Sweet Potato & Sage Corn Muffins

November is fleeting, though I guess that's the way time is. Always moving forward, never back. I've been trying to enjoy this time of the year while it is here instead of worrying about when it's over. I'll admit that living in the moment can be challenging for me but I'm making a real go of it. One way I've been doing this is to try to slow down and chew my food. I know that sounds funny, but I think most of us habitually shovel food down our mouths quickly in order to move on to the next thing. This ends up causing digestive upset and doesn't really make eating the wonderful sensory experience that it should be. So, chew your food! Appreciate the flavors, textures, and origins of what you are eating. Imagine the hands that grew and nurtured it. Try this next time you eat and notice what changes for you.

Speaking of food, Thanksgiving is swiftly approaching! I thought it would be apropos to share some gluten free/vegan dishes perfect for your holiday table. They are all simple to follow without laborious ingredient lists. Each one has a little somethin' somethin' that sets it apart from the more traditional Thanksgiving dishes, in addition to being completely vegan and gluten free. All of these recipes will culminate in a little Thanksgiving menu guide at the beginning of next week to help you in your menu planning.

These muffins are my take on cornbread. They have sweet potato puree in them to add a little natural sweetness and some sage to make them fragrant and earthy. You can serve these up on their own or dry them out a bit and use them to make stuffing or croutons. I recommend serving them with coconut butter and cranberry sauce, but they are perfectly capable of standing on their own :)

Sweet Potato & Sage Corn Muffins
notes: If you can't find or don't have sweet potato puree, you can use pumpkin puree or butternut squash puree in its place with very similar results. 

180g corn flour (not cornmeal)
90g Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free all purpose baking flour
3/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp flaxmeal (ground flax seed)
1 tbsp minced fresh sage plus several whole leaves for garnish

50g grade B maple syrup
200g plant milk (I used coconut)
150g sweet potato puree
90g olive oil or melted coconut oil

coarse cornmeal for sprinkling on muffins

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin and sprinkle the wells with some of the coarse cornmeal. Set the pan aside.

Whisk together the flours, salt, baking powder, and flaxmeal until well combined, then stir in the sage. Make sure the sage is evenly distributed within the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, plant milk, sweet potato, and oil until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir or whisk until a thick batter forms.

Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full of the batter. Once all of the batter has been divided out, tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles, then gently smooth out the tops of the muffins if needed. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with some coarse cornmeal then top with a whole sage leaf, gently pressing it down to adhere it to the batter.

Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes until the top of the muffin springs back when touched. Cool 5 to 10 minutes in the pan, then move to a cooling rack. Can be served warm or at room temperature. Makes 10 muffins.