Orange Walnut Muffins

Oranges, not my favorite thing to eat, but one of my favorite smells and by far my favorite color!  I like orange IN things but to sit and eat an orange alone, nah, not my cuppa tea, to be honest.

My niece had stopped by a couple of months ago.  She always has ideas, suggestions and we like to talk food often.  She said she had seen these muffins on a website, maybe a camping website.  I thought they were such a cool idea.  I mean, using food for the delivery of food, is perfect.  Or is it actually using trash for the delivery of food?  Regardless of how you work it, I wanted to give it a try.   After much searching I found a few versions but, you know me, I made my own path with this one!

You will need to prepare your oranges.  Cut in half and I used a grapefruit spoon to clean them out.  KEEP the guts!  Do you ever call the inside of anything guts?  Innards?  Whatever you call them, keep them, including the juice, just put it all in a bowl.  I yielded the exact amount of juice I needed for this recipe from the 3 oranges.  Use your fingers and break up the orange sections, we will use those as well.  I wrote this for 6 muffins, but NEWS FLASH, it will make 3 regular muffins as well.  Unless you use HUGE oranges, which I thought I did.  Anyway clean those babies out and set them up into a muffin pan.  (zest your orange for the 1/2 tsp before you cut and clean them, it is easier)

Here is what you need for 6 muffins IN the orange:

3 oranges, cut in half and cleaned out
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp orange zest (optional)
1/4 cup melted butter
1 egg
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
orange sections you removed from the oranges

Preheat your oven to 350.  Mix all ingredients together and mix until completely combined.  Divide into the 6 orange halves and 3 liners for the leftover batter.  Bake for 30-35 minutes. 

This is such a fun way to bake muffins!  I hope that you give them a try!!

Your "orange lovin" Chefwannabe

PS.  Make sure to eat these right away or the pith will bitter the muffins!!

Citrus Spritzer

I have to admit something. 

I recently visited my mom, who, though she completely is lost by this "blogging" thing, is very supportive of it.  She has been "going through" everything in her house, because she knows I love all kinds of dishes to photograph on and just for general use. 

Well, I knew I wanted to make a citrus drink but I also wanted a clear pitcher.  For some reason, I do not own a clear glass pitcher.  So while doing dishes, I spot one in her cupboard.  Now, she has shrunk to about 3'7 and I know she doesn't even remember it is in the TOP of the cupboard let alone use it.  So I finish the dishes, put on my best "perfect 10" face and into the living room I go.  It went something like this:

Me: Hey Mom, you don't happen to have a clear glass pitcher you want to get rid of do you?
Mom: I don't think so, let me think.
Me: (waits patiently, baring my pearly whites)
Mom: If I do ,it would be in the corner cupboard on the top shelf of the lazy susan. (where they have been for at least 150 years)
Me: Ok, I am going to look.  What if I find one?
Mom: Well, bring it here if you do.
Me: (goes into kitchen pretends to bang things around).  I FOUND ONE!!
Mom: Let me see it!
Me: OMG it is perfect for what I need.  Do you USE it?
Mom: No but it belonged to Marie.
Me: And?
Mom: Well, I don't really want to get rid of it.
Me: Mom, be real here, when is the last time you used it.
Mom: Well probably never but that is beside the point.
Me: You said you are cleaning things out, just think of what a good home this will have.
Mom:  Let me think about it. 
Me: Ok well do you want me to put it back in the cupboard or put it in this box of stuff you found for me.
Mom: Chris, you aren't going to trick me into giving it to you.
Me: Mom, there is no statute of limitations on child abuse and you spanked me with a wooden spoon, at LEAST 5,000 times as a child. 
Mom: If you don't put that pitcher back in the cupboard you are going to see me turn this walker into a deadly weapon.
Me: Mom, you seem angry, are you ok?  Is this part of dementia that is likely setting in?
Mom: The only demented thing about ME is giving birth to YOU. 
Me: Give me the pitcher mom, just do it.
Mom: FINE.  Take the pitcher but if I want it back you better give it back.
Me: You won't, but ok.

See it is all about wearing them down kids!  Even at 39, I can wear her down.  Really we were laughing so hard during this conversation it was pretty hilarious, perhaps you had to be there. 

