This recipe makes 12 muffins. We also halved the recipe a few weeks back, and the results were just as delicious.

The dry mix:

• 4 dl wheat flour
• 1 dl dark cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

The wet mix:

• 1 dl liquid margarine
• 1 and 1/2 dl sugar
• 2 dl (sweetened) soy milk
• 2 dl plain soy yogurt
• 100 g chocolate, melted
• grated zest of 1 orange
• 2 and 1/2 tablespoons Grand Marnier (or another orange liqueur)
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla sugar

Additions:

• 1 and 1/2 dl chocolate chips

First, I preheated the oven to 175 degrees Celsius, greased our 12-cup muffin tin, and dusted it with cocoa powder.

We mixed all the ingredients of the dry and the wet mixes in separate bowls, and then mixed the two together, stirring with a fork until relatively smooth. Now it was time to add the chocolate chips, and stir a bit more to combine. Then we spooned the batter into the cups of the muffin tin, and placed the muffins on the middle rack of the preheated oven.

In our oven it took about 25 minutes for a toothpick inserted in a muffin to come out clean, indicating that they were ready. I placed the muffins upside down on a wooden rack to cool down for half an hour or so, and then packed them for the picnic.

The recipe is very easy and quick to make, but the flavor is at its best after a night in the fridge. If refrigerated and stored in an airtight container, this should keep for about one week.

Here’s what I used:

• 300 g firm tofu
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 teaspoon smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 dl canola oil
• 1/2 dl water
• 2 teaspoons agave syrup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
• 12 fresh sage leaves
• juice of 1/2 lemon

I just blended everything except for the lemon juice and salt in our mini food processor until smooth. Now, I added the salt and the lemon juice a little by little, until the balance was right. Then I refrigerated the spread overnight – the flavors developed and the texture firmed up quite nicely.

It’s important to choose waxy potatoes for salads, since they won’t get all mushy once cooked and cubed like their starchy relatives do. I even forgot my potatoes on the stove this time, and consequently overcooked them until their skins started to crack, but they still kept together just fine!

The Dressing:

• 1/2 dl olive oil
• 1/2 dl apple cider vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, rubbed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• black pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon red paprika powder
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

The Salad:

• 1 and 1/2 kg waxy potatoes, boiled, peeled, and cubed
• 4 Russian-style salted cucumbers, cubed (see our Stroganoff recipe for more information on Russian cucumbers)
• 35 g capers (1 small jar, or about 5 tablespoons)
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely cubed
• 1 can chick peas, rinsed, or about 3 dl cooked chick peas
• 1 small leek, rinsed and sliced
• chives (for garnish)

I just combined all the ingredients, whisked the dressing together, and mixed it in the salad. At this point, I always adjust the saltiness, and check if the salad still needs a dash of vinegar, or a little more black pepper.

Then we let the salad develop in the fridge overnight before taking it with us to the May Day picnic. This makes a big amount, and we even had leftovers with lunch for a few days after the picnic day – which is good, because this salad just gets better and better.

This batch makes 22 small meatballs, and the recipe was inspired by the one on Cake Maker to the Stars.

Here’s what we used:

• 2 dl granulated TSP (in Finnish: tumma soijarouhe)
• 2 dl vegetable stock
• 1 dl diced leek
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste, depending on the stock
• 1 teaspoon dried chili
• ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon fried onion
• ½ dl gluten flour
• ½ dl water

I started by setting the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.

To start with the dough, I combined the stock and the soy granules in a bowl, and set aside. I chopped the leek into small bits, sautéed it in olive oil for a couple of minutes, added the chili, marjoram, and thyme, and stirred to mix. By now the soy granules had absorbed all the vegetable stock, so I added them into the frying pan, and sautéed the mixture for a few more minutes. Then I added the sesame seed oil and the soy sauce to the pan. I removed the frying pan from heat, and added the crushed garlic and the store-bought fried onion, stirred them in, and let the mixture cool down a bit.

When the soy granule mixture wasn’t too hot to touch anymore, I added the water and the gluten flour, and kneaded the dough for a couple of minutes. At this point, I tried rolling a meatball in my palm, testing the consistency of the dough. It was still quite soft, but firm enough to roll into balls – just what I was aiming at.

I rolled the dough into 22 small meatballs, which I put on a baking sheet covered with baking parchment. I sprayed them with olive oil on all sides, and put them in the oven for 10 minutes. Then I flipped them over one by one, and baked for another 10 minutes. By then they were nicely browned, and a little crunchy on the surface.

Usually on May Day the weather is still quite cold, so the picnic is more of a symbolic start of the summer, but this year the weather was really nice and warm, in Finnish terms at least. We enjoyed the soy meatballs together with potato salad and smokey tofu spread seasoned with sage, of which we’ll blog about later!