Orange Muffins

If you're not familiar with the University of St. Andrews, you're probably not aware of the tradition of third year students adopting first years as their Academic Children. Simon and I have five children in total (and Simon has an extra son who is technically my Academic Step-Son, but let's not get into the legalities of that...) and this is part of the spread we put on for them at our Raisin Party. 

Fizzy juice, Haribo sweets, sandwiches, Smarties, crisps, muffins,
biscuits and party blowers - what more do you need at a children's party?

The main things you need to know about Raisin Weekend are that the academic mother invites her children to a tea party, then sends them to another location where various academic dads get together to have a party in the evening. Then, the next day, the mother dresses her kids up in ridiculous outfits (mine were bearded fairies) and the father makes them carry an awkward, large object (Simon tied our kids together with a length of plastic we found in our utility cupboard) to the university squad, where all the kids have a foam fight with shaving foam.


But that's not the point of this post. The point is ORANGE MUFFINS. Our kids loved them and they were the only item that we didn't have leftovers of. I used this recipe here, so apologies for the American measurements. But since we only have two mixing bowls in our kitchen and one of them is generally used for serving salad in, it helps to measure things in cups! I'll translate for those Brits reading this blog.


I've made these muffins twice and they're one of my favourite things to bake as they're really easy and I don't think anything can really go wrong with them. A few reviewers on the original website complained that they weren't sweet enough because of the low sugar content but I think the orange juice gives them the perfect sweetness. I used freshly squeezed orange juice so I'm not sure what different juice from a carton would make.


Orange Muffins


Makes: 12, technically. I have one muffin tray and one cupcake tray and the mixture filled both trays perfectly, which makes me think it wouldn't quite make 12 large muffins. So 6 big and 6 small.
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes


Ingredients

2 cups (250g) all-purpose (plain) flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking (bicarbonate) soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (100g) white (granulated) sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
2/3 cup (160ml) orange juice, preferably freshly squeezed rather than from a carton
1/2 cup (113g) melted butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup (40g) chopped, broken up walnuts
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/4 cup (55g) packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Directions

1. Preheat oven. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, white sugar and grated orange peel in a bowl. Stir in orange juice, 1/2 cup melted butter, eggs and chopped nuts.

2. Pour into 12 muffin cups.

3. Blend 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. This should make a crumbly mixture suitable for sprinkling on top of each muffin. 

4. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C or Gas 4) oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot.


Suggested Variations
- Zap one of these in the microwave for 15 seconds then drizzle maple syrup on top and eat for breakfast.


— Rachel

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

I've been intrigued with the idea of Taco Soup ever since I came across this recipe a few months back. As far as I know, this isn't a meal typically served in Britain, even in Mexican restaurants. So when I decided to start using our slow cooker more at the start of this year, I christened this adventure by attempting my very first Taco Soup. 

Stephanie O'Dea's recipe calls for packets of taco seasoning and ranch dressing mix, neither of which you can buy easily in British supermarkets, but thankfully the internet was able to tell me what spices and herbs these packets normally contain. 

To be honest, I should really have started out my slow cooking adventure with a recipe I could follow step by step, but my take on Taco Soup ended up being a massive hit. I made a slightly larger version of this (more mince and sweetcorn) for a group of friends, and a smaller one (only one can of each type of bean) for my parents and brother, as their slow cooker is much smaller than ours. 

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 20 - 30 minutes
Cook Time: 3 - 5 hours on High, or 6 - 7 on Low

Ingredients

The picture above is from the time I added extra
ingredients to feed seven hungry students,
so there's an extra can of corn. Fresh
ingredients not pictured!

2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
3 bird's eye chillies, chopped
1 (400g) pack of minced beef
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes
2 teaspoon dried chives
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried dill
1 teaspoon celery seed
a few sprigs of fresh parsley, chopped
2 (410g) cans of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 (300g) cans of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 (400g) cans of chopped tomatoes
1 (326g) can of sweetcorn
1 can of cold water
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat slow cooker. Fry the chopped garlic, onion and chillies in oil until they start to brown. Add the mince and cook until completely brown. 

