snack

Cardamom & Coconut Mango Lassi

February 25, 2013 By Courtney West 4 Comments

I’m drowning in mini bundts, scones, and a host of other baked goods over here. I’ve been tackling testing for the farmer’s market with full force lately and it has led to a pile up of baked treats. Though I don’t want to share any specifics yet, I will be able to offer a wide variety of gluten free/vegan baked goods at the market this year. I think I held off on testing last year as the market sort of happened without a lot of notice and I was doing good just to keep up from week to week.

Since there are a lot of sweet things laying about, tempting me to indulge, I started craving something light and refreshing. An impulse purchase at the store last week left me with a large, perfectly ripe organic mango. I could have eaten it straight up, but I went a bit further and made a mango lassi. If you’ve never had a lassi, it’s essentially an Indian yogurt drink sort of like a smoothie. It really only requires 3 ingredients, but I decided to amp it up a bit with a sprinkle of ground cardamom. I enjoyed it as a mid afternoon snack, but it can easily work for a light breakfast.
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Cardamom Peach Muffins

September 4, 2012 By Courtney West 3 Comments

There’s nothing like baking up a batch of warm, cardamom-scented muffins to ease the mind and the soul. Measuring, mixing, pouring. It all seems so methodical and calming. It was good to see dirty bowls in my sink and cooling muffins on the counter. All is right with the world.

These muffins were a sort of farewell to summer and a welcome to fall. I used some late summer peaches that will surely stop trickling into markets soon, and spiced up the muffins with a good bit of warming cardamom. The scent of cardamom always seems to be reminiscent of cooler temperatures, steamy mugs of tea, and leaves strewn across the ground.

This recipe was inspired by Kim Boyce’s Good to the Grain which is a must for your cookbook collection. It is a wonderful book filled with endless inspiration so don’t be surprised if there are other posts in the future that mention it. Kim suggests eating these muffins right away, and I completely agree. But, if you can’t eat them all the day you make them, keep them in an airtight container on the counter or in the fridge for up to 2 days.
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