Makin' Muffins like Martha

I couldn't help it. I know I'll be exhausted when it's time to wake up tomorrow morning for the children's speech tournament, but I've been reading an awful lot of Martha Stewart material, and I just couldn't help it.

I made muffins.

No, that's not really a big deal, I know. It's just that I made them only a few minutes ago. After midnight. When I know I have to wake up before God does in the morning.

What can I say? I've been in a baking mood lately, after reading Martha's Pies and Tarts cookbook, and her Baking Handbook, and her authorized biography, Being Martha. I even pulled a couple of back-issues of Living from the library. I've marked about a gazillion recipes to try.

And, get this, today, I even pulled a bunch of my recipes out of the drawer--you know the one. Please tell me you have one, too. The drawer that's so stuffed with every recipe I've ever had--including the mustard pretzel recipe I've never made, and the grocery list from five Thanksgivings ago--that when I open it, seven pieces of sticky, oily paper skim themselves from the top of the pile, sliding down into the cupboard beneath and landing inside a Rubbermaid bowl. It's usually the recipe I'm looking for that makes the migration, the one I don't think to seek in the Rubbermaid bowl until I've dug through the drawer. Twice.

Anyway, I pulled about half of them out and--get this--put them into page protectors and inserted them into hunter green ring binders, to match my kitchen. While I'd like to say, "Isn't that so Martha?" I know it's not completely, because I know that I once began a real Martha project which I still insist on finishing one day; I read on her site a suggestion for printing recipes onto cardstock sheets, two per 8 1/2 x 11 sheet, laminating them, and then punching a hole in the top corner, and then looping them onto a ring. I've printed my favorite ones that way, and I'm bound and determined to do the rest. But, for now, I'll settle for a color-coordinated ring binder.

I'll finally admit it. I LIKE Martha. Just like I LIKE Barry Manilow. I really don't care how much she's made fun of or how much I'm made fun of for liking her. The people who ridicule Martha are just jealous. Mediocre people like to pull others down to their level of mediocrity. Whatever. If it makes them happy in their own little pitiful worlds, let them go ahead and think they're so much better than Ms. Stewart. Ha. As IF.

Martha inspires me. I like her ideas, I like her people's ideas, I like her recipes, and I like her strength and determination. You may call her a female mama dog. Lots of people do. I call her a gutsy woman who knows how to get what she wants without apology.

So, now, my recipes are protected (most of them, anyway), my kitchen is clean, and my muffins are made. The house smells like cinnamon and apples and carrots and dates. Yum.

Hey, it's still the midnight hour. Go make some muffins yourself.

Morning Glory Muffins

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1 1/2 cups peeled and grated apple
3/4 cup flaked coconut
1/2 cup dates, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

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DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly oil 18 muffin cups, or coat with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
In a second bowl, combine carrots, apples, coconut, dates and pecans. Stir in eggs, oil and vanilla. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients; stir until smooth.
Spoon or scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

An Outdoor Kinda Day

With the sun so lovely, and the birds singing, and the weather cool and pleasant, can you blame us? Today is an outdoor kinda day! The kids and I planted our annual flower beds with snazzy pink and yellow snapdragons, dusty miller and blue lobelia. I pointed out to Bard that our rows don't march. They sort of, um...meander. ;-) She said, of course, that it doesn't matter.

Bard is planning a garden of her own, an element garden, with different colors and kinds of plants to reflect their element--sun, earth, water, air--with a cluster of red flowers (sun), white flowers (air), blue flowers (water) and earthy things like hens and chicks and fennel for the earth part.

I'm so encouraged to see the perennial garden coming back up. At the end of last season, Bard and I spent all the money we possibly could on gallons of half-priced perennials, enticed Houdin into digging us some space, bribed Bo into filling the pickup truck with rotted horse manure, and buried our treasures. Through the winter, I sprinkled the used rabbit bedding over the perennial beds, and this year, we're being rewarded with happy plants flourishing! I can't wait for the cut flowers this year!

