Late-season farm stand yields zucchini for delightful mini-muffins

Oh boy, oh boy, we found a roadside farm stand still open and still offering fall veggies! Sometimes this late in the year we end up disappointed when we go on a hunt for outdoor produce stands, but the one to which we were directed in rural Oklahoma (where we traveled for Hubby's physical exam that I mentioned last week) was well-stocked and ready for business.

I jumped for joy when I saw zucchini on the produce table. Now I could make my Carrot-Zucchini Mini-Muffins that always smell so autumn-y when they're in the oven. The recipe was from a Family Circle magazine of several years back. I love the fact that these muffins are bite-sized and taste wonderful by themselves or with some of my homemade peach preserves that I put up during the summer.

I've mentioned this before, but it's worth repeating about a simple solution to recipes calling for buttermilk: any recipe calling for buttermilk has an easy substitution. In this case put 3 teaspoons vinegar in a one-cup measuring cup; then fill the remainder of the cup with skim milk. Let this stand for five minutes. You can forget about having to purchase buttermilk which has a high fat content and then be stuck with the remainder sitting around in the refrigerator unused.

We enjoyed these as a little "extra" with our breakfast cereal in the mornings, but they also would be great as an "extra" (healthy) side dish with a Thanksgiving meal. Thank you, little Oklahoma roadside stand, for being available to us with this fresh produce just before closing-down time for winter. Makes us eager for spring when the whole cycle starts up again.

Carrot-Zucchini Mini-Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1 large egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)

1 cup buttermilk (or 3 teaspoons white vinegar mixed with the rest of the cup filled with

skim milk)

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar (or 1/4 cup brown-sugar substitute)

1 small zucchini, shredded (1 cup)

2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded (1 cup)

1/2 cup pecans

2 tablespoons chopped pecans for topping

Heat oven to 375 degrees. With nonstick cooking spray, coat just the bottoms of three mini-muffin pans. In a large bowl whisk together both flours, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In medium-sized bowl, whisk egg, buttermilk, oil, and sugar until blended. Stir in zucchini, carrots, and nuts. Make a well in flour mixture; pour in egg mixture. Stir until dry ingredients are just moistened. Into each cup spoon a rounded tablespoon of batter. Sprinkle tops with chopped pecans. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes until toothpick emerges clean. Cool pans on rack for 5 minutes. Remove muffins; cool on rack. Makes 36 mini muffins.