Cherry-Almond Muffins

It's been awhile since I last blogged, so I thought I'd serve up something sweet. I found the recipe for these cherry muffins at Culinary Cafe.

Because I had buttermilk on hand, I used it in lieu of the milk with great results. Also rather than stirring a whole cup of almonds into the batter, I saved some to sprinkle on top of the muffins right before baking. Finally, wanting a more substantial looking bakery muffin, I used my large muffin pan.

One last note:

When I bake, I tend to treat the suggested baking time as a variable. Every oven, pan and batter bakes up differently. I have the most baking success when I flip on the oven light and keep a close watch on my baked goods, rotating whatever I'm baking about mid-way through the baking cycle. I am a big believer in administering the toothpick test sooner than later because a dry muffin is like a corked bottle of wine. Bad.

Cherry-Almond Muffins
from: Culinary Cafe

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Mention muffins today, and you'll conjure up visions of blueberry, date-nut, cranberry or other fruit muffins. Sweet summer fruits are a wonderful addition to a basic muffin batter; the following version teams cherries and almonds, a fruit and nut that were made for one another.

Yields: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups cherries, pitted, coarsely chopped, and drained
• 1 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• granulated sugar

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Sift together dry ingredients and add them to butter/sugar mixture alternately with milk. Stir in almond extract, then gently fold in almonds and cherries.

Spoon muffin batter into 12 greased muffin cups; cups will be quite full. Sprinkle each muffin with a little granulated sugar, and bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 30 minutes, or until muffins test done.

Wise Words

My mother-in-law recently sent me this article written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio. I found her 45 life lessons particularly timely and wise.

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone...

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first pay cheque.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry..

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets and wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion, today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34.. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Slowing Down

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, especially about how I spend my time. My auto accident and recent health scare have certainly increased my current level of introspection, but I think my real questioning probably kicked into full gear in August '06 when my mom called to tell my that she didn't have a cold after all, that her cough was due to the 8 cm mass her doctor had just found in her right chest cavity.

I still remember her phone call vividly. I was eating dinner. I remember what we were eating and the crazy, raw, sad noise that came out of my mouth when mom delivered the news. Over the course of the next 12 months, I traveled a ton to be with mom for surgeries, treatments, and mutual comfort. After watching her horrible battle with cancer end in August '07 without a real chance to say goodbye, my world changed forever.

These past 2 years as I've mourned my mom, my world has continued to change at a lightning rate. The economy has tanked. Environmental concerns have moved from a simmer to a rapid boil. My husband Carlos has been in an interestingly long job transition. My toddlers have become kids. Professor Pocket has not grown as quickly as hoped.

My intent in telling you all this is not to paint a negative picture. Au contraire. I mention it because I have decided to slow down a little, which will likely impact the frequency of my blogging. I want to spend more time with my family this summer. I also want time to reflect on how I want to spend my time in the fall when Sophie starts kindergarten and both kids are in "real" school. Do I want to continue to work as hard as I do on growing Professor Pocket, or do I want to spend more of my time elsewhere? I am not sure.

I recently finished reading Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations . . . One School at a Time
and was particularly taken with this passage:

"That day, Haji Ali taught me the most important lesson I've ever learned in my life," Motenson says. "We American think you have to accomplish everything quickly. We're the country of thirty-minute power lunches and two-minute football drills. Our leaders thought their 'shock and awe' campaign could end the war in Iraq before it even started. Haji Ali taught me to share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects. He taught me that I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them."

I think I've been learning this same lesson over the past 2 years. I just didn't fully realize it until now.

Tomato Mozzarella Salad

Carlos, the kids and I spent Memorial Day weekend at the beach. Despite the spotty weather and my inability to go jogging (doctor's orders), our trip was completely restorative. It brought a peaceful end to rocky week. Thoughts of leg tumors, car accidents, and year-end craziness temporarily vanished, and we relaxed as a family.