Anyway, to the point at hand.  What is better on a hot summer day than a refreshing, cold beverage?  Water is almost always my first choice, but this citrus drink, is SO refreshing, you won't want to be without it!

I think this would be great served for a party, a meal, or just an afternoon by the pool, in the backyard, anywhere! 

1 12oz container of frozen limeade concentrate
2 oranges (1 sliced)
2 limes-sliced
1 lemon-sliced
1 liter Sprite/7 up/Sierra Mist OR Prosecco
1/4 cup sugar (optional, use it if you think it needs it)

Mix limeade according to package directions in a large pitcher.  Cut one orange in half and squeeze into limeade, discard when you have squeezed all the juice from them.  Stir.  Add in citrus 20 minutes before serving.  If you add it before that, the peel will bitter your beverage.  Pour a glass 1/2-3/4 full of limeade and then spritz it with your carbonated beverage of choice.  Make it alcoholic or don't, the choice is yours!

NOTE! Make sure to get extra fruit to garnish glasses or to add a slice into each glass when serving!

I hope you try this and I hope you love it so much, you have to keep making it!  It is the perfect summer refresher, that can be made in one pitcher, and spritzed for either a drinker or a non drinker!

Your "aaahhhhhhh this is perfect" Chefwannabe

Orange Swirl Meringues

Meringues.  I swear, I love these things.  I don't care if they are in the form of cookies, pavlova, top of a pie, it makes NO difference.  I love the crispy outside and perfect marshmallow-ee inside.  Makes me happy for sure!

 

This recipe has been sitting in a magazine on the coffee table for a good year now.   Yes, dead serious.  There is a small pile of magazines sitting there for random reading and this recipe was in one of them.  So 6 months ago I took a huge step, and ripped the recipe out and threw the magazine away.  Definite big girl panty move, eh?  Another 6 months and I actually make the recipe.  Pathetic.  I know.  Doesn't matter, it is amazing.   This could easily be changed out with say....lime or lemon zest, and the color green or yellow to match.  I think a combo of all 3 on a huge plate would be SO cool.   So get your piping bag, and work this out.  They are easy and fun.  You will love them!

Don't sweat the small stuff, the painting of the food coloring is easy, and really you could color the entire batter if you like and avoid that whole drama all together!  Use any tip you like, I used no tip and just cut the tip of my bag off at a place I thought would create a nice size cookie.  I love when you have choices, when things aren't so meticulous, my gosh, I would be a hot mess.  NO comments! HA!

Btw, I am SO savvy, I managed to use those egg yolks I had leftover in another recipe today.  I know, I KNOW.  Are you that cool??  Don't throw them away, find a good use, you paid for them, USE THEM!!

Here is what you will need:
3 large egg whites, at room temp
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
orange food coloring (gel)
piping bag

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.  In a heatproof bowl, add eggs whites, sugar and salt.  Place over a pot of simmering water and whisk until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from the pot of water when it feel smooth between your fingers.  Add in vanilla and cream of tartar and combine with your whisk until completely incorporated.

Pour mixture into your stand mixer bowl OR, keep in the current bowl.  You will need to beat this mixture until the whites are at the stiff peak stage.  You should be able to turn your beater or whisk attachment upside down the egg whites will remain standing up.  This could take 7-9 minutes.  So get on with your bad self and get to beating! HA!  When you get to stiff peaks, add in orange zest and just beat long enough to incorporate it. 

While this is happening take a paint brush and paint 1-3 lines INSIDE of your piping bag.  From the very bottom to the top.   It is helpful to put your bag inside of a tall drinking glass, fold the top over the edges and fill.  Regardless of how you do it, just get it done the best you can, there is no harm in not getting things exact. 

Pipe in a small circle and build up as you can see in the photo.  Really you can pipe them how you want, but if you want the swirl look do it in circles instead of one plop, so to speak.  Your cookies will have strong color the first few, as you can see in my photo, which made absolutely no difference to me, so just go with it.

When you have them all piped, put into the oven for 1hr 15 minutes.  Then, shut the oven off and let sit another 15 with the door opened slightly.  Remove and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

These were fun to make, I am a sucker for a meringue, all day, errr day!

 

Your "never can resist ORANGE food" Chefwannabe