After his death I joined the group and by default I have been the facilitator on and off...now and then. I am in the ON and NOW mode. There is a bit of responsibility attached to the role that doesn't excite me, but in grief it is important to give, to share, to not focus on my black hole, but encourage others with hope. Funny that we are reading one of the most depressing books I have ever read. Sigh.
At the end of each study we generally gather for a pot luck. That was too much for me at the moment so I made some executive decisions without conferring with anyone (I know, not great leader material...). Guess we'll see how that goes.
The Nighthorse adventure led me to make 3 different kinds of muffins. I used King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour as they will be easier to share left-overs with friends. I think I will buy some flavored cream cheese to 'dress them up'.
MORNING GLORY MUFFINS
Ingredients: 12 servings
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (I use GF)
- 1 ¼ cups white sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ½ cup unsweetened flaked coconut
- 1 apple - peeled, cored and shredded
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions: - Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners.
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the carrot, raisins, nuts, coconut, and apple.
- In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, oil, and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into the carrot/flour mixture, just until moistened. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
BANANA CRUMB MUFFINS
INGREDIENTS:
Muffins-
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (I use GF)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (3/4 if you are high elevation)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 bananas, mashed
- ¾ cup white sugar
- ⅓ cup butter, melted
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Crumb Topping-
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon butter
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease or line 10 muffin cups with paper liners.
- Prepare muffins: Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
- Beat bananas, white sugar, melted butter, and egg together in a separate bowl; stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
- Prepare crumb topping: Mix brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Use a fork to mix in 1 tablespoon of softened butter until mixture is crumbly; sprinkle topping over muffins.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.
LEMON BLUEBERRY MUFFINS
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups white sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder (3/4 tsp if you are high elevation)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup lemon juice (bottled or fresh)
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup blueberries
- ⅓ cup toasted slivered almonds (I crumble mine a bit)
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Mix lemon juice and milk in a measuring cup, to sour milk; beat eggs, oil, and milk mixture in a bowl. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture until just moistened; fold in blueberries. Fill prepared muffin cups two-thirds full; sprinkle with almonds.
- Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack.
All these muffins now sit in my freezer for two weeks until our Nighthorse gathering.