Blueberry Flaxseed Muffins

After a long hiatus, I've found a new muffin recipe worth posting here. Since I only bake muffins that are under 150 calories, they often turn out pretty dry. Not these! For that reason alone, they just earned a place in my permanent rotation.

Blueberry Flaxseed Muffins
From Sparkrecipes. Makes 1 dozen. 138 calories per muffin.

Ingredients:
1 cup blueberries
1 cup quick oats
1 cup lowfat buttermilk (I didn't have any - plain 1% milk was fine)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
 ½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 large egg
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
¾ cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp ground flax seeds

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray muffin pans with nonstick spray or line with paper liners.

2. In a small bowl, combine the oats and buttermilk, and let stand at room temperature for five minutes.

3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; mix with a fork to blend and set aside.

4. In a large bowl, beat egg, applesauce, and brown sugar at medium speed for 3 minutes (I just mixed by hand). Add the oat-buttermilk mixture. Stir in the flour mixture just to combine. Fold in blueberries.

5. Fill muffin cups ¾ full and top with a sprinkle of flax seed. Bake 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.


Happy Friday!

Working Woman's Monkey Bread

I signed up to bring breakfast for my Sunday School class last weekend. After overthinking my options, I finally decided on classic, fairly easy monkey bread. While I wanted to try this healthier version, I didn't have time to mix, rise, separate, and bake my own yeast dough for 30 people. But biscuits from a can? That was doable, and the bread was still a hit. There's absolutely nothing healthy about it. It's just delicious.

I got this recipe from a friend a long time ago. I love the name!


Working Woman's Monkey Bread
Serves a lot. I planned to double the recipe, but filled up two Bundt pans with only five cans of biscuits.

Ingredients:
4 cans jumbo buttermilk biscuits
1 ½ cups light brown sugar
1 ½ sticks butter, melted
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup chopped pecans (optional - I left them out in case of nut allergies)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or whatever the biscuit can calls for). Spray pan(s) with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Over low heat, combine butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and nuts in a small saucepan until sugar is dissolved.

3. Cut biscuits into quarters. You can do this all at once, or one can at a time if you're not sure how many biscuits you'll need.

4. Dip biscuit quarters into the mixture until well coated. BE CAREFUL!

5. Layer biscuit quarters in the pan. When the pan is full, pour remaining sugar mixture over the top.

6. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until center is no longer doughy. Serve warm.

Grasshopper Cake

I pinned a recipe for a football-themed grasshopper cake a long time ago, and Super Bowl Sunday was the perfect occasion! The cake itself was easy to make, but something went very wrong with the frosting, which was supposed to start with a meringue. I almost shorted out my hand mixer trying to achieve the meringue - twice. Though I followed directions exactly both times, nothing happened. In fact, none of my other meringue attempts have really solidified either. Maybe I need a new mixer? So, with my ears ringing and my arms aching, I whipped up some standard buttercream frosting in about five minutes. (Whatever, Martha.) In the end, the cake was a big hit at Caroline's Super Bowl party, so it was worth the trouble!

Grasshopper Cake
From Martha Stewart (cake) and adapted from Southern Food (frosting).

Ingredients:

For the Cake
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for the pan
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup warm water
½ cup milk
¼ cup sour cream
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
¾ tsp pure vanilla extract

For the Frosting
1/3 cup butter, softened
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pound (3 ½ cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted if it's organic or lumpy
3 to 4 Tbsp milk or light cream
½ tsp peppermint extract, or 2 Tbsp creme de menthe (can adjust to taste)
Green food coloring, if using peppermint extract

For the Footballs
12 large Andes mints
White sprinkles

Instructions:

Make the Cake
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-by-12-inch cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment or wax paper. Butter the parchment, and dust with cocoa powder.
 
2. Whisk together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in eggs, warm water, milk, sour cream, butter, and vanilla, blending until smooth (hand mixer recommended!).

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate or the cooling rack. You may want to pop it into the fridge for a while before frosting. (Cake will keep, unfrosted and covered, overnight.)

