bowl combine the oats, milk, and vinegar. Let it stand for a few minutes while you preheat your oven to 400 F. In a small bowl, combine egg replacer powder and water and mix well. Add the "egg," sugar and oil (and applesauce, if using) to the oat mixture and mix well. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and xanthan gum. Mix again until everything is well combined. Fold in any fruits and veggies (or nuts, or chocolate chips) to be used up.

Fill a dozen well-oiled muffin cups with batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve warm. Feel frugal.

How do you use up your "kid leftovers"?

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