I've accepted my fate and have installed a WordPress updates app on my phone; my current reality is such that I don't have much time to sit down at the computer and write a blog post at leisure. We're expecting our second to join our little family in - gulp - less than six weeks (um, surprise?!) and the end of pregnancy fatigue coupled with a super active almost-three-year old who's still adjusting to a 10-hour time difference and life away from home ... well, if I can sneak in a few minutes here and there to write I consider myself very fortunate.
S and I are in Northern California, patiently (or not so) waiting for mid-August when we'll all be together again. After weeks of temperatures that hovered well over 100 degrees F we're thoroughly enjoying cool, foggy mornings in Sonoma County and hot lattes and the occasional trip into San Francisco. And while it's been nearly three years since we moved away that city still feels like home, despite the changes, despite the fact that we've been living in such completely different environments. It feels right that our second daughter will also be able to claim the city by the bay as her birthplace too.
In between catching a few runs on the back roads and going to doctor's appointments I've been doing a bit of baking - a blueberry pie, a mixed fruit crumble, a batch of blackberry muffins. Just enough to feel like myself. I definitely have less energy this go-round (long gone are the days of leisurely afternoon naps or hours reading at the park) and I'm three years older, so I'm doing what I can and looking forward to a return of my old self ... sometime in late August. I hope.
These muffins are nothing fancy but they are so good on a summer morning with a hot cup of coffee or tea. Swap in your favorite berries as you like; as blackberries come into season here I plan to feature them in more breakfast pastries going forward. I know life will be infinitely different with two rather than one, but I naively believe I'll still be able to bake a few treats here and there and I'll certainly be cooking because I'm the main cook in the house and how hard can it be to make a one-handed stir-fry? I'll get back to you on that one.
[print_this]Blackberry Muffins
You may use 2 cups all-purpose flour here if you don't have spelt flour OR substitute a cup of whole wheat pastry flour for the spelt.
Makes 1 dozen muffins.
1 cup spelt flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup maple syrup
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg, slightly beaten
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted (or vegetable oil)
1 cup whole milk
1 ¼ cup fresh blackberries
Heat oven to 375 F. Grease muffin pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add the egg, milk, and butter, stirring only enough to dampen the flour (batter should not be smooth). Add the berries and mix lightly. Spoon batter into the muffin pan, filling each cup about two-thirds full.
Place in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. [/print_this]
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