Sweet Potato Muffins
Sweet Potato Muffins
Ingredients:
1 cup gluten free flour
1/2 cup cane sugar
2tsp baking powder
2tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
4 tablespoons vegan butter
1 cup mashed sweet potato
1 cup coconut or dairy free yogurt
2 flax eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, and spices into a bowl and add vegan butter and break it into clumps until fully incorporated
Add wet ingredients and mix gently until well blended
Prepare a muffin tin by lining it with paper lining or pan spray and divide batter accordingly.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until batter is cooked and toothpick comes out clean.
Believe it or not, becoming a chef wasn’t a part of my career plan. I sort of just fell into it by luck or chance, or maybe both. My first job was at a take and bake pizza place in Virginia Beach when I was 17. I learned what it took to be successful in a fast paced environment, quickly working my way up to shift supervisor while having fun creating pizzas. After completing one year of college in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, I decided to move to California by myself when I was 19. My plan was to work, obtain residency, and go to college to become an English teacher since that was my favorite subject in school.
I ended up working at a college cafeteria at Northridge Cal State for a semester where I learned the inner workings of being a short order line cook for breakfast service and for lunch. I had a blast on the flat top, slinging breakfast burritos, omelettes, and waffles. I learned to use my spatulas as an extension of myself. Then I worked at a small cafe in Sherman Oaks called Grounded Cafe as a short order cook and barista in the evenings. The menu was simple, serving deli sandwiches, wraps, and a lot of peanut butter and jellies for the Nannie’s that chauffeured their kids from school to music lessons next door to us. I was only working there in the evenings and decided to look for a morning job.
My morning job was an assistant/ server at a private school in Calabasas called Muse School. I was amazed by how the students and staff ate gourmet meals from scratch. I was so inspired that I told Chef Kayla I wanted to become a part of the process to make it all happen. She was a graduate from the Culinary Institute of America, the best of the best.
She gladly took me under her wing and said she’ll teach me everything I need to know. At that moment I became an apprentice to the one of the best chefs in Los Angeles. I learned learned knife cuts, how to make soups and sauces from scratch, what kids liked and didn’t like to eat, how to work with organic food and how to cook and bake vegan food as it eventually became an all vegan school. I helped to host and serve private dinners for speakers and guests, set tables, work at galas and special events, and had the best time learning from Kayla and Charles, the sous chef. I was a chef assistant in no time and eventually became the “snack chef” my last year there before moving back home for good. I developed recipes and executed them for the new snack program they had launched, making all the snacks from scratch instead of prepackaged. My time at Muse was well spent; the knowledge and wisdom I learned from Chef Kayla and Charles will always stay with me as it’s been the foundation for what we know as Easeful Evenings today.
