Orange Breakfast Muffins

These very simple breakfast muffins are as easy as languidly stirring the ingredients together. No mixer or beater required. Be careful not to overwork the batter though, as lumpy is what you're after. Made with just a little sugar, these delicious babies won't make you feel guilty the rest of the day for indulging first thing in the morning.  And because they're not very sweet, I advise you to go for it and enjoy them with a little jam. I had mine with strawberry and am inspired to take on homemade preserves with all the strawberries that are ripening so quickly around here. Stay tuned!

                    6 tablespoons unsalted butter
                    1 2/3 whole wheat pastry flour
                    2 tablespoons ground almonds
                    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
                    1 teaspoon baking powder
                    1/4 cup mascobado sugar
                    zest of 1 orange
                    1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
                    1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk
                    1 egg

Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper baking cups.

Melt the butter and set aside. Combine the flour, ground almonds, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and orange zest in a large bowl. Measure the orange juice and milk into a pitcher and whisk in the egg and then the cooled, melted butter. Now pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing with a fork as you go. The batter will be lumpy but that's how it should be: you want everything to be no more than barely combined.

Spoon the mixture equally into the muffin cups and cook for 15-20 minutes. Remove, in their paper cups, to a wire rack and let cool slightly. Serve warm with jam or preserves.

Makes 12 muffins.


Adapted from Nigella Lawson, Nigella Bites.

Earl Grey and Orange Scones

Remember those scones I mentioned earlier in the week? Well, I couldn't shake the thought of them, so yesterday afternoon I made them happen. Something you may not know about me: I love scones. Love, love, love them. I think I might even prefer them over (gasp!) cookies, and definitely over muffins. I love that they're not too sweet and that they don't try to be pretty and perfect. Scones hang out on the rustic side of the baking spectrum, perfectly happy being who they are with no false pretenses, yet they surprise you with an unexpected and understated sophistication. I've been wanting to bake with tea for some time, so I came up with the idea of pairing Earl Grey with orange. Delicious. The combination of yogurt and cream in these makes for a perfect moist on the inside/crisp on the outside texture combination. I'm glad the recipe only makes six and Dan happens to love scones, too.

                    2 cups white whole wheat all purpose flour 
                    1/3 cup sugar plus a little for sprinkling
                    1 teaspoon salt 
                    1 teaspoon baking powder 
                    1 teaspoon baking soda  
                    2 tablespoons freshly grated orange zest 
                    2 teaspoons ground Earl Grey tea leaves 
                    4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled 
                    1/2 cup nonfat yogurt 
                    1/2 cup heavy cream

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400F.

Mix the first five (all the dry) ingredients into a medium bowl. Add the orange zest and the tea leaves, and combine well. Cut the butter into small pieces and add it to the mix. Then pulse in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse sand.

Whisk the yogurt and cream together in a small bowl. Add to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until dough forms.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for several minutes, folding and flattening it several times. Pat the dough into an 8x4" rectangle, about 3/4" to 1" thick. Using a pasty cutter or pizza wheel, cut the dough into 6 equal triangles and sprinkle with a little sugar.

Place the scones on the baking sheet and bake on the center rack for 18-20 minutes. When finished, the scones will be golden brown.  Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
 
Makes 6 scones.

Upland Cress Salad with Roasted Beets, Valencia Orange, and Chevre

I am guessing there's a good chance you may have never made a salad with Upland cress. This is because when I did a basic recipe search on this lesser known and quite beautiful green, it yielded virtually no results. Well, maybe a few, but honestly... they were nothing to speak of. Because the cress has a lively flavor full of spice and pepper, the sweetness of the orange seemed like a nice way to bring some balance to the dish. I roasted some beets, whisked up an orange vinaigrette, and fell in love. The weather has warmed up a bit (temporarily at least), and I'm so excited to reinvent myself saladwise. I think I've hit a wall in terms of my standard: greens, cherry tomatoes, avocado, various nut and/or cheese with a basic vinaigrette. Although that simple salad has served me well, it's time to get creative and celebrate the range of flavors in season right now. Upland cress has inspired me while carving itself out a new little piece of my heart.

