(the best) Pumpkin (or any other) muffin recipe

Last year for our 25th anniversary we went to Bermuda. And in less than 2 days we are going back because, well, we just are. I have alot of excuses for why we definitely needed a break but none for why we had to go to Bermuda -but isn't that itself proof positive of our complete (almost) nervous breakdown? If we hadn't lost our minds to all the stress we would have done something much more sensible. To make up for my lack of sense I offer you the best muffin recipe EVER. It just happens to have pumpkin in it. The original recipe come home from Nathanael's preschool (by Jesse's entrance only the name is unchanged).

Pumpkin Muffins

1 cup white flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 scant cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon (now why not call this ground?)

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

Mix all the above ingredients

In a larger bowl* beat the following together

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

2/3 cup cooked pumpkin**

1/4 cup melted margerine (one of the few times I don't prefer butter)

Mix in the dry ingredients

add (don't over mix now)

1/2 cup white raisins (picky but worth it, and my non raisin eaters weren't offended)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Bake in greased muffin pan at 400 degrees 20-25 minutes

-must be in conventional oven because with convection I start peaking before 15 minutes and the tops split -they smell done - they look done. The toothpick test works but why bother?

* that way one bowl has only had the dry stuff in it and will clean (wipe out) easily.

** And I mean you cooked it, or maybe a neighbor. Look my life is crazy but I still do this every year. Split your pumpkins, scoop out the seeds and strings, add a little water and put the tops back on. At 350 degrees after ~90 minutes the flesh will sccop right out and the water keeps the edges tender. Freeze the excess and start making muffins. You'll never go back to canned. It makes a nice break from grading papers.

So that's it for awhile. I sincerely hope the getting a break idea actually works and we come home happy to be here again. I've told the kids to only call in case of emergencies defined as involving police and/or hospitals. And under no circumstances are they to have any emergencies without us - or seizures, or fevers, or ANYTHING!

A little vent

My mom saw the neurosurgeon yesterday. He was upset because the brace had never been adjusted (cut down in the front where it has been bothering mom so) as he'd ordered and no one had shown us how to put it on properly and he has ordered 2 more MRIs and 2 CT scans and... It's really not bad , it's funny mostly. Jesse went and got mom a towel when she felt sick today to throw-up in and periodically has asked her all day , "Are you going to throw-up now Gwandma?" He seems pretty dissappointed that she hasn't yet. CAleb spends alot of time with him and he loves to tel CAleb, "You are wat-ching me." (translated, "you are my slave and must play any game I choose." And Caleb got his H1N1 shot today and Jesse the nasal spray (I like variety). Whatever was causing the fever he had earlier this week was over fast -he is a healthy little guy. I'm not complaining -really. I'm just whining. Because as wonderful as it is to have the priviledge of a 4 year old, a 91 year old and a wonderful young man who faces his physical disabilities (and last night's seizure) so patiently under my roof all at once, and a lovely roof it is, I am distracted and pulled to the point of incoherency even when it is incoherent joy.

Recipe correction and lists

My Christmas cactus should be renamed "not-even-the-holidays- yet" cactus and this picture is 2 weeks old so it is in full glory as I type. I've tried many times to capture that glory with the 'macro' feature on several digital cameras but somehow the cactus defeats the automatic sensors everytime. They just can't take the reality of it's crazy colors. Me too.

I realized several days after my last post that I had forgotten the spices -funny for someone making a point of seasoning. I am going back and adding them but it was the pumpkin pie hints that made this bread special -it hits your olfactory nerves as all Thanksgiving-y and then settles down to just a nice bread. And actually it goes with any wine (according to Jenni).

I am posting today because I put it on my list. If it is not on my list it is not... something on my list, and how can I know if it isn't on my list when all I know is whatever the list tells me. There may be be more I had to say...

Jesse may have THE flu, Mom may have 4 more months with the brace and has had 6 weeks of wearing her back brace the wrong way, Caleb may have THE flu shot as he has a higher risk category for serious flu sequelae, the local police may have just been harrassing the middle son with the threat to tow his car parked in front of his own house because it is a cul de sac, the dispatcher may have thought it was not terrifying to call us with, "Are you the owner of...? Hold while I connect the officer," I may have THE nervous breakdown NOW.

Pumpkin recipes, brothers and doors

Proof I am a little different (in case you hadn't noticed. Here my eldest and youngest improve the front door. This is helpful -it gives visitors an immediate idea of what they are in for. Also a 20 year age gap doesn't matter when you have really colrful chalk and a whole blank door.

On the "caregiver" front nothing too new (other than laundry -which is new every morning -fortunately so are God's mercies).

