Pumpkin and cranberry weekend muffins

Sewing hasn’t been working out for me lately. The past few days, I’ve had to rip out every single stitch I’ve made. So I’m giving myself a break and turning to the kitchen instead  (=

Here was yesterday’s offering, delicious pumpkin and cranberry muffins, perfect for nibbling on a Saturday morning. The recipe makes a lot of batter, but you can refrigerate the extras and bake up fresh muffins each morning. The baked muffins also freeze pretty well.

Here’s how you make them:

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

4 eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
3 cups frozen or canned pumpkin purée, thawed
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup agave syrup (or 1/2 cup sugar)
1/2 lb. (16 Tbs.) unsalted butter, melted
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. ground cinnamon
3 Tbs. ground ginger
Pinch cloves
Pinch white pepper
1-1/2 cups dried cranberries (soaked 10 min in water)

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Heat the oven to 350°F. Measure evaporated milk and stir in vinegar. Set aside 5 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, evaporated milk mixture, pumpkin purée, brown sugar, agave syrup, and butter. In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and pepper. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, stirring until just mixed. Gently fold in the (soaked and drained) cranberries. Line a muffin tin with liners. Scoop about 1/2 cup batter into each tin so that the curve of the batter is even with the rim of the cup. (Refrigerate any extra batter in an airtight container for up to a week.) Bake the muffins in the middle of the oven until firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into them comes out clean, 30 min. 
(recipe adapted from Fine Cooking)

Try ‘em, they’re good!

Next up is our Valentine’s Day decorations.  Crayon/waxed paper hearts tied to the curtains of all our kitchen windows. Not too original, but along with our modified Christmas wreath, my Martha-esque pot holders, and baking some heart-shaped cookies, that’s all I’m up to doing.

Finally, just for kicks, here’s a pic of me, snapped by my 4 year old. He always misses the top of heads but seems to have caught on to that whole rule-of-thirds thing. We’re working on it  (=

With any luck, tonight I will remember how to sew a straight seam and maybe actually accomplish something.

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