VEGAN BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

You might already know that for many years between college and staying at home to raise the kids I held various positions as a baker and/or pastry chef in a handful of commercial kitchens. You might also know that somewhere in the middle of my kitchen jobs, I graduated from culinary school and at some point earlier I grabbed a bachelors in photography. What you don’t know – because I have never talked about it here and very rarely in my real life – is that my first job out of college was neither in photography or food. My first position in the working world was as a receptionist at a downtown Chicago law firm.

What do you do when you graduate college with an art degree and a professor telling you that you “probably don’t have a career in photography“, which is very unlucky for you because you have little (to no) practical training in, well, anything? Oh, and did I mention this was 2006 right before everything came crashing down?

You become a receptionist.

Ingredients

1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
1½ - 2 cups fresh blueberries

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a muffin tin with baking cups and set aside.
In a small bowl combine soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside to allow milk to curdle.
In a larger bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Mix together sugar, canola oil, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Add soymilk/vinegar mixture and stir to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients until well incorporated. Be careful not to overmix - a few lumps are okay. Fold in blueberries.
Spoon into muffin tins, filling each cup about ¾ full. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Remove from heat and allow muffins to cool before removing from pan.