Sesame Carrots

If you've been following my Instagram page you know how much I love techina. The funny thing is I didn't eat techina until I moved to Israel. When I lived in America my only knowledge of techina is the watery stuff in a squeeze bottle at the falafel and pizza place. Then I moved to Israel and I was a madricha at a seminary in Jerusalem. My co-madricha who would soon become one of my closest friends, would put techina on everything and I thought it was so weird because techina goes on falafel and that's it. She convinced me to give it a try and my life was changed for the better.
Fun fact - the summer after we were madrichot we were counselors on a summer program together and the two of us along with the other two female counselors loved techina so much that we were actually known as the techinis.
I learned from her how to properly make techina (you can too check out this blog post).
I now drizzle techina on pretty much everything.

The other day I was thinking techina is just ground sesame seeds and sesame is a big flavor in some Asian cuisines so why not give techina a try in an Asian inspired dish.

Sesame Carrots

1/4 cup techina paste
3 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 - 1 tsp sriracha
1 Tbs silan
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp orange zest
1 inch of ginger
1 clove garlic
1 green onion
6-8 medium carrots
1 Tbs sesame seeds - for garnish

Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper

In a large bowl mix together the techina, soy sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, silan, and vinegar. With a microplane, grate in the orange zest, ginger, and garlic. Cut the white and light green part off of the green onion (set the dark green part aside for later), finely chop, and add to the techina mixture. Peel the carrots and cut them into sticks by cutting them in half horizontally then vertically then each of those pieces into three or four sticks. Place the carrots in the techina mixture and toss until everything is well coated. Spread out in an even layer on the prepared cookie sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes.

In the meantime toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until lightly golden - watch them closely they burn easily. Slice the reserved dark green part of the green onion on a bias.
Arrange the carrots on a platter and top with the toasted sesame seeds and green onions.

This dish can be served warm, cold, or at room temperature.

Blueberry Oat Crumb Muffins

These muffins are one my favorite. A sweet cinnamon-scented batter packed with bursts of tart blueberries, what's not to love?!

Batter 
1/3 cup vegetable oil 

1 egg 

1/2 cup milk of your choice 

2 tsp vanilla extract 

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp lemon zest (optional, but highly recommended)

1 1/2 cups flour 

1/2 tsp salt  

2 tsp baking powder 

1 tsp cinnamon 

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries tossed with 1 Tbs flour. If using frozen do not thaw them. 
If you have another type of berry on hand use them in place or in addition to the blueberries. 

Topping 

1/2 cup oats - preferably quick-cooking, but old-fashioned works too 

1/2 cup flour 

1/4 cup brown or white sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon 

1/4 tsp salt 

1/4 cup room temperature butter or 3 Tbs vegetable oil 

Glaze 

1 cup confectioners' sugar 

2 tsp lemon juice 
1/2 tsp lemon zest (optional)

1 tsp milk of your choice 

Preheat oven to 400º F/200°C 

Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

In a liquid measuring cup or medium-size bowl, whisk together the oil, egg, milk, sugar, lemon zest (if using), and vanilla - set aside. 

In a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon until well combined.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredient mixture. Mix together until just combined, being sure not to overmix as this will result in a dense muffin.

In a small bowl toss the blueberries with 1 Tbs of flour. This will help them not sink to the bottom of the muffins during baking. 

Gently fold the flour-coated blueberries into the batter. 

In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients for the topping. Add the butter and mix with your fingers until you have large crumbs. If you are using oil, don't add it all at once, slowly pour it in and mix the dry ingredients with it, pinching the mixture together until you have a crumbly texture. 

Scoop the muffin batter into prepared tins and generously pack the crumb topping on top. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

To make the glaze, mix together ingredients adding milk until you have a drizzle consistency. 

Allow the muffins to cool before drizzling them with the glaze.