Incidentally Vegan Pumpkin Lammas Muffins

Today is Lammas, the Harvest Day.  I hadn't even thought about it until I saw a friend post on Facebook about it, but upon reflection I discovered that we were accidentally celebrating it all day long.  Yesterday I filled the vases in our home with sunflowers and Russian sage.  We started our morning with a breakfast of fresh blackberries, eggs from our girls, and freshly baked bread.  We were greeted by the amateur crowing of our flock's little rooster.  And this evening, I welcomed in the harvest season with our first pumpkin creation of the year.  I suppose these things happen when your eating in synchrony with the seasons.

Treeman lives in a small town outside of Baltimore.  It's a quirky place, full of neat little shops and cafes and boutiques.  Whenever we would visit him at his old farmhouse just outside of town, we'd go to a little place called Sarah and Desmond's for breakfast the next morning.  We'd get big mugs of strong coffee, veggie fritattas, and a Vegan Pumpkin Muffins.  The Vegan Pumpkin Muffin deserves capital letters.  It was truly the BEST muffin I have ever had in my life.  Words do not do it justice.  Unfortunately, Sarah and Desmond's closed down, and since we have been Vegan Pumpkin Muffin-less and in despair.  Until today!

Today, I fussed over the first pumpkin of the year from the farmer's market.  A little thing, yielding about 1.5 cups of mashed flesh after I'd chopped, skin and roasted it in the oven.  But the sight and smell of that lovely orange flesh, with its slippery seeds and warty exterior, made my heart skip a beat or two.  Fall is on its way.

I debated whether to make a soup, or a curry, or roast it with potatoes and rosemary.  But then I remembered the Vegan Pumpkin Muffin, and wondered if it would be improper to try to replicate such divinity in my very earthly kitchen.  I did a little research online, comparing existing recipes for pumpkin muffins (all of which called for pumpkin out of a can, which I found both amusing and sad).  Finally, I threw the stuff together in a bowl, filled the last of my muffin tin papers, and waited anxiously for the verdict.

It took all of my self control to pack up a few of the mini muffins for one of our neighbors.  Really.  It hurt.  These are vegan, but only incidentally so.  If you lack vegetable oil, I'm sure melted butter would be positively decadent in these.  Next time I'll experiment with replacing some of the sugar with honey... if you beat me to it, be sure to reduce the oven temperature by a few degrees to avoid over browning.

Incidentally Vegan Pumpkin Lammas Muffins ala Marlenah but Inspired by Sarah and Desmond's and Adapted from Various Recipes Found Across the Interwebs

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup mashed fresh pumpkin

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

A few tablespoons of cinnamon sugar

A few tablespoons of roasted pumpkin seeds for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs and sugar together in a bowl until smooth.  Sift the dry ingredients together, then whisk into pumpkin mixture until well blended, but don't over beat!  Spoon into prepared muffin tins, sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and cinnamon sugar, and bake until puffy and golden on top, and a toothpick inserted in the center of each comes out clean.  Try to resist eating every last one in a single sitting.  Do your best.