Thursday, January 12, 2012

A Little Change Can Be Good

Hey Friends! If you've been following me here at Kernels and Seeds, it's time to update your feed or what have you. I moved the blog and it's kind of in love with it's new surroundings, at least for now.

I have a few new posts up there, but if you have any catching up to do from last year you should continue to read old posts here for a while. Transferring the archives over is a slow and torturous process so it won't be complete for a while.

Tell me what you think of the new format if you get a chance?

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Good News

You know how when the sun comes out in the middle of winter it's like you've never seen it before? Even if it was out the day before? (But especially if like here in Seattle it was raining cats and dogs?) 



You know also, how when you actually get to go outside and let your totally bundled up self absorb some of that sunlight it makes you feel really warm and happy and want to skip around in a meadow somewhere.

Yeah me neither. Not at all.





Recently I made muffins that pretty much served to encapsulate that breath of sun in a slightly sweetened fluffy goodness. They had apricots. Lots and lots of them. Frozen at the peak of summer but then folded into a muffin batter hearty enough to sustain you on even the coldest winter day.



The bad news about these muffins is that you probably don't have several gallon sized freezer bags full of apricots with which to make them over and over, like I have. The good news about them is that you really could use just about any type of fruit in them. They could have frozen berries, or peeled and chopped apples or pears, or even frozen peaches.

Oh, I thought of some more good news about these muffins. They are pretty healthy, since they're whole wheat and oat and have a whole mess of protein rich ingredients alongside that pile of fruit.  They are a great breakfast or snack for this time of year, when most people are trying to eat a little bit lighter. Even more good news is that they are great slathered in butter, in case eating light isn't a priority.


Sun is Shining Good News Muffins
makes 12 regular sized little cups of joy

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/4 cup ground flax
1/2 cup bran flakes
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup plain yogurt (I like to use greek, it's tangy!)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1 1/2 cups frozen berries or chopped fruit, loosely measured


Preheat your oven to 500°F. This will make the muffins rise up a lot and have a nice domed top. Don't worry, you're going to turn it down when you actually put the muffins in. 
Beat the liquid ingredients together until well combined, then add the bran flakes and stir till they're mixed in all the way. Let it sit while you whisk together the dry ingredients and prepare your muffin tin. 

Whisk together all the dry ingredients, including the flax, in a large bowl. Then add the fruit and nuts and stir around to coat all the pieces in flour. This helps to keep them all from sinking to the bottom when the muffins bake.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, and combine just until you don't see any large streaks of flour left. It's ok if the batter doesn't look completely smooth.

Fill the cups of your tin about three-quarters full, maybe a little more. Place muffins in the oven and immediately drop temperature to 400°F. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until muffins test done with a toothpick.


Monday, January 2, 2012

Traditions Made New

A couple of years ago we started having people for New Year's Day brunch, which was I guess some sort of weird indication that we were becoming grown ups or whatever. It was the year after we bought a house, so maybe that had something to do with it. The first couple of years we spent the entire day totally hungover, but the hangover has slowly become less and less. 


This year instead of a brunch I prepared a four course dinner for a few close friends, and we just ate and drank and ate some more, and then we watched Bridesmaids. It was one of my favorite NYEs ever, and I've had some pretty amazing ones.


The next day was the birthday of my Aunt, so I made a cake for her and took it to a large family gathering at my Dad's instead of the brunch. The timing was perfect to have the burden be on someone else to host a big New Year's Day event, because of how busy we've been this month.




We spent the afternoon in the sun: a very welcome change for the start of the year. One that I hope will be a good sign of things to come. It's been a dark December.


One thing this means we missed out on was the annual NYD tradition that started that first year, one we like to call "Eat the Year." It is pretty much what it sounds like. We make an edible "20**" and then we consume it as a group. There has also almost always been some sort of skype/gchat thing happening, the most notable being a bi-coastal dance party. Over gchat. Moving on.


Original Eat the Year. We were a little egg crazy: new chickens, and someone brought duck eggs.


Well this year we did "Eat the Year" over gchat with some of the original creators and it was great. We had to eat all of it ourselves, since we were the only ones here, but it was good just to see the smiles on those friends faces as we just said hi for a minute and talked about what they year might bring (building more shelves, obviously). 


Good bye, 2011. You rocked.

For me, this simple tradition is just a way for us to mark the start of the year with the people that really matter to us. We feed our bodies with the food, we feed our heads with the idea of a fresh thing, and we feed our hearts and souls with a meal made with hope and love and joy in mind when it is made. It's nourishing all around. 




I hope the start of your year was as joyful and full of love as mine. Maybe this year you will start a new tradition, or find a way to keep up an old one that maybe needs some of the dust brushed off of it. And however you spent the time ringing in 2012, I hope it is the best year yet.