Fresh Cranberry Muffins

I never knew how lucky we were to live in an age of modern conveniences until we lived out of a cooler for 6 WEEKS.  (Long-story-short: about a year and a half ago we bought a "new" fridge. It had to be serviced no less than 7 times in twice as many months and in November, was pronounced "unrepairable" by our now-familiar appliance repairman.   God Bless "Jo" at the Whirlpool Headquarters who recognized our plight and agreed to send us a new, working unit)  FINALLY,  after miles of red tape and holiday delays, our brand-spanking new frigidaire arrived last week, courtesy of Whirlpool.  It was followed by an epic grocery trip.

Call me a nerd but the general process and outcome of a routine refrigerator clean-out is oddly cathartic to me.  Seeing those nearly empty shelves, just waiting to be filled, is (to me) the embodiment of optimism.  It's the promise of a fresh start in one of the most basic areas of need that I can fill for my family: wholesome, satisfying, nourishing and hopefully yummy meals.  So when I had the opportunity to begin again with a completely new refrigerator I was nearly giddy!  What better way to start the New Year (and decade) that with a totally clean slate in one of my favorite areas of the house???

Is there a part of your home/world where you'd like to start fresh this January?

Fresh Cranberry Muffins

Makes 18 standard sized muffins.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, chopped
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• zest from one small orange
• 3 T turbinado sugar (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and ginger. Working over the bowl, toss cranberries in a fine sieve with about 1 1/2 teaspoons flour mixture to lightly coat; set aside the flour mixture and the blueberries.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Mix in vanilla.
3. With the mixer on low speed, add reserved flour mixture, beating until just combined. Add milk, beating until just combined. Do not overmix. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the cranberries. Fold in orange zest. Divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. If desired, sprinkle a little turbinado sugar on top of each muffin.
4. Bake, rotating pan halfway though, until muffins are barely golden and a cake tester inserted in the center of one muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool briefly then carefully (and quickly) remove muffins from pan onto cooling rack.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Favorite Blueberry Muffins

Whole-Wheat Pumpkin Bran Muffins*

*adapted from this recipe

INGREDIENTS:
Yield: 18 muffins
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1 T molasses
1T brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1-15 oz. can pumpkin puree
1 cup bran flakes, lightly crushed
1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves1/3 cup very hot water
1 tsp baking soda

DIRECTIONS:
-Line muffin tin with 18 baking cups.
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 for convection oven).
-Prepare muffin tin by
-In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, honey, molasses, sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, pumpkin and salt. Mix well. Stir in bran flakes.
-In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
-Stir dry ingredients into wet until just combined.
-Add baking soda to hot water, stir to mix, and then gently stir into batter.
-Divide mixture evenly into 18 muffin cups, filling each cup to about 3/4 full.
-Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 min or until a toothpick inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean.
-Enjoy warm or at room temp. with cream cheese or butter.

     Summer has finally decided to give up the fight and let fall arrive this week.  Cooler temperatures, leaf gathering, costume wearing and fall baking has replaced the warm sunshine, outside playtime and cool drinks.  The evening light disappears a few minutes earlier each evening and the mornings now feel cold and dark. 

     As with every year, I'm sad to see the warmth and light disappear.  It's not so much that I dislike fall.  It's such a beautiful time of year, especially when we are lucky to have one in our state.  (Sometimes winter blows in too early and the leaves literally get snowed off of the trees.)  But it's mostly that I don't love winter.  I'm not a fan of cold, snow, ice, or layers of clothes.  I much prefer the lightness of flip-flops and longer days.

     However, with the onset of colder, darker mornings we have been spending a few more minutes snuggling under the covers together as a family.  The littlest one nestles in for an early morning snack before dozing off for a bit while longer.  My daughter chats and giggles, cooing over her baby brother before giving all of us our character names for the day (today we were named members of "The Backyardigans," Uniqua, Pablo, Tasha Tyrone).  Daddy (or "Tyrone") gets a few extra minutes of much needed sleep.  And I get to sneak downstairs to let the dog out, make a cup of coffee and spend 10 minutes alone before starting my day of juggling the needs of two littles and a never-ending To Do list. 

    With my husband's work schedule and my new-to-two learning curve, it can feel like we don't often get time to catch our breath before putting out the next fire.  These slow moving mornings are an unexpected blessing during a time of year I don't always feel so thrilled about, and for that I'm grateful. 

What could be better than having a snack with a good friend?  Laughing HYSTERICALLY while having a snack with a good friend. 