Houdin, too, wants to put in a garden, a pie-shaped piece near the front of the house. Unfortunately, we can't get our little garden tiller started, so we'll have to wait until someone bigger and stronger and more stubborn can do it.

Houdin is also working on our yearly batch of Dandy Burgers:

Dandelion Burgers
1 cup dandelion flowers - pinch the flower at the bottom, roll it and shake off the petals
1/2 cup flower
1/2 tsp salt and garlic powder (or 2 cloves garlic, minced)
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
fresh ground pepper

Mix ingredients and add enough milk to make a stiff batter. Shape in golf ball-size pieces and fry in oil.


Keep the waffle recipes coming!


And now, it's time to resume working. Get out and do some digging!

Belgium Waffle Contest

We recently acquired a Belgium waffle maker via FreeCycle. Now, how to make Belgium Waffles?

If you have a good recipe you'd like to share, please do so. We'll test them and post the results here. The winner will receive a little prize from the folks here at Today's Lessons.

Happy Waffling!

Collage of The Visit from Li'l Sis and Li'l Niece

The glasses Li'l Sis bought me for my birthday.

Li'l Sis and Li'l Niece

I had a wonderful visit with Bo's youngest sibling, Li'l Sis and her adorable daughter, Li'l Niece. It was so good to see her, have her here, play with her, cook together, and just BE. With Li'l Sis, I don't feel like I need to put up a front. She knows my foibles and imperfections and loves me anyway.

We made chicken breasts using a delicious combination of recipes that I've gathered, altered and concocted over the years and Li'l Sis insisted on making fried potatoes--like deep fried--which set my stomach over the edge, but BOY were they good. Later in the evening, we made a run to the movie store to get "something funny" which we couldn't find, so we came home with Dreamer, which was just okay, not amazing or wonderful or particularly inspiring. Dakota Fanning was cute, though. And Li's Sis, who must be obsessed with food, made a sinful dessert by taking rolls of cookie dough, spreading them in the bottom of a baking dish and baking them until the were barely set and still gooey. This, she served with Breyers Vanilla Ice Cream and Reeses Magic Shell. I had justthismuch so that I wouldn't be a victim to my stomach all night long, but I still ended up with a sour stomach. Eeeyuck.

Li'l Niece is S-O-O-O cute and I couldn't stop taking pictures while she was here! I filled my camera card. FILLED it. 279 photos of Li'l Niece swinging and Li'l Niece playing with the duckies and Li'l Niece being cuddled by my dad and Li'l Niece eating bananas.

It was a wonderful time, and I'm so glad she came. Thanks, Li'l Sis for taking the time, and for all of the wonderful gifts you brought from you (the gorgeous mexican glasses!) and g-ma (the beautiful tealight holders!).

And now, after a very mad dash to clean the house, it's time to receive some other guests.

H'asta la Seeya!

The Baby

Li'l Niece with Duckie in her hood. :-)

Li'l Niece with Nibble and Duckie

Li'l Sis and the duckling

The Baby

Li'l Sis and Li'l Niece

Bo, The Baby and Li'l Niece.

The Greenhouse, continued

Immediately as I stepped from the van, I saw a dark-haired woman sporting sunglasses. She was standing beside a Gator, a sort of ATV for agriculture, and I called out a "hello." She returned with a very enthusiastic, "Hey! How are you?" As she removed her glasses, I recognized her as a woman I'd worked with at the cheesehouse.

"Well, hi! Is this your place?" I asked as I approached her.
"Ha! No! Oh, no. I just work here." She went on to tell me how she'd been fired from her other job and had known that she really needed to be in horitculture, anyway. She was much happier. I could tell. She looked much happier. After a bit of chit-chat, I told her I'd seen the sign that they were hiring and wondered who I would talk to.

"That'd be Joannie. She's around here somewhere..." and I followed her off to be there when she located Joannie.

Inside the greenhouse, it was beautiful chaos. Marching rows of flats, not yet blooming, created a sense of order and organization. Baskets and buckets of garden accents not yet set out for display dotted the floor and every possible surface. Birdhouses, garden tools, primary-colored clogs and empty vessels for every shape and size competed for my attention. A few steps beyond the entrance, a miniature fairy garden about the size of a small room sat contentedly, sprouted soft tufts of mosses and tiny ivies.