Make the Footballs
With a small, sharp knife, trim Andes mints into the general shape of footballs. Set aside the trimmings. Press three white sprinkles into each mint to form the "laces." Caution: don't press too hard, or the sprinkles will disintegrate. Alternatively, you can "glue" them on with frosting, but I wasn't in the mood for such delicate work.

Make the Frosting
1. Cream butter, salt, vanilla, and peppermint extract or creme de menthe (and food coloring, if using) with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar gradually, beating after each addition. (You might want to tarp off your kitchen before doing this!!)

2. Add the milk or light cream, beating until smooth. Beat in more milk until your desired spreading consistency is reached. Makes about 2 1/3 cups of frosting, enough to frost tops and sides of of an 8-inch 2-layer cake, a 10-inch bundt cake, or a dozen cupcakes. It was just enough for the top of this 8X12 rectangular cake.

If you haven't eaten all the Andes mint trimmings, you can sprinkle them over the top of the cake before (or after) frosting. It's a nice surprise in every bite!

Life Lately 11/8

I'm sorry for the lack of original, thoughtful posts here lately. It's been a crazy few weeks, I've been going nonstop, and blog brainstorming hasn't been high on the priority list. So much is going on that I have to skip events in order to get any rest. By last Sunday night, I was so completely exhausted that I collapsed on the couch and watched 33 webisodes of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. (I'll be catching up on the other 33 plus the Lydia videos ASAP.)

Anyway, despite my exhaustion, I had a few friends over on Tuesday night to watch the election returns. I just thought a small, cozy gathering with snacks in front of the TV sounded nice, and it was! For the occasion I baked an apple pie in my beloved Emile Henry ruffled pie pan. I used this recipe (but using Pillsbury pie crust) and give it two thumbs up.

Last night the Tigers played Christian Brothers in an exhibition game to unofficially open the season! Our first real game is Monday night against UNF. I also got all my season tickets from Kathy and Daniel - we ordered them together and I paid them back. I had been waiting for this magic moment for years! Obviously I've been going to most of the basketball games for a long time, but there's something about being an official season ticket holder. I'm proud to be even more invested in my team and my alma mater. I'd also love to socialize more with the other season ticket holders around us this year. It would be awesome to have a "basketball family." I told Kathy we should pass around some sort of Getting To Know You survey. :)

Speaking of Tiger things, I did the True Blue 5K on campus last Friday night! I never ran at all until last year, so successfully running the majority of this race, with minimal walking, was exciting. I barely set a new record time for myself, despite briefly losing my shoe early on when a girl stepped on it and sent it flying. I'm not a serious runner by any means, but I felt really good about this experience.

So that's the latest.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins

(I welcome muffin tin cleaning tips)

Now that it's October, I can enjoy all the pumpkin things I want without feeling weird about it! A friend linked me to this banana oatmeal muffin recipe, and of course I adapted it for pumpkin. You could really make these with any fruit! As made below, these muffins are around 140 calories each and LOADED with Vitamin A (I ran it through a recipe calculator). They're also flourless, which I guess is healthier and provides an interesting texture. The best part: the only bowl you need is a blender! No need to pre-beat eggs or separate wet and dry ingredients. Fastest cleanup ever.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins
Makes 12.

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups oats (whatever kind you have on hand, though old-fashioned is preferred)
1 cup plain lowfat Greek yogurt (I used Dannon Light & Fit)
2 eggs
¾ cup sugar or sweetener of your choice
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¾ cup to 1 cup canned pumpkin (or other pureed fruit of your choice)
Pumpkin pie spice to taste
Dash of vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare a 12-cup muffin tin. If you're using paper liners, be sure to spray them well - the batter will be sticky.

2. Put oats into the blender about a cup at a time, blending until smooth. Add the other ingredients and blend. You will have to stop and stir a few times.

3. Divide batter into muffin liners (very easy since you're pouring it directly from the blender) and bake for 20-25 minutes.


I'm excited about further experiments with this recipe!