So let's get right to the pumpkin recipes. The bread is a new idea (for me), I don't like the pumpkin bread that's like banana bread and all of those other fruity breads that are really more cake than bread, but too heavy to avoi giving cake a bad name. This is a bread with an almost delicate flavor, at first pumpkiny and then just very bread like and with just a hint of the honey,

Pumkin yeast bread:

Heat ~2 cups cooked pumpkin (should be hot but not scalding)

~ 1/4 cup water if the pumpkin is very thick (I don't use canned pumpkin but it should work)

~4 tbsp honey (here honey makes a difference, molasses might do but straight sugar won't)

2 packets yeast or equivalent if you use some bulk form

1 tsp salt

1 egg

~1tsp cinnamon, ~1/2 tsp ginger, ~1/4 tsp nutmeg (or a little less)

Mix well

Add flour until the dough pulls away from the bowl sides but is not too sticky

Let rise twice and then shape loaves and rise again. I noticed this dough was pretty slow to rise.

Bake at ~400 degrees F. The color of the bread was a little yellowy and the crust needed to get pretty tan to be done. It is to be honest not the greatest color but even non pumpkin fans liked the taste. Great with a sharp cheddar, or just butter and a good red wine (really, try it) or ginger ale if you prefer. Toasted for breakfast the next day with coffee seemed good -if you like coffee.

OK -pumpkin muffins next time. Breakfast time here.

alarms and a casserole

This is Jesse trying to get at me while I was working on my dissertation a few years back now -but it seems like days ago. Maybe because I escape no more easily now. Night before last I was dreaming that I turned to write something on the board and turned back and all but three students had left the class and then I heard this distant sound and I realized it was my mom crying out in pain -so I lept up and grabbed Bernie shouting we were coming (not a dream now). And he ran ahead of me and found mom awake but fine (I give him a head start so I don't have to find the body) so then I checked Jesse -awake but probably from our yelling. So it was ALL a dream -it was probably one of my students yelling in pain. Naturally Jesse soon joined us in bed so after a bit of that I went to his bed and was awakened to the actual non dream cry of, "Mommy, I peed in your bed."

I won't even go into the episode later in the day when I heard mom yell (feebly), "help, help" when I knew she had been taking a shower and I hadn't gone back to check her. After I finished searching the bathroom for her (did I think if she fell I might not see her behind the glass door to the not so big shower?) I found her in bed joking with the bank because she couldn't read her account number ("help, help" indeed). I cried for 1/2 an hour.

So the casserole. les than 10 minute prep (with fast chopping)

• About 1/2 to 3/4 inch of rice in the bottom of a deep dish casserole with cover.
• Enough water and white wine to just cover the rice
• A layer of sliced eggplant sprinkled with olive oil, chopped garlic, pitted calamata olives
• A layer of boneless, skinlees chicken thighs
• A layer of canned tomatoes -diced was all I had, stewed might have been better
• A thinner layer of finely chopped zuchini sprinkled with olive oil (again!) , dried rosemary and salt (actually I used sea salt but that sounds so snobby)
• BAKE at 350, covered for 1 and 1/4 hours
• uncover and put on shredded swiss and some grated whatever that grating cheese was I had
• Put under broiler until brown (or at least before more that the edges are black)
• Serve and grate on more parmesan (this step I'm sure what it was)

Practically Perfect. Worked with a dry pinot grigio if you want to be really snobby

Another cat gone and cooking with wine

Did I continue the deceased cat update? Because if not here is one who has departed only recently. One of 3 cats at my mom's, she was found several weeks back by the neighbors feeding the cats in a departed condition. She was not my favorite cat. This picture really captures her personality in my opinion but she was nice to my mom -as long as my mom stayed put in bed and gave her a place to sleep (on top of her). Bernie tried to bring the other two back here but the cuts are healing nicely now and the neighbors have agreed to keep feeding them.

Now, as for the wine in cooking. I heard some tv chef say you should never use a wine you don't like in cooking -and this is nonsense. That is exactly what you should do with a wine you don't like* -cook with it. But alot recipes suggest replacing wine with vinegar if you have no wine and I don't drink vinegar. Also what else do you do with wine you don't like (or you did two days ago, but left it open)?. On the other handed really corked wine is no better than vinegar, possibly worse, so that goes down the drain in any case. Meanwhile there's not much that isn't helped along by some wine. Especially soup, but it takes alot of wine and there's no point in using some subtle reserve/vintage stuff when it will be boiled and fried and roasted and grilled away- yet for all that torture it still adds something good. I keep boxed wines on hand for all chicken soup (white) and spaghetti sauces (red -if anyone is watching).

So today's recipe is radish top soup (thanks to the lady running the local (and I do mean local)farmer's market for the basic approach):
Get some radishes with the leafy stuff still attached
Remove radishes and stems
Saute the greens in butter and some onion
When everything is at least softened run through the food processor of choice
Add some potato if you have a leftover one handy (I never bake the right number) -skinned and cooked
Return to pan (if you took it out for the "processing" (i.e. grinding, shredding etc))
Simmer with more butter and add white wine now and some water to a creamy but thick consistency
Add chicken boullion (2 cubes for a small pan)
Simmer for a while
When almost ready to serve blend in some milk and or half and half.
Serve with freshly ground white pepper -this may sound like one of those fussy steps but it makes an enormous difference. The final product tates almost oyster-y -but in a good way.
Final step -feel virtuous for not wasting any (well not much) of that radish plant.


* there are exceptions to this like everything else in life, say poached pears.