I don’t know about you but I am getting royally ticked off with feeling under the weather. I have always been a sufferer of the Winter Blues, however usually the promise of fairy lights and mulled wine (or mulled cider or mulled ANYTHING) gets me through Pre-Christmas, and after that I try to enjoy the short days and use them as an excuse to eat dinner at 5pm and be snuggled under a blanket with a Stephen King book by 9. Despite the usual dread on January 2nd of the few months ahead before Spring shows its face, it usually comes along quicker than I think, and I never actually see out my plan of setting fire to *that* winter coat that never seems to be off my body, indoors or out.
This year, I admit, I haven’t made life easy on myself. You see, on January 5th myself and The Bearded Wonder (Dark Matters Market-selling Maestro and my partner in life, not just in crime) decided we would ‘do one’, as they say, and disappear off to Mexico for a month. “Hooray!” we said that day, and for every day after that for three and a half weeks while we ate and drank our way around the Yucatan Peninsula (more on THAT soon), but it had to end at some point, and by January 29th we were definitely ready to come home to the beautiful crisp Winter days and big cosy jumpers.
Yep, I’m an idealist. And I forgot about cold season. Since returning from Mexico I have been in a daily battle with my immune system, pumping it full of Echinacea, herbal (‘Cold Buster!’ ‘Flu Fighter!’ etc ect) teas and as much Vitamin C as I can get my antibacterial-gelled hands on. Lidl sell an enormous grocer’s case of oranges, and we’ve been getting through one of these a WEEK. It seems to be doing the trick and any sniffles I’ve had tend not to amount to much, but by GOD, its hard work being this healthy! So today I’ve treated myself and baked one of my absolute all time favourite treats (that aren’t Brownie based- obv!) to use up a couple of sad looking oranges in my fridge. I try not to eat too much dairy myself as it triggers some skin problems, so went on the hunt for an easy-breezy vegan recipe I could knock up just in time for a 4pm cuppa. Success! Delicious vegan Orange and Poppy Seed Muffins – they’ve certainly made me feel much better, despite the low Vitamin C…
Taken and adapted from MyDarlingVegan
Vegan Orange Poppy Seed Muffins2 cups plain flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 salt
3 tbsp poppy seeds
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp caster sugar
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp rapeseed/sunflower oil
zest & juice of 2 oranges
1 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegarLemon Glaze3/4 cups icing sugar
1+ tbsp fresh orange juiceInstructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a muffin tin with baking cups and set aside.
- In a small bowl combine soy milk and apple cider vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes to curdle. In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds. Set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together sugar, canola oil, and the juice and zest. Slowly add curdled soy milk, whisking while adding, until completely incorporated. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, folding in gently until just combined.
- Fill the muffin liners 2/3 full and bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle come out clean. Set the muffins on a cooling rack to cool.
- Meanwhile whisk together the powered sugar and juice. You may need to add a little extra orange juice to get a thick and smooth consistency.
- Spoon about 1 tbsp of glaze over each warm muffins then let the muffins continue cooling until completely cool.