Remembering Grandma

My Grandma Emily died on September 1, just a few weeks shy of her 85th birthday. She lived most of her life in south central Texas, moving to Miami right after my dad was born and coming back to Texas basically as soon as he was grown. For most of my childhood, we spent every Thanksgiving at her house. I was never super close with her, but got to know her better as an adult - we bonded over cooking tips and gardening. Although Grandma was great at domestic tasks, she wasn't your typical Susie Homemaker. She could smoke, drink, and cuss like a sailor, and she loved casinos. She gave me my hair, my figure and my middle name. She was a pistol. After my divorce she seemed both concerned about and proud of me, and often asked my sister if I had a boyfriend yet. Who knows what could happen now that she's petitioning God about it in person! LOL. I hope I can carry on her legacy in my own way.

I spent last week in Texas for the funeral. It was nice to have almost the whole family together. It was the biggest gathering of cousins in at least ten years (11 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren). I also saw Grandma's remaining siblings and their families, some of whom I had never actually met.

Two of our cousins also have babies under a year old, so they and Niecy had a grand old time. I loved seeing all the babies together!

Even cooler, my dad and his two brothers each had one grandchild there. :)

In Grandma's honor, we the cousins attempted to replicate her signature dessert, Church Windows. We used to pig out on them every Thanksgiving. They're basically a thin layer of hard chocolate (maybe with nuts?) layered over colored mini-marshmallows. Debra and Lance turned up a recipe for "Rocky Road Candy" in her desk that sounded the same, but it became clear that she had only used that as a jumping off point. Only my cousin Keith had actually seen her make them, so we quizzed him intensely. Lance loves a good baking challenge, so he's going to make a few more attempts and get our opinions. (Of course, the whole thing totally reminds me of Phoebe's lost cookie recipe.)



My grandma's house will probably be sold, and it was also tough to say goodbye to the site of so many memories. It'll be interesting to see if the family gets together much after this - Grandma was kind of the glue.

Blueberry Bran Muffins

My love affair with blueberries continues. Now is the perfect blueberry time when every pint is fantastic, and I eat at least a pint a week all by myself, usually standing over the sink. But blueberries this good deserve more dignified treatment.

So last night I pulled out this muffin recipe I've been saving for a while. I tasted the batter, as is my custom, and it was so delicious that I thought these muffins must be like 300 calories each. I mean, they even contain real sugar (not Splenda)! But after consulting ye olde recipe calculator, I'm pleased to announce that they're only 108 calories each, and chock full of fiber and protein. So eat up!


Blueberry Bran Muffins
From Allrecipes. Makes 1 dozen.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups wheat bran
1 cup 1% milk
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar, not packed
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp kosher salt
1 cup blueberries

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 F and prepare muffin tin or cups.

2. In a medium bowl, combine wheat bran and milk, and let stand for ten minutes.

3. In a large batter bowl, combine applesauce, egg, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add bran mixture.

4. In a third bowl, sift together flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the large bowl and stir just until blended. Fold in blueberries.

5. Scoop into muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes.

***

This is an aside, but I want to make it clear that many of the photos I use on this blog weren't taken by me. I get most of them on weheartit, so it's usually impossible to find and credit the original source, though I'm happy to do so when the information is available. Lately I've felt increasingly guilty about my lack of original, topic-pertinent photos, but photography isn't really a passion of mine (although I get a good shot now and then). Most successful bloggers are excellent writers and excellent photographers... but I'm not. I'm okay with that. If that keeps me from ever being really successful, oh well.

Strawberry Apple Muffins

I've found another winner in my search for the best muffin recipes. This one is chock full of healthy, hearty ingredients, but bakes up amazingly light! Just be sure to refrigerate these - I don't know why, but carrots start molding very quickly in baked goods. I'm sure a domestic scientist can enlighten me.

Strawberry Apple Muffins
Adapted from an incomplete entry on SparkRecipes. :) Makes 1 dozen. As written, these are 180 calories each, but you can bring them down to 150 by substituting Splenda for half of the sugar.

Ingredients:
1 cup apples, shredded or finely chopped
1 cup carrots, shredded
½ cup strawberries, chopped
½ cup chopped walnuts
¾ cup white flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
1 egg, beaten
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 and prepare a muffin pan.

