So We Meet Again. . .

I have never been what you might call a 'muffin person'. My personal opinion in the great kitchen debate is: Why bother with muffins when you could have cupcakes? Cute + Edible + Frosting = Win in my book. It seems a fairly simple equation.

But, I'm afraid that my hatred of all things muffin did not come about in a natural means. Once upon a time muffins and I were on civil terms. There was no cringing at the mention of their name and the doughy, slightly moist smell that inevitably comes along with them didn't make bile rise up into my throat. I could even walk into the complimentary breakfast at hotels and think: MMMM, Muffins! Not my favorite food, perhaps, but still a viable alternative to cold cereal.

It turns out that I have problems with moderation.

I'm a gung-ho sort of girl and when it comes to food it's no different. Add to that a week long theatre conference, limited funds, and a Sam's Club membership. Did you know that Otis-Spunkmeyer Muffins come in giant palettes? I must have eaten forty of those awful things. ugh. Not exactly my brightest moment.

That said, it has been a good 4 or 5 years since I took leave of my senses and have decided to give them a go again. This time I have Erin McKenna on my side and I feel I have a good ally in her. The product is fairly tasty (Maybe in future trials I shall use more spice

. Mine came out too cinnamon and not enough ginger.), but I must say that even so I would take a cupcake any day.


Ingredients

• 2 Cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour*
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1 Teaspoon Xanthan Gum
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Ginger
• 1 1/2 Cup Coconut Oil, plus more for the pan
• 2/3 Cup Agave Nectar
• 2/3 Cup Rice Milk
• 2 Tablespoons Pure Vanilla Extract
  
• 1 1/2 Cups Canned unsweetened Pumpkin Pure**
  
• 1/2 Cup Hot Water

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and prep your muffin tins by either greasing (Coconut Oil is fantastic and I find it to work way better than Pam or Olive Oil. It's also healthier for you, I'm told) your pans or putting your paper liners in place.

In a large bowl mix together your dry ingredients. Once everything seems to be evenly mixed start to add your wet ingredients in the same bowl. Save your hot water until the very last because it's going to help break down the coconut oil while it is in a solid-ish form. Stir everything until you have a good consistency. You don't want it too runny but you don't want it too difficult to stir, either.

Fill each cup 2/3 of the way full with batter and place in the center of your oven and allow to bake for a total of 22minutes. After the first 10 minutes you should rotate the tins 180 degrees to allow to cook evenly. Finished muffins will be soft to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center should come away clean.

*I am unable to eat the Bob's baking flour because it contains corn so I use the following flour mix template, which makes 3 cups:

• 1 1/2 Cups Sorghum Flour
• 1 Cup White Rice Flour
• 1/2 Cup Tapioca or Potato Starch
  
• 1 Tsp Xanthan Gum

**The whole foods here was out of the puree so I used a can of spiced pumpkin pie filler and it seems to have turned out alright.

From My Own Little Corner, In My Own Little Room. . .

Hello from Evanston, IL! My internet connection is now up and running steadily because Dave (as well all know) is a hero. Granted, I haven't had much time to devote to usual internet rituals. Graduate Orientation Week at Northwestern has engulfed my life. It is at once terrifying and fantastic. I feel sort of have the Hermione-syndrome here (aka-- I'm the muggle doing her best to keep up with everyone that has supposedly natural abilities). I cannot express how disorientating it is to be surrounded by tons of people who are at once bright and ambitious.

If school is terrifying, at least home is a comfort. I live in a terribly cute little house with a roommate who owns the Unicorn Cafe. She has a kitten named River and I feel that all three of us get along famously. It's just a happy little place that I am glad to come home to in the evenings after my thirty minute walk home from campus (sidenote: parking passes are $400! eesh. I'll use my own two feet, kthx).

We do not begin classes until next Tuesday, but I can already see a few changes creeping in here and there throughout my life. I've been more conscious about my eating habits, one. In a good way, I mean. I eat a breakfast every morning before my walk, lunch, snack around 3:30ish and then dinner when I get home. Also, I've been getting up around 7am daily with only marginal hemming and hawing. This is exceptionally impressive because I am not at all a morning person. Maybe it's the fact that I've been walking so much (it's like a way of life here), but I'm just more ready to take on the day. Speaking of days, they are absolutely beautiful here. I can feel the hint of fall in the air and Lake Michigan is exceptionally beautiful to lunch by. I didn't know water could get that blue. Everyone has been saying "Enjoy it now. It will be winter soon enough." To that I respond with: Why borrow tomorrows burdens when you could be enjoying today?

Also, some interesting opportunities regarding oral histories and theatre have cropped up recently through the head of my program. There is a distinct possibility that my whim-like project (which, I am still working on and hope to have posted within the next week or so) may branch into something larger than initially anticipated. We'll see.

Meanwhile, I should be working on a few drawings while I'm waiting for my portfolio to arrive tomorrow. Of all the things that I should forget in Decatur I chose that!

More details about grad school this weekend for certain after I get my banking things settled. Until then, much love!

Back from Beyond

Well, my friends, I can now safely say that I have returned from the wasteland and kicked it squarely in the face--- only to have it bounce back and beat the snot out of me. Suffice to say that the desert is still not my happy place (unlike Kathy, who seems to revel in it), but I'm thankful I tried again even if both my legs from the knees down are swollen to freakish proportions.

I collected a lot of wonderful interviews from burners and am in the process of transferring them to my computer and doing a write up for them. All of that will be posted here when I'm finished, so keep an eye out for experimentation with media. We'll see if I can master this whole 'internet' thing yet!

Currently I'm in Nahunta with family to collect a few things before I head to Chicago on Friday morning for grad school. It's still difficult to believe that I start orientation on Monday. I am at once excited and terrified at what lies before me. Luckily, after walking into the desert and living there a week sojourning to Chicago doesn't seem so daunting. Well, at least not in the same way. There I have people I know and I have a fairly good idea of what is going to happen. That said, what needs to happen in immediate future is another load of laundry. Wish me luck!

**Photo above taken by Kathy Lemberg and used with permission.