Cranberry Orange Muffins & TVP Update

First of all, muffins are great. They're a great breakfast on-the-go, a portable snack, a midnight snack, and they're very versitile. They can be zesty or sweet, and you can jazz them up many many ways. Go muffins!

I do not have a picture because they got eaten so fast. I'm posting it now instead of making them again to get a picture, because I ran out of cranberries and probably won't get around to making them again for a while. I'm trying to introduce more variety into my muffins.

I like this recipe because unlike many cranberry orange muffins that I've tasted, the orange is there. You can taste it. Most of the time they just throw in a little orange zest and call it orange. These muffins are by no means orange-overwhelming; it is subtle but at least you can taste it.

Start by heating up 1/2 c. of fresh/ frozen cranberries and 2T orange juice, sweetened to taste. While that is warming on low, get these ingredients together.

1/4 c. plus 2 T. orange juice
2 T. applesauce
1 t. olive oil
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c. teff flour
3/4 c. GF flour mix
if no xanthan gum is in the mix, add 1 t.
1 t. baking powder
1/8 t. salt
1/4 c. plus 2 T. sugar
1 1/2 t. brown sugar
1/4 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

*note: I always try to keep the sugar low in my muffins, and since the cranberries are so tart (even when sweetened) I wouldn't go any lower than this. The muffins themselves weren't overly sweet, either.

You know the drill for muffins: mix the wet, mix the dry, then mix the two together. When they are about halfway mixed up, mix in the cranberries and walnuts.

Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. It will make 6 muffins.

Now I am thinking about the possible flavors of the next muffins I make...

As for the Textured Vegetable Protein, I added some to some tortilla soup I was making. The first thing I noticed was that it floated on the top of the soup. Maybe soup was not the best way to try it. It didn't really taste like anything, and the texture wasn't anything remarkable. It reminded me of the freeze-dried veggies in those cups of ramen noodles. It didn't disrupt the soup's flavor or texture.

It's also used by vegans and veggies as a meat substitute. Since I eat meat, I won't be using it as a substitute, but I might use it give things a little extra oomph. There was a recipe for red beans & rice on the back of the bag, and it sounds like it would be a good way to use it.

The best thing I can figure, for meat-eaters, is that it is just a sneaky way to add more protein.