2. Combine dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt) in a medium bowl.

3. In a separate, large bowl or batter bowl (trust me, get one if you don't have one), combine sugar, oil, and egg. Stir in the chopped apples, carrots, and strawberries.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir just until combined. Fold in walnuts. Distribute into muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes.

Note: The batter seemed a little dry to me when it was mixed, so I added a splash of 1% milk to balance things out. You might want to increase the amount of oil, or add a little milk while blending the wet ingredients. I haven't made these a second time yet, so I can't provide exact instructions.

Cooking Cheers and Jeers

Just a recap of what's going on in my kitchen lately...

This fantastic salad combo is courtesy of my friend Kelly in Knoxville. I enjoyed it many times last summer. When I had a sudden craving for it this week, I couldn't remember the ingredients and had to search high and low for the recipe. Here's what you need to know:

My Kroger had NO peaches, so I used oranges instead. I topped it all with a quick balsamic vinaigrette. So good!

On Monday I raided the herb garden to make the long-anticipated Green Couscous. It was as good as I'd hoped and may be a new favorite this summer!

I've also been looking for a good strawberry muffin recipe (as usual, something under 150 calories per muffin). Last night I excitedly tried this recipe. It said to use whole wheat pastry flour, but I used regular whole wheat (because who has a variety of pastry flours sitting around?), thinking it wouldn't matter. Um, IT DID. They turned out strawberry hockey pucks. Aside from that, they were kind of bland, even with all that strawberry puree and Splenda sprinkled on top. Back to the drawing board.

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Every once in a while, I make a breakfast smoothie consisting of Light & Fit yogurt, milk, strawberries, peanut butter, and a little honey. Realizing that the peanut butter is the best part, I was inspired to look for a peanut butter muffin recipe with a reasonable calorie count. Surprisingly, I hit the jackpot right away with this Skinnytaste recipe. The secret is a natural substitute called Better N' Peanut Butter. I'm leery of food products (or any products) with N' in their names, but this stuff really is natural - they sell it at Trader Joe's. So despite my skepticism and the $6 price tag, I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised. (It's available at Target for those of us who don't have a Trader Joe's.)

These muffins are SCRUMPTIOUS, and lighter and fluffier than most of my go-to recipes. I ate two straight out of the oven.

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
Via Skinnytaste. Makes 12 muffins, 160 calories each. With real peanut butter, they're about 190 calories each.

Ingredients:
3 medium ripe bananas
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (can substitute some whole wheat flour)
1/3 cup light brown sugar
10 Tbsp Better N' Peanut Butter (divided into 8 Tbsp and 2 Tbsp)
2 large egg whites
2 Tbsp butter, softened
½ tsp vanilla extract
¾ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and line a muffin tin. Mash bananas in a bowl and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg whites, bananas, applesauce, vanilla, and 8 Tbsp peanut butter. (If you forgot to mash the bananas, like I did, you can break them up and toss them in at this step. They blend just fine.) Beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl.

4. Add flour mixture, then blend at low speed until combined. Do not overmix.

5. Fill each muffin cup halfway, then add ½ tsp peanut butter to the center of each muffin. Top off with remaining batter. (I didn't do this, but it got rave reviews on the original post.) Bake on the center rack for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Christmas Cookies

Cookie bags from Hobby Lobby

It's my annual Christmas Cookie Frenzy! Every year I bake tons of cookies to hand out to my co-workers (and anyone else who needs a little happy). I overbake on purpose - I figure as long as I'm doing the work, I might as well go big and have some left over for myself too. I always bake molasses cookies from a tried and true Martha Stewart recipe. Then I add one or two other kinds of cookies. This year I made Pillsbury slice-and-bake "sugar peppermint" cookies, plus Jumbo Chocolate Crinkles. FYI, the crinkles are indeed jumbo, but they mostly rise up rather than out. So if you make them, don't worry about them colliding on the cookie sheet. That was a big relief at about 11:00 last night. :)

Do you have Christmas cookie traditions? :)

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

I saw this pumpkin bread recipe at Simple Thoughts and decided to bake some ASAP. Conveniently, I had half a can of pumpkin in the fridge that needed to be used up. :) This recipe makes two loaves, one for you and one for a neighbor. But my family and friends don't want me plying them with baked goods, and it's dangerous enough having one loaf of this bread in the house. It is DELICIOUS, and excellent topped with a little cream cheese for breakfast.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups flour
3 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs
1 can pumpkin (not pie filling)
1 cup oil
1 cup water
Chocolate chips to taste (the original recipe suggested an entire package)

Combine dry ingredients, combine wet ingredients, combine all together, yada yada. Bake at 350 F for 60-70 minutes.

