Pre-heat the oven to 350 and take two 12 well muffin tins and line them with paper liners. Then cook the quinoa. Bring the stock to a low boil in a medium saucepan. Then stir in the quinoa and cover it with the lid. Turn the heat to low and let it cook until tender for about 12-15 minutes. When it is done, fluff it up with a fork and set it aside to cool a little. While the quinoa is cooking and cooling, combine the shredded carrot, apples, garlic, onion, sage and smoked gouda in the bowl of a food processor and pulse it all together. It should be fine but still have some texture to it. Transfer that to a large mixing bowl and add the flour, salt, pepper, cumin and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in the cooled quinoa next.

Whisk the olive oil, milk, apple cider and egg together in another small bowl and then pour those wet ingredients into the mixing bowl with the rest of it. Stir it all together thoroughly until you have a lovely batter. Fill each lined muffin well to the top using a heaping 1/4 cup as an approximation. Gently press the batter firmly into each liner so that it is solid and even. Bake them for 25-30 minutes until completely baked through and just starting to crisp up around the edges. Let them cool for 10 minutes or so, then serve immediately! They make great leftovers too for a grab and go lunch or snack.