                    1 bunch Upland cress
                    1 large or 2 smaller Valencia oranges, peel and white pith removed, sliced, then quartered
                    2 medium beets, roasted, sliced, then chopped to your liking
                    1/4 cup chevre
                    orange vinaigrette

First prepare the beets by poking them several times with a fork, wrapping them in foil, and roasting in the oven at 425 for about an hour or until the hardness resembles a baked potato. While the beets are roasting, wash and clean the greens well, and trim stems to your liking (I trimmed off the bottom third). Gently toss the cress with the oranges, beets and vinaigrette. Top with the chevre.

For the Orange Vinaigrette:
                    6 tablespoons olive oil
                    2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
                    1 tablespoon orange juice
                    a couple of grinds of pepper
                    a couple of grinds of salt

Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl.

Makes two large or four small servings.

Orange and Lemon Olive Oil Cake

Wow. This is my ideal cake. Not too sweet, the perfect texture, infused with citrus flavor, and dusted with powdered sugar. I've never been one for sugary, frosted, over the top cakes with layers and fancy fillings. I'll admit to enjoying a few bites here and there on a special occasion, but I prefer simpler cakes that aren't too sweet and showcase the pure flavors of fruit. Cakes that would be perfect with a cup of tea in the afternoon. And this is exactly that. What's more...as it's name implies, it has no butter, offering instead the comfortably familiar and virtuous flavor of that esteemed oil known as olive.

The recipe calls for simmering the citrus for thirty minutes, and let me just tell you that this simple act alone resulted in great happiness. The house smelled divine - I was already enjoying the cake and it wasn't even on the plate yet. There's something about cooking the orange and lemon that removes the bitterness from the rind, which is later ground into a fine paste and incorporated into the batter. And I haven't yet mentioned that there are toasted almonds to look forward to as well. Please do yourself a favor and toast raw almonds yourself if you usually buy them. At least for the purposes of this cake. They will taste much fresher, make the house smell even better than it already does, and make the whole shebang that much more rewarding.

And now, in case you aren't already convinced, I can say with confidence that it's not just me who liked this cake. I served it to friends at dinner and EVERYONE had a second slice. In fact, I'm pretty sure Dan had a third. If that doesn't give meaning to "the proof is in the pudding", I don't know what does.

          1 small to medium orange
          1 lemon
          6 ounces raw almonds
          1 cup all-purpose flour
          1 Tbsp. baking powder
          4 large eggs, ideally at room temperature
          ½ tsp. table salt
          1 ½ cups sugar
          2/3 cup olive oil
          Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Put the orange and the lemon in a saucepan, and cover with water. (They’ll float - no worries.) Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain, and cool.

While the citrus is simmering, toast the almonds. Preheat the oven to 325°F, and set a rack in the middle position. Put the almonds on an ungreased sheet pan, and bake until they look golden and smell toasty, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool completely. When the almonds are cool, pulse them in a food processor until finely ground, the texture of coarse sand. Set aside.

Set the oven to 350°F, and grease a 9-inch round springform pan.

When the citrus is cool, cut the lemon in half, and scoop out and discard the pulp and seeds. Cut the orange in half, and discard the seeds. Put the lemon rind and orange halves in the food processor – there’s no need to wash it after grinding the almonds – and process to chop finely, almost to a coarse paste.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.

Combine the eggs and salt in a mixing bowl. Beat until foamy. Gradually beat in the sugar. Fold in the flour mixture. Add the citrus, almonds, and olive oil, and beat on low speed to just incorporate. Do not overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in its pan on a wire rack. Remove the sides of the pan. Dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar.

Store it at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Recipe from Orangette. (Thank you! I am eternally grateful.)