Whole Wheat Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

The Texas Spice Rack. com

Whole Wheat Lemony Poppy Seed Muffins

1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour

½ tsp baking soda

½ cup soft butter

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

3 Tb lemon juice, (I use one lemon for juice and the peel)

3 tsp grated and chopped lemon peel

2 tsp vanilla extract

5 Tb poppy seeds

½ cup sour cream

½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 12 muffin tin

1 Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2 Cream butter, adding the sugar a little at a time, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time to the sugar mixture, continue beating the mixture. Then add the lemon juice, vanilla lemon peep and the poppy seeds. Add the sour cream  and the flour to the batter and mix well.

3 Evenly distribute the batter into the muffin tin.

4 Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

5 Take out of oven let set in muffin tin 10 minutes, then put on rack to finish cooling.

These muffins freeze well.

More Chai Tea

The Texas Spice Rack.com

Chai Tea

 I really enjoy drinking this homemade tea quite flavorful when it’s homemade. You cannot buy this type of freshness when you are buy pre-made at the store. Using the whole spices in your recipes will give you the absolutely best of flavors and aromas.

This recipe makes 8  10ounce servings

6 whole cloves

2 whole black peppercorns

3 dried bay leaves, crumbled

 ½ tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp. ground cardamom or 10 whole cardamom pods, crushed

½ tsp. ceylon cinnamon or 1/3 of a 3" ceylon cinnamon stick

¼ tsp. ground allspice or 6 whole allspice berries, crushed

¼ vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise

1/4 cup packed, dark brown sugar

4 cups water

2 tbsp. loose black tea or 6-7 bags of black tea

 You will need a one quart jar to store the concentrate 

     In a small saucepan, combine spices, herbs, brown sugar, and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer loosely covered for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add loose tea. Cover and steep 10 minutes. 

Strain concentrate into a glass cup or container. The concentrate may be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. To make individual chai tea drinks, combine equal amounts of concentrate and milk. Service hot or cold

For more Chai recipes use this link :

The Texas Spice Rack: February 2014

Pork Loin Rub

The Texas Spice Rack.com

Pork loin Rub

You need to use whole spices for this recipe, because they are more pungent in flavor and aroma. The spices will need to be dry roasted to bring out more of the flavors. Roasting the spices will make your kitchen smell wonderfully fragrant.

3 Tb. Brown mustard seed

1 tsp. fennel seed

2 tsp. coriander seed

1 tsp. cumin seed

1 tsp. whole black pepper seed (tellicherry)

2 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. ground ginger root

1 ½ tsp. Coarse salt

1 tsp. sugar

Mustard ( optional) I use my homemade mustard

Option: bacon wrap the pork loin, then sprinkle with course pepper

Place brown mustard seed, fennel, coriander, cumin, and peppercorns in a dry cast iron pan. Place over medium heat, moving skillet to keep seeds from burning, until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Mustard seeds will begin to pop. Cool slightly, then transfer seeds to a spice grinder, pulse until finely chopped, but not powdery. Place mixture in small bowl and stir in the thyme, ginger, salt, and sugar.

Store the rub in an airtight container in a dark place

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Rub pork loin with mustard (optional),Rub pork loin with about 2 Tb. Spoons of the rub. Bake for about 25 minutes.

 With some of the leftover pork loin I enjoy it in a salad. I slice the loin then heat it up in a pan with some of the rub mix and butter and sauté until hot.