Five Spice Delicata Squash Muffins

On balance

Balance in life is, to me, a worked up lie of sorts. A white lie, a stretch of the imagination, a word that could use some brevity, levity and balance itself instead of the hyper concerns we place all over and in it, hoping for the best by simply labeling our needs with it.

And, as with anything, we can come to terms with the lie, see that even lies aren’t so all or nothing; they crop up for reasons, perhaps short-sighted but still, there they are. They’re informed by histories, by woes, worries, clung to for safety.

Balancing, instead.

So in our modern lives, in our long days and short weekends, do we find balance? Probably not. Can we be balancing, instead? Well, I for one, like the sound of that. It’s in the actions, anyway.

And it can be in our foods, too. Hence a muffin with fennel and black pepper in it, or frosting on top of it, or both, because you know? Move towards what you desire, even when the world says it’s the most unbalanced desire out there. It’s likely just part of you, trying to be balancing. We may not be able to be balance, but balancing? Sounds like it has that levity we keep saying we desire, huh?

So, the recipe(s).

On this subject of balancing, this is exactly what Aimee and I figured we could gastronomically muse on and give ourselves a recipe project for. Aimee’s Delicata Cornbread is a wave of balancing, with hinting sweets, savories, a nod to the fall and its invitation into slowing down and warming up. Because these seasons, we’re creatures created from them. What happens when we stop powering through and start powering up with what is already around us?

Dunno, really. But I’d guess… balancing.

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Five Spice Delicata Squash Muffins

Course Dessert

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

For the Five Spice Powder:

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed anise seed or 1 star anise ground
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed fennel seed
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

For the Muffin Batter

• 1½ cup grated delicata squash seeds removed before grating
• 3 cups brown rice flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2/3 cup coconut sugar
• 3 bananas fresh or frozen
• 1 cup coconut milk or milk of your preference
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil butter or ghee
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1/3 cup honey

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin tray with muffin cups, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the brown rice flour, baking powder, baking soda, five spice powder blend, coconut sugar and sea salt and whisk to combine. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas, coconut milk, coconut oil and vanilla extract until combined.
4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry, then fold in the grated delicata squash until evenly distributed.
5. Fill the lined muffin trays with the batter, then bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are browned evenly.
6. Allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan before transferring the muffins to a cooling tray.
7. When fully cooled, frost with the honey butter frosting.

For the frosting:

1. Mix the honey and butter together until smooth. Keep at room temperature before frosting the muffins (and if you don’t want to frost, just keep this honey butter out on the table so people can help themselves as they’re eating their muffins bite by bite. But who wouldn’t want to frost?)