healthy harvest muffins

 

 So, it's already been established that I suffer from stupid-huge cookie syndrome. I also have chronic stupid-huge muffin disorder. Whenever I bake muffins, I fill the muffin cups improperly and end up with maximum 11 instead of 12 muffins. I think I just remember things (food items, specifically?) as being bigger than they actually are. Case in point, when I was circling the grocery store scouting for muffin ingredients, I saw regular muffin liners and balked at their small size. Instead, I bought those labeled géant, convinced that they were the correct size for my muffin tin, even though the medium size was coloured in pink, yellow and blue, which I remembered from the last time I bought muffin liners. Of course, the géant liners were in fact géant and rose above the cups of my muffin tin.

And I ended up with 10 muffins. 10 moist, beautiful muffins, warm with spices and bursting with nutritiousness. When you pull these muffins apart, they're flecked with the bright orange and green of the carrot and zucchini - it adds a bit of visual interest and texture to your standard brown muffin. The bittersweet cranberries top off these muffins perfectly.

spiced pumpkin holiday granola

One of the things I love about baking is the scent it leaves behind in your home. As I write this entry, I am filled with the swirling aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg and fragrant orange. It's a perfect smell for this time of year when it's cold outside, but so warm and cozy inside.

These jars of granola (from my first batch) will be carted across the country in a very large suitcase by my cousin who is lucky enough to being going home for the holidays. They make great gifts - they're made with love, and they don't go stale! They don't last long enough to go stale, that is.

I adapted this from the recipe on Winnie Abramson's Healthy Green Kitchen (one of my new favourite blogs). I decided to add orange zest because I'm a big fan of orange spice tea, and we already know that pumpkin and orange is a thing. Or do we? I think I'm actually thinking of my mom's baked yams. Nevermind. It works.

lemon cranberry muffins

This has been a good weekend. It was full of haircuts, pitchers of sangria, barbeques, movie theatres and friends.  It did have its low points - I did a pretty sick load of dirty dishes, but I quickly rewarded myself with fruit salad and homemade muffins. Yum!

This batter is so versatile. I've used it as a loaf, in muffins... even as the cake base for a trifle. It's light, wonderful and not overly sweet. The muffins aren't too filling, but that's okay... you can eat three of them. I won't look.

buttermilk mixed berry muffins

I am a morning person. After spending my teenage years (and my early 20s) sleeping until the afternoon (yes, after noon), I am finally one of those people that non-morning-people hate. I am peppy, cheerful and excited to take on the day. My boundless morning energy has me washing dishes, sweeping floors and doing other such housework. With my lack of grace - or, as Adam says, my lack of proprioceptive sense - it is a nice gesture to placate the late sleeper in the house with baked goods to make up for all the crashing around. These muffins make a wonderful peace offering.  Not only are they fruity and delicious, but they contain three out of four food groups. What more could you want?