Two Tasty Treats

Muffins are far and away some of the easiest foods to whip up. Not only are they easy, but they?re infinitely variable, and one heck of a good way to use up all the ?bits and pieces? lurking in your fridge and pantry. I can?t imagine any other type of food that can take vegetables, dregs of milk, the last of the honey and a handful of cooked or raw grains and combines it into a portable, tasty and (if you play your cards right) healthy meal on the go that even picky kids will like. They can be packed with oats, sunflower seeds and applesauce with hardly any sugar and nary a trace of fat, or you can channel Costco or the local bakery and plug in gads of butter and chocolate while the whole wheat flour hangs out in the back of the cupboard. Likewise, muffins can become breakfast, snacks or even dessert. It?s all in the presentation.



Usually when it comes to making muffins though, it?s because I?m bored and looking for a quick way to both avoid things that I ?should? be doing (like homework, or cleaning my room, or writing blog posts... I can?t focus!) and make something fun and unique to take along to appointments or give to my classmates.  It?s always a bonus if I don?t have to run to the store, or if I?m already there finding a cheap goody to make a fairly ?standard? batter unique.

Still on my muffin-making kick while my mom was away in Texas, and without any ?good excuse? to hit the shops, I turned back to the random bits in my fridge for answers. If you remember the super-flavourful cranberry, honey and wine sauce I cooked down a little while back, I figured it, along with some cereal and dried cranberries, would make for some pretty healthy and delicious snacks for my dedicated ?eaters?. Of course, that same sauce also had a shot of curry and thyme leaves too, but that fell by the wayside as I folded it into the grainy batter. If anything, it probably tempered the super-sweet factor of the honey and the pre-sweetened dried fruit, while adding a touch of ?ooh la la? to the baked outcome. Of course, I?m sure this would have worked just as well with a can of the ?whole-berry? stuff, but I?d take out the maple syrup in that case or you wind up with sticky-sweetness coating your mouth.