I've mentioned before that I'm typically more on the quiet side. Small talk is something I've never been that good at. My closest friends are the ones who don't get weirded out when I have nothing to say. Writing, on the other hand, is a place where I can tend to get a little long-winded. I'm hoping you all don't mind too much.
Recently, though, I've been pretty easily distracted. Whenever I try to write a post, my mind wanders to everything else but the subject at hand. I begin watching the birds bathing themselves in the canal outside our house. I start wondering whatever happened to that one book I had meant to read.
I begin brainstorming the best way to arrange cabinets in our kitchen to maximize storage space. I spend an hour on Google Fonts, picking out fonts that I like. I start checking prices on flights to, well, pretty much everywhere.
I decide to sit on the couch doing nothing but scratching Samantha's belly. I respond to an email that I really should've responded to 2 days ago. I get up to make myself a cup of tea, but get distracted and make muffins instead.
These muffins.
They are just too good. Blood oranges offer a sweeter, more earthy citrus punch and when combined with vanilla coconut yogurt, they turn this muffin into one super moist and tasty treat. The goji berries, after being soaked in warm water for an hour, become plump and juicy and bring a bright, tangy flavor burst to every bite. Just plain delicious. They were so good, I had to make another batch to send to our friend who just had back surgery. She and her husband (and their pup, who managed to get ahold of one) enjoyed them as well.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go look for that one book I had wanted to read...
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup spelt flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup vegan butter (I used Earth Balance coconut spread)
- 1/4 cup coconut nectar (or agave/maple syrup)
- 3/4 cup vegan coconut yogurt (or other vegan yogurt)
- 1/2 cup fresh blood orange juice, with pulp
- 1 tablespoon blood orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup goji berries, soaked in water for at least one hour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Place baking cups in the wells of a 12-cup muffin tin. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and coconut nectar. Mix in the coconut yogurt, then the orange juice, zest, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined. Fold in the goji berries.
- Fill each baking cup with batter until it's about 3/4 full. Lay 2 blood orange slices on top of each muffin.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven. Let cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes before transferring the muffins to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before serving or storing in an airtight container. Enjoy!
Do you ever find yourself being easily distracted? What do you do about it?
This last week, as well as the next two weeks, I will be working on a project (Yay for temp jobs!). Because of this project, I may end up slacking a little on the blog and with social media. I may not be able to reply to all comments, but I will certainly try to answer all questions. Trust me- I'm not ignoring you! Every comment I get, every tweet and every note on Facebook is noted and puts a huge smile on my face. Much love to you all. 🙂
Alexander
These are some cool packed with all the goodness muffins. I think I will try to fit in a Blood Orange flavored Chobani yogurt into the recipe, as a substitute for something, and see how it comes out. By the way, you have the most elegant photo arrangements and props for the food images. Really good example to learn from, and your posts are honest and funny at the same time. Also, thanks for mentioning Google Fonts, I just looked at it and picked a couple of cool fonts for myself, Quicksand and Questrial. Thank you for a recipe and have a great day!
Laura
Spring is making my mind wander like crazy too. I keep gazing out the window while I'm in the middle of emails, photo edits and all the other work I should be staying focused on.
Congrats on your temp job lady. These pretty muffins would be so great with a cup of tea right now 🙂
Michelle
Love Goji berries but their prices have increased so much in the past month... crazy.. I just discovered Coconut nectar thanks to Amber Shea's recipes...
YEAH for temp work!!
thanks for all the good recipes...I wander while reading too much... but not too bad...my hubby has ADD so I try to reel it in around the house =)
The Vegan Cookie Fairy
These look amazing!
Small Footprints
Mmm ... these look wonderful ... thank you for sharing the recipe. When I'm feeling distracted, I take a little time to myself ... maybe read or go for a walk. Sometimes it's just enough to get me back on track. Enjoy your temp job!
Amy
ooooohh the combination of blood orange and goji berries must have tasted divine!! Love it 🙂
Alexandra @ Delicious Knowledge
I think every blogger knows about the difficulty in finding the words for posts. Sometimes, I can put a post up in 15 minutes, other times is takes me hours. I've started writing more and more posts when I am really feeling it, and then walking away when I'm not. I find that the posts I struggle with are often the ones I'm most disappointed with! These muffins look delicious, love the addition of gogi berries!
Caitlin
wow, these muffins look so perfectly moist and i love their color. i'm not super shy, but i HATE small talk. and writing posts...those take me a good three+ hours to write most weeks. i get easily distracted, too. making muffins is a great way to occupy your mind, though 😉
Richa
i love how those goji berries add that pop of color to these muffins! i get distracted by house hunt or watching the birdies or the kids who visit the p-patch in front of our building in spring and summer. there is constant yelling while they run all around for half an hour. Chewie used to bark on them the first few weeks. now he just sleeps through all kiddie noise. after months of clouds and rain, there is a excitement in the air now with all the flower,s colors. no wonder the kids get so excited 🙂
Annie
Kel and I decided to grow goji berry trees when we first moved to Oklahoma. The climate was supposedly right - and we'd read that "once established" they grow like weeds. We bought a giant packet of seeds and lovingly planted them in trays, watched them sprout, grow a little and then we transplanted them into the garden. We imagined ourselves buried in berries. Turns out the key phrase is "once established." Only one plant got as high as my knees before petering out and dying. Good thing we didn't name our ranch Goji Berry Acres.
melissa @ my whole food life
OMG these look AMAZING! I am a huge fan of goji berries. Thanks for the recipe!
Anna {Herbivore Triathlete}
Oooh, yummy! I adore goji berries and blood oranges are one of my favorite citrus fruits. I agree with Alexander, your props and photos are always to gorgeous.
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan
I so agree about this! I end up doing everything BUT what I need to be doing. I'm with you on organization and looking up flights. Hope your temp job is something exciting!
Gabby @ the veggie nook
I find myself constantly distracted, basically since September. I take weeks to answer emails and am constantly hopping between tasks, never quite sure what I want to do, not willing to commit to any one task. It's terrible!
Making muffins though, that is something I always want to do. And these sound so delicious! Perfect use of time my dear 🙂
Heather
As with everything you make these look incredible!
Somer
I get so easily distracted! This post had me laughing from the gut! Girl, I'm in love with these muffins, and I totally need to start soaking my goji berries. How come I didn't think of that? 😉
Ginny McMeans
I appreciate your sense of humor and recipes so much. Thanks for another one.
Kayla Seguin
Do you have any suggestions for which flour(s) to use to make these gluten-free?
keepinitkind
I would use a all-purpose mix, such as Bob's Red Mill 1:1 GF baking flour.