It is hot here, would you like to have some sun brewed ice tea?

All you need is a tea bag, a bunch of fresh mint, lemon juice and a sunny spot.

I prefer using a glass container while brewing the tea under the sun. Even if it has a tight lid, I also use a saran (*) wrap to cover it. After about an hour of being under the sun, it turns into light brown, and another hour makes it darker. There are days it was out for more than 5 hrs, than it gets really dark, but still tastes great.

After you brewed long enough, add fresh mint leaves, lemon juice, cut lemon peel to the tea. Refrigerate. Make sure to run it through a sieve before serving it and add fresh mint leaves.

Enjoy!

When I first heard of the name “Saran wrap” I could not help but smile. In Turkish “saran” means “enveloping, surronding.” So, do you think it is a coincident that this name is chosen? I do not know…

I got this recipe from our local supermarket, Raley’s. When I saw the recipe it looked quite interesting and healthy, so I tried it out. As I was putting the ingredients together I was thinking how stupid of me it was not to divide the recipe into half; two eggs recipes are easy to divide, no? First time making it, I had no idea how they would come out. I ended up with 24 muffins! Next day I was going hiking with some friends and brought along some of them to the hike; we all thought they were total success. Two weeks after that I made another batch, and will do it again ;)

It sure is healthy and easy to make. The orange & cranberry contrast makes it really nice; if you do not like sour taste or cranberry, I’d suggest staying away from it. ;) It is Very moist, too.

If you are living in a place where cranberries are hard to come by, try looking for cornelian cherries. I think they would be a good replacement for oranges.

I will include the recipe in its original format. I suggest you do half of the batch, so you have only 12 muffins ;)

1. 1 cup flaxseed
2. 1 cup oat bran
3. 1 cup wheat bran
4. 1 cup whole wheat flour
5. 1 tbsp. baking powder
6. 1 tsp. baking soda
7. 1/4 tsp. salt
8. 1 cup dried cranberries
9. 1 cup Tree Top Natural Apple Sauce
10. 1 cup brown sugar
11. 1 cup organic 1% milk (i hardly ever use %1, so it was %2 in my muffins)
12. 1 tbsp. cider vinegar
13. 1 tbsp. canola oil (I used extra light olive oil)
14. 2 whole seedless oranges, washed and quartered
15. 2 eggs or 1/2 cup egg substitute

Prep time: 25 minutes Cook time: 30 to 45 minutes

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Grind flaxseed in a food processor or coffee grinder (I put them whole);
   add to a large bowl with oat bran, wheat bran, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cranberries. Add raisins, chopped dates or chopped nuts, too, if desired. Set aside.
2. Combine remaining ingredients in a blender. Blend on a high setting until mixture is smooth, then add to bowl with dry ingredients. Stir until dry ingredients are just moistened, being careful not to overmix.
3. Pour mixture into greased muffin tins, filling to the top. ( I definitely recommend using paper liners!)



4. Bake for 30 to 45
   minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in tins for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Makes 24 muffins.

Using oranges with the skin adds phytochemicals, natural compounds that help prevent diseases.