Orange-Blueberry Muffins

Joe's out of town this week for work (again... sad face) so I've been pretty bored at home in the evenings. Yeah, I've got Walter for company, but while dogs are good for cuddling they are abysmal at conversation and board games. Last night I decided to while away the hours baking some muffins to bring into the office. Naturally, I turned immediately to the best-ever baking cookbook, Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, and made the very first recipe: orange-blueberry muffins. They were so delicious that I sent only 2/3 of them to the office and squirreled the rest of them away in the freezer so Joe can try them when he gets home.

Orange-Blueberry Muffins
From Baking: From My Home to Yours

• Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
• About 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup blueberries--fresh, preferably, or frozen (not thawed)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Pour the orange juice into a large glass measuring cup or a bowl and pour in enough buttermilk to make 1 cup. Whisk in the eggs, honey, and melted butter.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of orange strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don't worry about being thorough--the batter will be lumpy and bubbly, and that's just the way it should be. Stir in the blueberries. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. When fully baked, the tops of the muffins will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Serving: The muffins are great warm or at room temperature and they're particularly great split, toasted, and spread with butter or jam.

Storing: Like all muffins, these are best eaten the day they are made. If you want to keep them, wrap them airtight and pop them into the freezer, where they'll keep for up to 2 months; rewarm in a 350-degree-F oven, if you'd like, or split and toast them.

Orange and Thyme Scented Chili

Joe's been called out of town for work for the second week in a row. Last week it was rather sudden, but this week I had advance notice, so I was able to plan my meals accordingly. Predictably, I reverted to my law school living-solo strategy of cooking a large pot of something for myself and then eating it for every meal until I can't stand it anymore. This is not a strategy to which I would ever subject another person, but I find that it works quite well for my lazy self.

So last night I made a big pot of this amazing orange and thyme scented vegetarian chili. I was a little worried it would be too sweet from the orange juice, but the flavor is totally subtle and it's not sweet at all. In fact, it's balanced really nicely by the spiciness of the chili powder. Overall it comes together beautifully, makes the kitchen smell incredible, and is one of those recipes that I just know I'll be making again.

It tastes better than it looks...

Orange and Thyme Scented Chili
Paraphrased from One Dish Vegetarian Meals

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red or green bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 2 14-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• One 10- to 14-oz package of frozen veggie burgers or sausages, thawed and crumbled
• 1 cup mild or medium salsa
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 1/2 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and pepper and jalapeno (if using), cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 7-10 minutes or until softened. Stir in the chili powder, thyme, paprika, and brown sugar. Add the tomatoes, black beans, veggie burgers or sausages, and salsa. Cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes. Add the orange zest, orange juice, and enough water to get it to approximately the consistency that you want. Cover again and cook for another 10 minutes, then serve.

Variations: You could try tempeh instead of the veggie burgers/sausages, or for all the carnivores out there, this would be equally delicious with ground turkey or ground beef substituted.