Orange Raisin Muffins

I adapted this recipe from the Orange Date Muffin recipe from the The Joy of Baking website. I made a few changes to fit the ingredients I had at home. For example, instead of using 1 cup of whole wheat flour, I just added another cup of all purpose flour. (Though I do wish we had whole wheat flour on hand) I also used muscovado sugar instead of regular brown sugar and substituted buttermilk for a mixture of milk and vinegar.  Plus, I did not add any nuts. But the biggest change I made was using raisins instead of dates.

The result was amazing. My family polished off the muffins in record time. The best part was that the scent of oranges and freshly baked muffins just seemed to waft around the house. Super delicious. Next time, I plan on following the recipe exactly as it was written, but for now, I'm glad I made some substitutions.

Orange Raisin Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour

2/3 cup muscovado sugar (sifted)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon orange zest

1/3 cup fresh orange juice

2/3 cup milk + 1 teaspoon vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg, beaten

4 tablespoon butter, melted

2/3 cup raisins

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and orange zest. In another bowl, whisk together the milk and the vinegar mixture. Add the orange juice, vanilla extract, egg and melted butter to this and whisk until combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and stir until just combined. Fold in the raisins. Remember not to over mix. 

Pour the batter into 12 muffin cups. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C (400F) for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean. Serve warm, not hot.

Of the Secret of Chinese Orange Anything

Have you ever been to a Chinese restaurant, glanced at the menu and decided right there and then to just get Orange chicken...or pork...or shrimps..or fish? I've done just that many times...especially whenever I ate at Panda Express...which happened almost every day for a month one summer. I will be the first to say though, that Panda's orange sauce isn't the best. No, the best would go to another Chinese restaurant, whose name I cannot remember, in Florida. My point is orange anything is addictive and I have tried and tried to make it for myself. Somehow, it just eluded me.

And that's how I came about this article. The title itself was catchy. It wasn't just orange chicken or orange pork. No, it was orange ANYTHING. I knew I just hit upon the holy grail. It comes from the site: Food Republic. My challenge then became making this dish.

Finally, after waiting so long, I finally needed to make this dish. I had to change it a bit, though, because I didn't have oranges (what's new?) I did have lemons, and since I personally preferred lemon anything over orange anything, I figured lemons would also work with this recipe. Another change I did was add toasted sesame seeds instead of sesame oil. The result? Yummy lemon shrimps served perfectly with fried rice. Note, this is a one person recipe.

1/8 kg shrimps
enough cornstarch to coat the shrimps
3-4 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
juice of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon sugar
1-2 tablespoon lemon or orange marmalade
lemon zest
1 teaspoon soy sauce
dash of chili flakes
sliced scallions

Toss the shrimps in the cornstarch. Heat the oil in a pan and quickly sautee the shrimps in it. Add the lemon juice until deglazed. Add the sesame seeds, the lemon zest, sugar, marmalade and soy sauce. Also add the chili flakes. Toss until all is well combined. Serve on top of the rice and sprinkle the sliced scallions.

Love it!