Aside: I typically substitute unsweetened applesauce for oil and a little baking Splenda for sugar when I bake. I also mix it up with flours depending on the recipe, my mood, and what I have on hand. For this I combined white, whole wheat, and a little barley flour (which is very light and adds a little flavor - thanks to Smitten Kitchen for the tip). Sometimes I throw in a dash of flaxseed, but that would have been too heavy for this bread. It's fun to experiment though.

S'mores Bars

These s'mores bars are perfect for fall! They bring a touch of campfire to non-campfire gatherings. This is another recipe I've had for a while and finally tried last weekend. The bars are delicious, but I cringe anytime I use this much butter. So if you make them, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, and then go for a run or something. :)

I doubled the recipe (to make a 9x13 pan) since I was going to a party and didn't think it would be enough. However, the bars are pretty rich and I'm still eating the leftovers. So the below is the original recipe, for an 8x8 pan.

S’mores Cookie Bars
From The Crepes of Wrath, originally from Baking Bites

Ingredients:
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

¼ cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup graham cracker crumbs (about 8 graham crackers)

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

2 king-sized milk chocolate bars
1 ½ cups marshmallow fluff (not melted marshmallows because they harden when they cool)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and/or line an 8-inch square baking pan.

2. Create graham cracker crumbs, either in a blender or food processor, or by crushing by hand.

3. In a stand mixer or large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.

5. Divide dough in half, and press one half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Don’t worry if it seems thin; the baking powder will allow it to rise.

6. Place one layer of chocolate bars over dough (break them to fit if you need to), then spread the marshmallow fluff over the chocolate bars. Finally, top the fluff with the remaining dough by pressing the dough into sheets and laying it down on top. Don’t worry if the dough isn’t covering everything! It’ll spread out as it bakes.

7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. If the top is browning too quickly, cover it with tin foil for the remaining baking time. Cool completely before cutting into bars. If you don’t, they will crumble when you try to cut them. Makes 16-20 bars.

New Oven

My new-old oven was installed last weekend! :D What a difference, right? Since my house was built in the mid-70's and they don't make ovens exactly the size of my old one anymore, getting the new oven in was more difficult than anticipated. I expected problems, but not problems requiring major cabinet surgery. So I hired a handyman, and thanks to him and my wonderful dad, the oven is in AND my cabinets and drawers are still intact. I'm relieved that it's all over!

Since I was out of town last weekend visiting friends, I didn't have a chance to use the new oven until last night. It is SUCH a pleasure to work with. The digital readouts are so handy, the light comes on automatically when you open the door, and if you set the timer, the oven turns itself off when the time is up. I'm pretty sure it has more features that I haven't discovered yet. I'm looking forward to lots of baking in the months and years to come. :)

The whole unit was really filthy when I bought it, but Easy-Off cooktop cleaner and oven cleaner took care of most of the yuckiness. One of the burners is a little scarred, but I'm told there's a really heavy-duty product or procedure that can fix that too. I'll share if it works!

Here's what I made to inaugurate the oven!

(Yes, my muffin tin is icky. It gets so much use that I have a hard time getting all the gunk off. I welcome cleaning tips.)

Blueberry Flax Muffins
Slightly adapted from Chef Meg of Sparkrecipes. Makes 12 muffins, about 140 calories each.

Ingredients:
1 cup quick oats
1 cup lowfat buttermilk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 large egg
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
¾ cup brown sugar (can substitute Splenda if desired)
1 cup blueberries
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 F and prepare your muffin tin(s).

