Real Food Recipe: Orange Muffins

Otherwise known as: Oooops, I Liquified My Mayonnaise. I make my own mayonnaise. Why? Because the mayo you buy in the store is made with rancid oil, even the expensive health food kind. Eeeeeeeew! Right? Ever notice that mayo has a distinct aroma and taste and people either love mayo or hate it. Well, that signature mayo smell and taste is actually comes from the rancid oil. Yuck. I am not feeding that to my family.

Making homemade mayo is a cinch and another great way to get good fats and eggs into your family. All you need to make mayonnaise is a one cup of a quality oil like olive or sunflower (not safflower), and an egg. I prefer sunflower oil as it has a neutral flavor better suited to salads and sandwiches.

Whisk the egg until totally blended and then while whisking, slowly add the oil in a very thin, steady stream. In a few short minutes you will have a beautiful, truly healthy mayonnaise, also known as aioli (eye-o-lee). Add any range of sea salts, spices or herbs for a delicious spread on sandwiches, crackers or even a dip for veggies.

Now, I use my Vita-Mix to make my mayo. If I get distracted from watching the process, things go south. Even 5-10 seconds too long in the Vita-Mix and thick mayo liquifies. No amount of whisking or blending or silently cursing the mayo will make it thick again. 

Fortunately, you can avoid this catastrophe by hand mixing. So why do I use my Vita-Mix, you ask? I make large batches of mayo that tend to slop out of the bowl when I'm whisking. The Vita-Mix (usually) is the better choice for my needs.

So what to do when I start day-dreaming and liquefy my mayonnaise? I hate waste in the kitchen. Waste is not good stewardship and it's also not good for the budget. So what to do with that high quality oil and pastured eggs? Bake something of course! Nearly every baked good calls for fat and eggs. You could really go anywhere with this: muffins, cakes, cookies, brownies. Whichever confection your family loves the most.

I had a surplus of oranges, a cold November afternoon and a family clamoring for a treat. This recipe was born.

These muffins are delicious. Moist, orange-y, with a fine crumb like a sugar cookie.

Orange Muffins
 
Makes 18 muffins

Double batch of liquified mayonnaise OR
2 pastured eggs
1 1/2 cups of sunflower oil 
juice of one organic orange (around 1/4 cup)
zest of one organic orange (thoroughly scrubbed) (TIP: add more zest if you made an olive oil mayo. The zest will mask it.)
1/2 teaspoon real almond extract
1 tablespoon Triple Sec (optional, but really adds an extra something)
3/4 cup sucanat sugar
1 3/4 cup sprouted flour
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit.

If you didn't accidentally liquify your mayonnaise, at this point you want to whip your eggs and oil until they don't separate as soon as you stop mixing. 

Toss in the orange juice, orange zest, almond extract, Triple Sec and sucanat. Combine thoroughly.

Sift dry ingredients together. Add to wet ingredients while stirring slowly. Only mix 25-35 strokes. Lumps are fine, even big ones. If you over-mix muffin batter, your muffins will be tough and heavy.

Fill muffin tins 1/2 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean.

Devour these hot and slathered in raw butter, with a glass of cold, raw milk. Rejoice that your mayonnaise making didn't turn out, because now you have a yummy treat you can feel good about eating.

These muffins keep well and freeze well, so they are a good option to keep around for a quick snack. They would also make a fabulous addition to a party, especially with some soaked, slivered almonds added to the batter.

Enjoy!

I am joining the Healthy Home Economist for Monday Mania with this recipe.

The Story of Stuff

This is a great 20-minute movie about the cycle of "stuff". It takes us on a little journey showing how raw materials are obtained, how it gets into our hands and how it all ends up in the landfills. A behind the scenes look, if you will, revealing the true cost of cheap stuff.

One shocking statistic I learned from The Story of Stuff is that 99% of what we buy today ends up in the landfill in six months. Hard to believe? Next time you go shopping and get home, look at what you've purchased and ask yourself: Is all this stuff still going to be in my home in six months? I did that very thing, and sadly, even with all our family does to be sustainable, much of what we buy does end up in the trash. Sounds like we have some serious work to do.

I learned something else very shocking. Did you know that stuff is actually engineered to break? Yep. What we've all suspected for years is true. But there's more to it than that. An even darker side. You'll just have to watch the movie to find out.

My 5 year old thoroughly enjoyed The Story of Stuff and asked me a zillion questions about why society and people are the way they are.  I feel this movie is great springboard for family discussion.

Check it out here: The Story of Stuff

Have you already seen it? Great! What did you think? Are you outraged yet? Outraged more than before? Good! Let's do something about it. There is only so much that we can do, but our actions can show our love and respect for our fellow humans and the earth. By examining our habits and the manner in which we care for our family, I am certain we can all make changes to foster good stewardship of our natural resources.

Are we asking ourselves "Is this a need or a want"? An oldie, but a goodie, as they say. Often times, this can stop us from buying something unnecessary that will not only be thrown away in the near future, but expose our family to toxins in the meantime.

Are we using reusable bags when we shop? I recommend 100% cotton cloth bags. Those cheap ones at the stores are made of chemically treated, highly flammable polyesters. If you already have some of those ones, by all means, keep using them and do not throw them away. But from now on, choose only 100% cotton bags. They will last forever and can be repaired if they rip, unlike the flimsy polyester numbers. Also, many of the polyester ones cannot be washed. Yuck! I wash my bags after I shop. They have been in my car, in carts, on the floor. They need to be washed. I have been using and washing the same cotton bags for almost 10 years and they still look great.

Are we choosing items that have little or no packaging over heavily packaged items? Sometimes this cannot be avoided, but many times if we spend a scant minute or two looking, we can find an alternative to a heavily packaged item. Toilet paper is a good example. Do we buy the individually wrapped rolls? Or do we wisely choose the packages that have the least amount of wrapping? Some families even use cloth wipes. What a way to cut down on waste! Buying in bulk is a great way to avoid heavy packaging too. I also have much of what our family uses shipped directly to my door. From food buying clubs like US Wellness Meats and Azure Standard, to Amazon and Soap.com, I save our family thousands of dollars each year, while also cutting down on the amount of packaging circulating the earth.

Are we buying second-hand or hand-made if possible? Furniture, clothing, appliances, vehicles, books, toys, can all be found for a fair price and better quality than new. One huge bonus in my book to buying second-hand or hand-made items is that many of the toxic chemicals have out-gassed already, leaving you with a less toxic or non-toxic product.

Are we grouping our errands together? It's widely known that when you do one big shopping trip each month you buy less. When we run to the store several times a week for this and that, we are more apt to buy unnecessary stuff, and contribute to the sad cycle of consumerism. Doing one big shopping trip each month forces us to plan our purchases carefully. I have been doing this for years now and it works wonderfully for our family. I do go to the store to pick up produce and perishables once per week, but I eliminated a weekly Target/Grocery Store trip many years ago.

How are you a good steward of the earth? I would love to hear from you!