I love autumn mornings; especially at dawn when it’s foggy and quiet with daylight just filtering in.
It feels familiar, like the cold dry harmattan mornings from my childhood.

This is also my favourite time to bake, the world is perfect in that still solitary moment when I get to do what I absolutely love.

I rarely plan ahead for breakfast, I reckon a lot of people don’t, not in the way we plan dinner.
For breakfast, I usually go with whatever I can whip up quickly, dry cereal and nut milk most of the time, or coffee and pastries when running errands or traveling.

But on those special weekend mornings, I do plan ahead for breakfast.

I take a few days and decide what to make, sifting through cookbooks and collected recipes for that perfect something… a cake perhaps or waffles, socca or these delightful orange poppy seed muffins.

I knew I’d love these muffins for a lazy weekend breakfast, they are those kind of muffins… the kind that doesn’t require a lot of effort, smell heavenly while they bake and taste divine.

They’re subtly tangy from an infusion of orange juice and zest, moist from mashed bananas and flecked with toasted poppy seeds for added crunch and texture, with hints of warming spices.

It’s the kind of muffin that makes breakfast special, I love it when the house awakens to the smell of these muffins baking.

They’re a treat with freshly brewed coffee… homemade lattes are the best!

And on those lazy, lazy Saturdays of rain and gloom… I curl up under the covers and read a good magazine from cover to cover and while away the morning.

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Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

adapted from La Gallette

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup poppy seeds
• 1 1/2 all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour (I used white whole-wheat flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2/3 cup turbinado sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup almond milk (or some other nut milk)
• Zest from 2 medium-sized oranges
• Juice from zested oranges, about 1/2 cup
• 1 medium-sized banana, mashed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. To toast poppy seeds, put them in a small skillet over medium-high heat, stirring continuously for about 2 – 3 minutes until fragrant, remove from heat and set aside to cool
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line muffin pan with liners
3. Sift all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour and baking powder together in a large bowl, add poppy seeds, sugar, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves and sea salt
4. Whisk coconut oil, almond milk orange juice and zest in a smaller bowl
5. Add banana and vanilla extract and stir
6. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the wet mixture and stir until evenly combined and batter is smooth
7. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan to about 3/4th full each
8. Place in the oven and bake for 18 – 25 minutes until tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin just comes out clean

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