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January 21, 2007
a good day
This morning I got up early and made bran muffins, only scarfing down one with breakfast instead of the three or four I'm usually tempted to eat when they're hot from the oven. Because I spilled water all over the slip of paper the recipe's scrawled on, and inspired by Peter (who has begun archiving on his blog all of the things we like to cook whose recipes, no matter how many times we write them out and stick them on the fridge door, always go missing), I'm posting it here for next time. It's essentially the same bran muffins my mom always made when I was a kid, but of course I've tinkered with it a bit:
2 eggs
3/4 cup oil
2 cups soy milk
3/4 cup sugar (the original recipe called for a cup, but I prefer less; today I used turbinado sugar as I'm trying to quit the white stuff)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup bran
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
flax seed: I usually grind up a handful, probably between two and three tablespoons, then also add two tablespoons of seeds whole just because they look pretty. Today I left the flax out as my pantry was less than adequately prepared for muffin-making.
Mix up all the dry together and all the wet together,throw one into the other and don't mix any more than is necessary. Fill buttered muffin tins about 2/3 full and bake at 350F for 15 to 20 minutes.
In my opinion, these are best enjoyed one of two ways: straight out of the oven when they're almost too hot to eat, slathered with about twice as much butter as is healthy, or later during a break in your morning work, alongside a cup of tea brewed in a new little teapot sent by a kind and thoughtful friend:
If any natural light ever makes it into this house I'll show you all of the contents of the sweet little care package Bonnie sent: this pot, some lovely teas for me to try, some wee notes, cute little soy sauce squirty bottles for my lunch box, one of Cara's beautiful note cards, and cup ramen! (yup, it's all Naruto all the time around here, folks).
Other things that made this a good day:
-On my way out the door I discovered that in wrangling my bike in and out of Jessica's car last night, the chain came sort of half-off and got wedged very tightly into a terrible spot. Even though I know next to nothing about bikes (okay, who am I fooling? I know nothing about bikes, nothing at all) I didn't panic and I didn't cry. I examined it carefully, figured out where it needed to go, loosened some things, and fixed it. Myself. And then rode to studio feeling stupidly proud for managing such a small job. But, listen! If that had happened at home I would have cried and then made Peter fix it. So, I'm almost like a real cyclist now! I did almost cry though, just for a second.
-I made good prints today, just in time to meet my first deadline for the editioning challenge. Pictures at eleven.
-Sarah Harmer's You Were Here. I love that record so much. Yes, I want to marry it.
-I rode my bike home in the cold rain and got completely soaked. Again, I felt like a real cyclist (instead of someone who bikes when the weather's okay and cadges a lift when it's not, or when she's just too big a baby to ride home in the dark at night, like what happened last night).
-Because my trousers were drenched when I arrived at the house, I got to put my pyjama pants on at 4:30 in the afternoon, so now I'm all cozy and coddled-feeling. Hooray for kittycat flannel pants!
-While waiting for my supper to I got to talk to StephVW on Skype! I really only use Skype to talk with Peter, and don't talk on the phone much with anyone from home because it's so much more expensive than e-mailing, so it was great to chat with a friend about silly stuff and to hear an accent kinda like mine. I always say Steph's name in my head as "Steph fow vay", like Volkswagen.
-Oven fries and edamame for supper. Only half healthy but totally delicious.
-Exclamation points! I can use as many as I want!!
-Skype date with Peter tonight. Those are the best nights. Well, the best nights when I'm in Athens and Peter is not, but y'all know what I mean; the best nights are the red hot nobody else is in the house so let's make some noise nights, but I'm not letting myself think about when we'll have another one of those. It might spoil my otherwise good day.
Posted by jodi at January 21, 2007 06:43 PM | categories: food : self-absorbtion
Comments
"Exclamation points! I can use as many as I want!!" Is that a Jean Teasdale reference?
Posted by: peter at January 21, 2007 08:13 PM
ooh.. I love your goodies that you recieved! The teapot looks like a "beehouse" brand with the little metal filter inside for loose teas.. which is my favorite type of teapot. Today was a good day for flannel pjs.
Posted by: Mouse at January 21, 2007 08:24 PM
I love that Sarah Harmer album, too. Haven't listened to it in a while, actually. Do you have the last one, "I'm a Mountain"? It's great.
Posted by: alison at January 22, 2007 12:29 AM
...AND you have that startrek-mug.
It's SO ugly and yet SO wonderful in my opinion. That is nostalgia, geekiness, inventiveness, humour and tea at its best.
Love.
Posted by: Lisa at January 22, 2007 05:49 AM
Is that a Star Trek mug that makes the characters appear and disappear based on the heat of the mug?
I'm soooo jealous.
Posted by: NWJR at January 22, 2007 08:27 AM
When you come to Halifax, remind me to show you my VW gang sign, which I am geekily practicing at my desk. (Geekily is a real adverb, isn't it?)
I promise, next time we're on Skype, I'll do the Newfie hack-cent for you. I know I said I'd do it when I was in Atlanta - those Georgian accents were throwing me off!
Posted by: Steph VW at January 22, 2007 11:26 AM
The recipes that you post always sounds so, so good. Perhaps I will try out these muffins over the weekend. Also, mad props on the bike chain. The worst part about doing it yourself is your hands getting all grimy and greasy.
Posted by: Jenna at January 22, 2007 04:10 PM
De-lurking to ask a Very Important Question: Have you ever seen Sarah Harmer play live? I'm lucky enough to have seen her play a ton of small-venue shows in and around Kingston, and, well...be still my heart.
Posted by: Dani at January 22, 2007 05:30 PM
Glad you like the teapot. The other stuff got in there because it took me so long to mail it! I kept seeing do-dads that were jodi-esque, and tossed them in. XO
Posted by: bonnie at January 22, 2007 06:55 PM
Ohhh- Sarah Harmer rocks. ("There's coffee stain around your eyes..." Now I am gonna have that stuck in my head. Oh well, could be worse! Singing that album in the car= heaven.)
Skype- I never considered talking to blog friends... cool.
Posted by: frecklegirl jess at January 24, 2007 12:11 AM
Who doesn't love edamame? Especially paired with oven fries....
Posted by: Christiane at January 24, 2007 05:55 PM