Orange Spice Cupcake-Muffins

EDIT: Just out of curiosity, I did a calorie count for this exact recipe. Based on 24 muffins - each contains 160 calories.

Here it is again, the recipe I can't seem to stop experimenting with. So far, everybody who's had one of the plain lemon or orange version hasn't stopped there. . .This is quickly becoming a staple in my house and requested by my family and friends.

Today it's orange cupcake-muffins, made with dark brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice for a little added twist and depth of flavor. Preheat your oven to 350° and put paper liners in 2 cupcake pans.

1 big Caracara -or navel- orange

~ scrub, cut off the ends

~ then cut it into pieces

3 lg. pasture raised eggs

1-1/3c dark brown sugar

3/4c Chobani whole milk plain Greek yogurt

3/4c single source EVOO

~ at my little Super One grocery store,

~ this was the ONLY single source EVOO  😕

2t pure vanilla

In a large glass bowl, whisk together:

2c Caputo (Italian) Chef's Flour. . .

~ or a good American all purpose flour. . .

~ such as King Arthur or Bob's Red Mill

1T pumpkin pie spice

1T baking powder

1t Himalayan pink salt

Put the first group of ingredients in your blender jar. Pulse, then blend on high until everything's combined. Pour this into the bowl of dry ingredients, whisk until well mixed then pour into the individually lined cupcake pan.

My next adventure with this will be substituting some pure canned pumpkin for the orange, adding chopped walnuts or pecan and golden raisins. Mmmm. .😃. .Lin

Roasted Beet and Orange Salad

Ohhh, no matter what variation of a Beet Salad I make, I always love it!
This might be the first time I've paired orange and beet, and definitely the first for the greens I used.

Cover the bottom of a glass pan with EVOO. Scrub and dry your beets with a paper towel. Don't peel them - root vegetables absorb so many great nutrients through the skin, so don't lose those. Cut them in similar size pieces and put them cut side down in the pan.

Brush the outsides with the oil from the pan and season with garlic salt, black and cayenne pepper. Roast in a preheated 375° oven about a half hour or until a fork inserted comes out easily.

While that's happening, make a bed of baby arugula and microgreens in a big salad bowl. Today I used red cabbage, kale and basil microgreens. Add sliced Vidalia onion, zest and segments of a Caracara orange, a big handful of sprouted pumpkin seeds and some sharp cheese (crumbled feta, blue cheese or shredded parmesan-romano work best). 

When the beets are done, cool just enough to touch and cut into chunks. Toss all this together and drizzle with raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Don't make this one ahead of time.

It's better made-and-served right away. . .And then it will be
Perfect. . .and. . .DE-licious! . .Lin

Lemon -or- Orange Blender Cupcakes

Lemon Cupcakes

I've been on a quest for the perfect whole lemon or orange blender cake recipe for cupcakes or a pound cake. I found one I like the sound of but had to make several changes.

I gave 6 of these to my girls, and then for company one night, I cut 7 cupcakes into 8 pieces each, into a round glass pan wanting to make a Lemon-Berry Shortcake. I left them out on the countertop for 24 hours, to dry a bit.

I combined a couple cups of fresh, sliced strawberries and a cup or two of frozen blueberries, with about 1/3c of blueberry-lavender jam and a tablespoon or two of white Balsamic vinegar. This was sired together and heated slowly. When that juiced up I simmer it with 2t of cornstarch until it came to a low bubble and thickened. After cooling, I stirred in about 6oz. of sour cream and chilled it. To serve, this was spooned over the cupcake chunks, in little bowls, with a sprinkle of turbinado sugar on top of each, for crunch.

Now back to the recipe. . .First, preheat your oven to 350°

Put this first group into your blender jar and blend until smooth:
1 whole thin-skinned seedless lemon. . .
-OR- 1 lg. whole CaraCara Orange
~ scrub, cut off the ends
~ then cut it in about 16 pieces
3 lg. pasture raised eggs
1-1/2c organic cane sugar
3/4c Chobani whole milk plain Greek yogurt
3/4c single source EVOO
2t pure vanilla

In a large glass bowl, stir together:
2c Caputo (Italian) Chef's Flour. . .
~ or a good American all purpose flour. . .
~ such as King Arthur or Bob's Red Mill
1T baking powder
1t Himalayan pink salt

CaraCara Orange Cupcakes

Pour the lemon, egg, oil, sugar mixture into the dry ingredient bowl. Stir-scrape-mix together with a silicone spatula until all the flour is incorporated.

Pour into 24 paper-lined muffin cups and sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar. I used turbinado sugar for this and it added just the right amount of sweetness and crunch. Bake for about 20 minutes. Check with a toothpick. Mmmm, these are good, but still may need extra zest stirred in just before baking. . .Lin