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Have you ever walked into a place you’ve never been before and immediately felt at home? Like everything around you spoke to you and reflected your own vibe back at you? This happens every time I go to my favorite dining spot Pondicheri but it happened somewhere else recently. One of my nieces had her birthday party at what appeared to be an unassuming little pottery studio tucked away in the Heights. After I walked inside I never wanted to leave.

At first glance the building looked industrial like it had nothing special to offer. But then my eyes became attuned to each little detail as I walked closer. The front gate was enveloped in lovely overgrown foliage that lightly tickled your head as you walked by. Upon entering the gate, I noticed small hexagonal pieces of painted ceramics lovingly arranged in the cement walkway. This was probably one of my favorite little details about the place. Simple yet beautiful. There was a display immediately outside the studio space of the artist’s ceramics in beautiful hues of aqua and orange, almost like a summer sunset. If I would have had the funds, I might have purchased every single piece. The studio itself had a long, rectangular window where dappled sunlight bathed a row of more beautiful ceramics that were filled with succulents and cacti.

The studio is home Carole Smith of McCheek’s Mayhem Ceramics and McCheek’s Academy. You can sign up for adult or children ceramic classes at the studio as well as book the space for a party or gathering. More information can be found at the links above.

I’ve been trying to explore more of my hometown lately and had the idea to share some of it here with you on the blog. Enjoy the photos and please know that they don’t really do that eclectic and beautiful little studio much justice 🙂

Strawberry Streusel Muffins with Lime & Cardamom (vegan/gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog

Fresh strawberries are baked into streusel-topped muffins that are flavored with lime and cardamom. These vegan and gluten free muffins are perfect for a breakfast spread or snack!

I haven’t been baking lately. As a matter of fact, I feel as if I’ve been avoiding it. The activity that brought me so much joy and provided a form of escape and stress release had until today gone by the wayside. I think perhaps the exhaustion that comes with my current job at Whole Foods dictates a lot of what I do, or rather don’t do. It feels like such a chore to bake myself something when I could be doing other things I seem to think are more important lately. Since it’s spring, and therefore a time of renewal and detox, I’ve been trying to re-prioritize and spend time doing things I really love. I had almost forgotten what the start of spring meant…

STRAWBERRIES ARE BACK IN SEASON!!! Well, down here in Texas strawberries are in season, so I must apologize to those of you who are still getting snow this week and utter a big WTF on your behalf. I had this past Saturday off so I decided to make it a priority to go to the farmers market and see if I could pick some up. For me, strawberries are the best thing about the start of spring and I can’t believe I nearly forgot about them. I can only use this as an example to urge you to take a minute to sit down and reevaluate what you are doing. Are you missing anything that brings you joy? And if so, please make time to do it. It’s that simple.

I’ve already eaten my fair share of raw, sliced up strawberries since ferreting them home yesterday, but I wanted to bake up a little something with them, too. I decided to end the baking hiatus with a lovely recipe I’ve had bookmarked for a while. The recipe is one of Renee’s from her beautiful and inspiring blog Will Frolic for Food. Have you visited her blog? If not you should and then be prepared to get lost in her beautiful recipes and writing. She posted a recipe for vegan/gluten free blueberry muffins with oat streusel back in chilly February when frozen berries were as close as you could get to satisfying a juicy berry craving. Since I made a few changes to her recipe, I’ve included it here.

Strawberry Streusel Muffins with Lime & Cardamom

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Author: Courtney West
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 12 muffins 1x
Diet: Vegan

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Description

Fresh strawberries are baked into streusel-topped muffins that are flavored with lime and cardamom. These vegan and gluten free muffins are perfect for a breakfast spread or snack! Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 cup almond meal
1 1/2 cups oat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp freshly ground cardamom
1 tsp psyllium husk
1 chia egg (1 tbsp chia + 3 tbsp water)
1 cup full fat coconut milk
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp melted coconut oil
1 tsp lime zest
heaping 1/2 cup diced fresh strawberries

for the streusel:

1/4 cup rolled oats
1/8 cup coconut sugar
1 tsp crushed walnuts
pinch sea salt
1 tbsp coconut oil

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Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325F. Fill a regular muffin pan with parchment liners. Set aside.

Make the streusel topping: In a small bowl, mix together the oats, coconut sugar, walnuts, salt, and coconut oil. Set it aside for now.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the almond meal, oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and psyllium. In a separate medium mixing bowl, combine the chia egg, coconut milk, lime juice, maple syrup, vanilla extract, coconut oil, and lime zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until it looks relatively smooth. Fold in the diced strawberries.

Fill each of the muffin liners 3/4 full with batter. Sprinkle some of the streusel over top of each muffin. Bake the muffins for 28-30 minutes, rotating once half way through. The muffins are done when the streusel is golden and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the muffins cool to room temperature before enjoying. Makes a dozen muffins.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 28-30 minutes
Category: baked good