At night our dinners were simple and included one of our spring/summer favorites: warm, crusty bread + tomato mozzarella salad + wine

Carlos and I are not fussy about the appearance of our tomato mozzarella salad. We combine chopped tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil in a bowl then toss everything with a good bit of olive oil, salt & pepper to taste and a dash of oregano. We usually let the salad sit in the fridge for 15-30 minutes before digging in...just enough to let the flavors meld and warm the bread.

As far as serving the salad, we're not fussy about that either. We put a few spoons in the bowl and let everyone scoop it onto their own pieces of bread. Beach food at its best.

When Life Doesn't Give You Lemons...

This week has been just plain bizarre, so I've decided to force a sweet ending.

On top of the leg lump scare, which is how I now refer to it, I was involved in an auto accident yesterday morning. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, and the at-fault driver has insurance.

So aside from the hassle of dealing with the insurance folks and finding time to get my car into the shop, I am breathing a huge sigh of relief for the second time this week.

So what did I do yesterday post-accident? I went to the grocery store and bought a bag of lemons. Isn't that what you'd do? Probably not, but I'm guessing you'd find comfort in some other calming ritual after an upsetting event like a wreck. Running on adrenaline, I bought 9 lemons, brought them home and began to zest and juice them. Granted, the kitchen scene wasn't entirely idyllic as I was interrupted by insurance people calling/visiting and my normal array of mommy duties. In fact, although I started zesting lemons around noon, I didn't actually produce a finished product until 10 pm.

I slept well last night and woke up this morning to freshly made lemon cake- edible sunshine on a plate. Since the recipe made 2 loaves, I decided to give one of them a friend who needed some cheering. Yesterday while she was walking her dog to pick up some medicine for her 4-year old daughter who had just gotten her tonsils removed, a car hit her dog. Fortunately, her daughter is doing great and her dog came home from the hospital today.

I'm guessing my friend is not in her kitchen zesting lemons right now, but I'm pretty sure that like me, she too is smiling at the sweet ending to a upside down week.

Fear

Hola.

I'm still here.

I discovered a lump on my leg last week.

It scared me A LOT, especially with my mom's death (cancer) still so fresh in my mind.

On Monday, as I let the noisy MRI machine take images of the area in question, my mind was going crazy with worry.

I didn't sleep much on Monday night. Hadn't slept much any of the nights prior either.

Tuesday morning rolled around. No news.

Late Tuesday afternoon, I received the report, "no mass is identified."

Although I'm still not sure what's going on with my leg, I'm relieved that it doesn't seem to be cancer.

How did I celebrate? Not with wine. I'm on meds that scream "No alcohol!"

I celebrated by sitting down and playing with my kids.

A grounding experience. A lens to what's most important.

May Madness Brings Smiles

This month has been an especially hectic one. With all the school year-end celebrations, recitals, and last minute to-do's, I think it might eclipse the month of December as the busiest.

On Friday, for instance, I spent the better part of the day getting Sophie ready for her first ballet recital dress rehearsal. She spent a whole 45 minutes at preschool that morning, just long enough for me to deliver the 25 fruit kabobs I'd made the night prior for Louis' teacher appreciation luncheon. After retrieving Sophie and feeding her an early lunch, I wet her hair and began the arduous task of styling it into a bun. Thankfully, my mother-in-law had given me great instructions, and I managed to get Sophie looking like a ballerina within 45 minutes. We then headed off to the auditorium for her practice session. Yesterday, we went through the same drill for her big recital, and she performed to a packed auditorium.

Most interesting to me was the look of concentration on Sophie's face throughout the show. Ballerina Sophie is a side most people don't often see, aside from her wearing a sprightly costume. And although Sophie's didn't really seem all too happy while on stage, she said she had fun. As for me, the process of getting her pristinely delivered to the auditorium 2 days in a row was a hassle well worth the smiles her performance ultimately brought, hopefully for you too.