2. Add mince mixture to slow cooker. Sprinkle all of the spices and herbs on top of the mince mixture, including salt and pepper.

3. Drain and rinse all of the beans using a sieve and place in the slow cooker. Add the entire contents of the tomato and corn cans. Fill one of the cans with cold tap water and add to mixture. Then add balsamic vinegar and lemon juice.

4. Stir contents of slow cooker until mixed through evenly.

5. Cook for 3 - 5 hours on High or 6 - 7 on Low.

6. Serve topped with grated mozzarella cheese, sour cream, guacamole and tortilla chips. Use the tortilla chips as scoops/spoons and eat with your fingers!

Suggested Variations

- Make this veggie-friendly by not using mince and adding more beans or corn. The beans and sweetcorn make this a fairly substantial meal anyway, so the mince isn't entirely necessary.

- Substitute fresh or dried herbs wherever is easiest for you. We happen to have a parsley plant in our house so that's what we used, but dried parsley would work fine as well.

- If you're not fond of heat, reduce the amount of chillies and chilli flakes used. We're used to hot food in our house and honestly didn't think this had any heat to it, but that's just us. 
- Substitute haricot or cannellini beans if unable to find pinto beans in your local supermarket. Haricot works best as a substitute but cannellini isn't too different. The second time we made this I tried to only buy ingredients at Aldi and Tesco and neither of them stock pinto beans so I had to experiment to see what I could use instead.


— Rachel

Rich Chicken Curry

I always find tomato-based chicken curries far inferior to their lamb counterparts. Lamb, however, is comparatively expensive, so my student curries inevitably consist of some chicken and lots of vegetables. This time, I decided that I would not settle for second place, and would make a tomato-y chicken curry which could rival the rich and deep flavours of its superiors. I made it for a few friends of mine, who ate it all up instantly, so no pictures of the meal. Here's some pretty spices though.

Note from pedantic Rachel: the saffron pictured was used in the rice,
not the curry itself.

Serves 4-5 hungry students
6 Chicken thighs (with bone and skin)
1 Cauliflower
3 Tins of chopped tomatoes (although fresh would be better)
3 Onions
4 Cloves of garlic
1 1/2" Piece of ginger
Chilli peppers to taste (Scotch bonnets go best)
6 Cloves
1 tsp Ground allspice
6 Green cardamom pods
2 tbsp Cumin seeds
2 tbsp Coriander seeds
2 tbsp Tumeric
2 tbsp Garam masala
1 tbsp Paprika
25g Parmesan cheese (honestly)
50g Dark chocolate
Rice to serve

Bone and skin the chicken thighs, keeping the bones and skins for later. Boil 1 litre water. Rub the skins with salt. Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan, add the skins and adjust heat until the oil is sizzling slightly. Remember to move the skins around in the pan every once in a while. Put the water and bones in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Lower to a simmer and cover.

Chop the onions, garlic, ginger and chillis. Heat some oil in a large heavy-based saucepan. Add the chopped ingredients and the chicken. Stir on a medium-low heat until the chicken is white all over and the onions are soft. Add the tomatoes. Set to a low simmer.

Crush necessary spices and combine them in whatever you have handy. By this point, the chicken skins should be crispy, but not burnt. Remove the skins and set them aside or eating later, or throw them away. Fry the spice mix very quickly in the chicken oil, being careful not to burn them, and add the whole thing to the large saucepan. Season with salt and pepper and stir.

Chop the cauliflower into florets. Take the bones out of the water and add the water to the large saucepan. Add the cauliflower, parmesan and dark chocolate and stir. Leave to simmer (stirring occasionally), uncovered, until the cauliflower is soft and the sauce is thick.

Serve with rice.

— Simon