end of the school year and a gluten and dairy free recipe

I have been remiss in my blogging of late with the school year coming to a close.  We're trying to finalize some summer plans, formulate some sort of summer solstice gathering, plan for father's day (which is also Ryan's birthday), prepare to say farewell to our wonderful pre-K Waldorf teacher of the past four years and, most ominous of all, come up with an entree and dessert that are both dairy and gluten free for our end of year school picnic. 
This last one had me in a panic.  Finally I decided on chicken lettuce wraps for the entree and remembered one of the fantastic cakes we made at Naiya's last birthday party for our gluten/dairy free guests.  Of the four cakes, it was actually my very favorite.  Since that's what has been foremost in my mind today then, I decided to share this delicious recipe.  It comes from a woman who works with Ryan and keeps a blog of her adventures in allergen-free cooking.  We did it as a cake but it definitely works better as muffins.  So delicious...

Feel free to see her original recipe here or visit Elizabeth's blog here for more allergen-free recipes.

Coconut Zucchini Chocolate Chip Vegan Gluten Free Muffins

Ingredients: 
3 T ground flax meal
9 T warm water
2 c evaporated cane juice
1 T vanilla extract
1 c grape seed oil
3 c  gluten-free pancake mix 
2 t salt
1.5 t baking soda
1.5 t baking powder
3 t cinnamon
1 t ground ginger
1 t ground cardamom
1 t fresh grated nutmeg
1/2 t ground cloves
3 c grated zucchini, drained in a mesh strainer
1 c unsweetened shredded coconut
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips or nuts (optional)
36 paper muffin cups
3 12-muffin pans

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Mix the flaxseed meal with the warm water and let set for a few minutes. Mix these flax 'eggs' with the sugar, vanilla and grape seed oil in a bowl. I like to use an electric mixer. 

Combine the pancake mix, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl. Add the wet ingredients and beat them together with the electric mixer. Scrape down the sides, and beat again until well combined. Add the zucchini, coconut, and nuts and/or chocolate chips and fold together. 

Prepare the muffin pans with the paper liners and fill the cups 2/3 of the way full with the batter.

Bake them for about 25 minutes, rotating the pans every 8 minutes or so for even baking. When a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, remove the pans from the oven. 

Elizabeth ends her recipe with this note:  "They would certainly be delicious frosted, but once a muffin is frosted it is a cupcake, and I for one have trouble convincing myself that cupcakes are an acceptable breakfast food. They are scrumptious on their own."

I completely agree.  Breakfast or otherwise.