Joannie approached, a pleasant-looking woman who has the appearance of someone who works very hard. I introduced myself. "I saw that you're looking for help. I stopped to find out what you need." She nodded, paused to think a minute, and then said, "What are you looking for? What kind of work do you want to do?"

I told her that I'm a stay-at-home mom, that I have a sixteen-year-old daughter who is interested in botany and horiculture who would also be interested in working, and that I'm pretty flexible with my hours, now that Summer is approaching and our regular activities are tapering off.

Joannie explained to me what she needed, and then she said, "Can you come, like, tomorrow? I have a huge truck coming in full of plants and I need as many people as I can get to help." I thought for a moment, checking my mental calendar, and then I nodded. "I think I can do that...Yeah. We can do that." Her face visibly lifted.

"Oh, great! I have to tell you, I just got off the phone with my friend this morning and I said, 'Please, if you pray this morning, pray that God will send me a couple of new helpers.' I've had people come in to apply, but I just didn't feel right about them. I didn't feel comfortable. This is wonderful! Well, when you come tomorrow morning, we'll talk more about the other possibilities."

And with that, I shook her hand and went excitedly on my way.

The Greenhouse

On Wednesday night, Bo and I talked about our finances. It wasn't a pleasant conversation, by any means. Bottom line--too many expenses, not enough money. Though I try to bring in enough money to pay for piano lessons and other classes by taking various Amish driving jobs and miscelleneous tasks, growing our own food, shopping thrift stores, raising rabbits to sell and chickens and turkeys to eat, buying food in bulk and cutting corners where we can, we're still, basically, a single-income family struggling to make ends meet.

I offered to get a job at Stuff*Mart. They'd hire me instantly, I'm sure. Bo said he didn't like the idea, but he wasn't going to say "no." Specifically, he said, "I'm not going to say 'no' to God." I thought this was an odd comment, but I held it in my heart.

Yesterday morning, I prayed about our situation. If God could just give me something I could do that I would enjoy, something that would be flexible and keep me close to my family, something that I could do that could take some of the pressure off of my husband and, therefore, take a lot of pressure from me, I would be very grateful.

And then I took Bard to her Biology class.

On the way, I passed my favorite greenhouse. As usual, I checked the sign to see if she was open yet, and saw a small sign announcing, "Opening soon!" On the same sign was written, "Now Hiring."

It took me a few minutes to even consider the option. But as the thought of working there niggle at my brain, it just sounded better and better. Bard has mentioned that she might like to go into botany or horticulture. I love planting, gardening and learning. Maybe the two of us could work together? Maybe Bard could earn enough money to pay for her New England trip or the acting camp she's really been hoping to go to, but we haven't had the money.

I didn't even mention it to Bard. I just dropped her off, went back to the greenhouse, and stepped out of my van...

Today =...

• Nursing The Baby.
• Not making my bed.
• Cleaning the house.
• An argument with Bard.
• Cleaning the house.
• An argument with Monet.
• More cleaning.
• A shower. I could have stayed in there all day.
• Music appreciation class with Mr. L. We studied Hayden. Next week, Amadeus.
• Fresh pineapple for lunch.
• Taking Bard's friends home after class.
• Cleaning rabbit habitats.
• Cleaning duckling and turkey poult boxes.
• Feeding chickens and bringing in ten beautiful eggs. One of them was blue.
• A trip to the bluebird houses. No bluebirds. I had to evict an intruder, however.
• Pizza with my girlies.
• A trip to the library.
• A discussion with my dear Bo about barnyards and the need for better arrangements.
• Me feeling guilty about said discussion.
• A discussion about my feeling guilty about our discussion.
• Nursing The Baby.
• A trip to the mailbox. Nothing for me. Drat.
• Watering and thinning seedlings.
• Dead kittens. It was mama cat's first litter.
• Reading a bit of my current fiction fix, The Lovely Bones.
• Pruning the cherry tree and giving branches to the bunnies.
• Cuddling with my favorite bunny.
• A walk with Bo at dusk. Country dirt road, our little dog running ahead, a large oak tree, some curious horses, a quick chat with the neighbors, return under the stars.
• Realizing that beauty is illogical.
• Wondering if everything will be okay.
• Realizing that asking God for a sign doesn't mean that a shooting star will appear before my eyes.
• Bo and Houding making rabbit hutches.
• Poring over library books.
• A phone call from my mother-in-law.
• The last of the Breyers Butter Pecan, right out of the carton...
• Followed by dinner. Hamburgers with no buns and with A1 sauce.
• Sharing a glass of grape juice with Bo.
• And here we are.