2. In a small bowl, combine oats and buttermilk. Let stand at room temperature for five minutes. If you prefer a lighter, crunchier muffin, you can skip this step.

3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt (and oats if skipping step 2). Mix with a fork or whisk and set aside.

4. In a large bowl, combine egg, applesauce, and brown sugar (and buttermilk if skipping step 2). Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed for three minutes. Blend in oat-buttermilk mixture, if applicable.

5. Add dry ingredients and stir to combine. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups ¾ full, and sprinkle flaxseed on top of each muffin.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Weekend

I try not to bore people with weekend recaps on this blog, but this weekend was eventful in a pleasant, low-key way.

I bought a new-to-me oven! My kitchen has an open countertop/bar layout that requires a "drop-in" oven. They start around $1000 new, so I've lived with my original 1970s harvest gold range for almost five years. Also, it still works fine, and I generally believe in keeping stuff for its lifespan instead of upgrading every few years Just Because. But lately the buzzing oven timer has gone rogue, and I'm over it. I started looking on Craigslist again, and found this white smooth-top GE range for a tiny fraction of the new price! My dad is going to install it for me next weekend. In the meantime, I need oven cleaner recommendations, because I don't think this one has EVER been cleaned. :| I want it to be all sparkly when it comes into the house.

I got a haircut! I didn't intend for it to be this short (my own fault - I'm terrible at judging how much I want cut off), but I REALLY like it. My hair hasn't been this short in several years, probably since my last Ouidad haircut. This cut is almost as good, too! If you need a curly hair stylist in Memphis, I can direct you. :)

I got a letter from my Compassion kid. It made me smile a lot. Note his question, "Are you married already?" I love the way kids go straight to the heart of things. :)

Kathy and I saw Deathly Hallows Part 2 - in 3-D! It was fantastic and I cried a lot. My thoughts on the movie are basically the same as Still Wandering's. It was my first 3-D movie, and after years of disparaging 3-D as an unnecessary gimmick... I kind of liked it. Anyway, Kathy and I have gone to almost every midnight Potter book release and movie together, so this was the end of an era. I'm seeing it again with Caroline and some other friends on Saturday!

I baked Peach Carrot Bread. I used Splenda instead of sugar, and substituted barley flour for some of the all-purpose flour. It added a nice flavor, but I think it caused the bread to be a little dry. Still, it's delicious!

Chocolate Orange Truffle Cake

No time for a movie post today, but here's a recipe for your Memorial Day gatherings!

Chocolate Orange Truffle Cake
From a Betty Crocker cake mix box.

Ingredients:
1 package chocolate fudge cake mix
Water, oil, and eggs as called for on cake mix package directions
1 Tbsp grated orange peel
1 tub ready-made chocolate frosting
1/3 cup whipping cream
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare cake for two 8- or 9-inch round pans, as directed on package, adding grated orange peel to the water. Bake cake as directed, and cool on cooling racks.

2. Fill layers and frost cake.

3. Heat whipping cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until hot, but not boiling. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted and smooth. Let stand 5 minutes. (I substituted half-and-half for the whipped cream, which resulted in a thin sauce. I recommend adding more chocolate chips if you do this.)

4. Carefully pour chocolate mixture on top center of cake; spread to edge, allowing to drizzle down the sides. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until chocolate is set. Cover and refrigerate any remaining cake.

I made this for a movie night, which has since been canceled, and a picnic/concert, which I may be going to alone. So now I have a huge cake and no one to help me eat it. Not a good combination. :| I hope all of YOUR Memorial Day weekends are full of fun and friends!

Apple Banana Pumpkin Muffins

Of the many muffin recipes I've tried, this is my favorite so far. It's loaded with delicious things that are great for you, and the balance of ingredients is perfect. Since baking a batch, I've really looked forward to breakfast!

Apple Banana Pumpkin Muffins
From Sparkrecipes. Makes 1 dozen. About 130 calories per muffin.

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 ½ Tbsp flax seed meal
1 egg
½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
¾ cup 1% milk
½ cup canned pumpkin puree
1 ripe banana, mashed or pureed
2 Tbsp raisins and/or Craisins

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 F and grease a 12-cup muffin tin.