Sibling bonds are the longest relationships a person can have and arguably, some of the most important. Someday their father and I won't be around.  Hopefully they'll still have each other.  I feel so blessed that I get to watch them learn how to love one another.

Whole Wheat Banana Bran Muffins

The Winter Germs have taken my daughter hostage for the 739th time since November and we are all more than a little bummed about it. On top of a very runny nose, a hacking cough, incessant sneezing and the voice of a middle-aged man, my poor moneky has had little to no appetite anything beyond Gatorade and crackers for 2 days. Thankfully, her Nana (my mom) has been around to help snuggle away the sniffles too. However, we still haven't been able to coerce her into eating much. She's a sad little state of affairs.

This morning, in the hopes of encouraging a little nourishment into her body (and in an effort to use up 3 sad, overripe bananas) I decided to bake some banana muffins, also known as "cupcakes" in this house. As always, my goal was to create something delicious AND healthy. After poring over a variety of whole wheat and banana bran recipes, I decided to combine the two and create these muffins, which have whole wheat and bran, no processed sugar and a touch of molasses (one of my favorite "secret ingredients" for hearty muffins.)

The whole experience brightened all of our spirits. My daughter was torn away from her beloved Sesame Street long enough to help stir the batter and we all enjoyed a house filled with the warm scent of baking bananas. It was just what we needed on this uncharacteristically foggy, cool, germy morning.

These muffins are not only healthy and tasty but also surprisingly light. If you can avoid it, try not to use regular whole wheat flour (in lieu of WW pastry flour) since they might turn out a little denser.

INGREDIENTS:
Yield: 18 muffins
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1 T molasses
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp salt
3 med mashed bananas (1.5 cups)
1 cup bran flakes, lightly crushed
1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup hot water
1 tsp baking soda

DIRECTIONS:
-Line muffin tin with 18 baking cups.
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 for convection oven).
-Prepare muffin tin by
-In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, honey, molasses and vanilla. Add eggs, bananas and salt. Mix well. Stir in bran flakes.
-In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and cinnamon.
-Stir dry ingredients into wet until just combined.
-Add baking soda to hot water, stir to mix, and then gently stir into batter.
-Divide mixture evenly into 18 muffin cups, filling each cup to about 3/4 full.
-Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 min or until a toothpick inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean.
-Enjoy warm or at room temp. with cream cheese or butter.

Cheesy Dinner Muffins w/Butternut Squash

So that's a pretty long title for such a small, easy little recipe but, really, it could have been worse. These are actually more like, "Savory, Cheesy, Butternut Squash Muffins with Whole Wheat and Flax" but that length seemed even more ridiculous. The point is, these little guys are not only yummy, they are also pretty healthy.

I made them to go with my favorite Roasted Chicken Soup (more on that another time) on a very snowy night. It had been a loooong day at the T~L~S~E house. My poor little monkey had been snuffly, coughy and weepy all day and I could feel my own nose growing more clogged by the minute. I was *this* close to giving up on making dinner in favor of ordering take-out. Then I realized that the most nurturing thing I could do for both myself and for my family was take the time to craft a hearty, healthy, warming meal to fill our bellies and soothe our sneezes.

The chicken soup is one I've made enough times that I was able to throw it together with one hand while attending to my grumpy girl with the other. And muffins are the perfect quick bread when you don't have time, extra hands or half a brain left after a long day. They don't even require a mixer! After searching my favorite cookbooks for a decent savory muffin recipe and coming up empty-handed I decided to use what I had in the fridge (leftover roasted butternut squash + shredded cheese) and pantry (whole wheat flour, etc.) to create my own.

The basic ingredients for any muffin are few...flour, seasoning, baking soda, liquid, fat and eggs (sugar if you're making them sweet). After that all you need is two bowls, a spoon, some muffin tins and a hot oven and you have fresh bread to dip in your hot soup...or to warm your tummy while you wait for the soup to cool. :)
*Try to eat these lovelies while they are still warm. If you're feeling extra indulgent, split one in half and allow a tiny pat of butter to melt into each side.
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup AP flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3/4 cup pureed butternut squash
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup ground flax
• 1 cup shredded cheese (gruyere would be amazing but I used sharp cheddar)

DIRECTIONS:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2) Sift or whisk first four (dry) ingredients together into a large bowl.
3) Stir in grated cheese.
3) Whisk egg, oil, squash, milk and ground flax.
4) Lightly whisk wet ingredients into dry until just combined. Do not over mix.
5) Divide batter equally into 12 greased (or lined) muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes or until very lightly browned. Enjoy warm and store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container.