Red Letter Day!

Not only is this a BEAUTIFUL Spring day, but I got some very coolio things in the mail, too. I LOVE getting mail! It's my favorite! Even if I know that I'm going to be getting the thing, like when it's something I ordered, I'm so excited to see that white package sitting on top of my mailbox when I come home from a day of errands that I get giddy. Because we share a mailbox with our neighbors, usually the bulk of the mail is for someone else. I've asked to be removed from most mailing lists because it's just junk that piles up and catalogs that make me greedy.

But today. Oh, TODAY! I approached the mailbox and saw a package perched atop my mailbox and when I looked at it, it was actually FOR ME! I was SO excited! And I knew that it was one of the teapots I had ordered for myself for my birthday!

But, oh happy day, there was MORE! I also received a BEAUTIFUL, brand new hardback copy of Stephen King on Writing that I scored on PaperBackSwap (if you join, be sure to refer to me, as I'll get credits for more awesome books! H.T. to Impromptu-mom). I would never have purchased this book for myself, especially since it's $25.00 brand new, but because I've been watching thrift stores and picking up books from PaperBackSwap, this book cost me little more than the price of media mail. YESSSSS!

AND there's MORE! I also received another birthday gift I bought for myself, my copy of Jason Harrod's newest CD, Bright As You. Jason is one of my favorite indie artists, intelligent and lyrical, and I was way-mobie excited when I saw he had a new release. You can hear a couple MP3s here.

AND, I was able to plant my sugar snap peas, regular peas, cilantro, lettuces and scallions today in my kitchen garden, thanks to the dear men in my life who spent hours tilling and turning the dirt to make it ready for me. I now have two large garden spots as well as my little kitchen garden, and my seedlings are growing like...well, not quite like *weeds,* but like healthy seedlings, just waiting for the day for the "last frost" to be over and done with.

AND (oh, it's just too much, isn't it?) our hens have started laying, so I was able to collect a dozen eggs between yesterday and today. When I finish with this post, I hope to order a few more Aracuana chicks, as well as some turkeys, Indian Runner ducks and broilers.

The perennials in the front garden are thriving, the chives are high, the sage has returned, and I'm so glad that SPRING is HERE!

Oh happy, happy DAY!

The Easter Basket String Maze

Every year, we hide the children's Easter baskets, but we try to do something a bit different each time. Sometimes it's just a matter of finding clever places to hide them. Sometimes we hide them outside, in the trees or in the woods. Last year, we had the children find their baskets treasure-hunt style, with clues leading each to their own basket.

This year, I decided to go with an idea I saw in Family Fun magazine while sitting in the doctor's waiting room.

After church, Bo hid all of the eggs and then we hid the baskets. Each basket was then attached to a piece of yarn and wound around the whole first floor and, in some cases, through the dog door and out onto the porch, then back inside again. About half-way through the winding, we switched yarn color. Then we wound the strings around the stair railings and up the stairs, where the children were waiting in their rooms. We handed each one their string and gave a few rules--no running, no disturbing anyone else's string, no looking for the basket without using the string, and you must have your picture taken with your basket before you tear it apart.

It was a blast. The children seemed to appreciate the challenge, and they really had to work to find their baskets.

I love fun traditions!

Bard's Basket

Houdin's Basket