2. Sift together dry ingredients (flours, baking powder and soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and flax seed).

3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg and brown sugar together until well combined. Stir in vanilla, milk, applesauce, pumpkin puree, and banana.

4. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in raisins and/or Craisins.

5. Pour mixture into muffin cups and bake approximately 17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Triple Lemon Cake

I got this recipe from an online friend, Serena, several years ago and somehow never got around to trying it. This weekend, my church's choir performed Mendelssohn's Elijah, and an e-mail was sent requesting desserts for the reception afterward. So I decided it was lemon cake time! This cake smells and tastes delicious, and would be perfect for a cookout or Easter potluck. I forgot to take a picture of the finished cake, so here's a picture of the lemon being zested. :)

Triple Lemon Cake

Ingredients:
For the cake:
1 package yellow cake mix
1 3 oz package lemon gelatin
¾ cup vegetable or canola oil
4 eggs, beaten
½ cup water
¼ cup fresh lemon juice

For the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp lemon zest

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 6-cup Bundt pan.

2. Beat the cake ingredients in or with an electric mixer until smooth, about 4 minutes.

3. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cake in the pan 25 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely. (This sounds potentially disastrous to me - I just put the whole pan on the cooling rack and invert it onto the serving plate later.)

4. Combine the glaze ingredients in a medium bowl until sugar dissolves. Pierce cake with a fork and spoon the glaze over.


For this cake, I inaugurated my new Microplane zester! I've wanted a plane zester ever since I saw Ina Garten using one, and Williams-Sonoma had a big sale over the weekend. This style is SO much easier and less hazardous to use than the knobbier kind. I'm looking forward to using it a lot this summer!

I was trying to go all Eowyn-with-a-zester here, but I don't think I succeeded:

Low-Cal Banana Muffins

I'm unofficially compiling a muffin cookbook. It's a slow process, because I'm selective about recipes, especially now that I'm back on the Sparkpeople wagon. They have to be low-calorie (ideally 150 calories or less apiece), decently high in fiber, and somewhat different from the recipes I already have. I tried these this week and am pleased with them!

Low-Calorie Banana Muffins
Adapted from Sparkrecipes. Makes 1 dozen. 80 calories per muffin.

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
2-3 bananas, mashed or pureed*
¼ cup sugar
1 large egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
Pinch of salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease muffin pan or liners.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. (You can also add cinnamon or other spices, substitute flaxseed for some of the flour, or add chopped walnuts.)

3. In another bowl, combine banana, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. Blend well, then mix in applesauce.

4. Slowly combine dry mixture to wet mixture and blend well.

5. Scoop into muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes.

* = The original recipe called for "1 cup mashed banana." I assumed this meant one banana, but it's actually two or three. I just kept adding extra applesauce to the batter until it looked right, and everything turned out okay. :)

Valentine's Day

I've always felt that Valentine's Day is not solely about romance, but about showing love to everyone you love. Maybe this is why my first Valentine's Day as a divorced person isn't upsetting me. I have a LOT of love in my life: parents, siblings, and possibly more friends than I've ever had before. And, of course, God. Most of the time I don't feel like I'm lacking much relationally. I feel very blessed. I only feel bad that I'm not giving a lot of Valentine gifts or mailing packages. I started thinking about it a few weeks ago, but the list grew longer and longer until I was overwhelmed, so I decided to stick to cards. :)

I made red velvet cupcakes for work:

I really wanted to make a rose cake (it's so beautiful!), but was consumed with guilt at the mere thought of making and eating that huge quantity of frosting. So I made cupcakes instead and used about 1/4 of the frosting recipe (which ended up tasting funny to me anyway).

My mom showed up at my office with flowers:

Lilies are my favorite, but I can't have them in the house because of the cats. So I love getting them at work! :)

Happy Valentine's Day to all my readers! Whether you're in a relationship or not, know that someone loves you!

PS: This post would be better if you were reading it while listening to Myla Smith's brand-new single, "Everything Changes." Download it here or on iTunes!