Golden Smoothies

This recipe was supposed to go right along with the muffins in a health-concious April issue of the magazine.

serves 4

To make this smoothy more of a complete breakfast, omit the sparkling cider and replace with 1/4 cup silken tofu, 1 banana, or 1/4 cup yogurt.

1 1/2 cups frozen peaches
1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple chunks (about one half)
1 mango (cut in chunks)
1 cup yellow juice such as pineapple, apple, or white grape
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 cup of ice (or whatever your blender can handle)
1 cup sparkling cider

1. Blend fruit, fruit juices, and ice in a blender until smooth. Stir in sparkling cider. Serve.

Orange-Scented Carrot Cake Muffins

These muffins are a healthy start to any morning, yet decadent enough
to serve at an Easter brunch.

1 cup currants or raisins (optional)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (available at health food stores)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
5 medium organic carrots, grated finely on a box grater (about 3 cups)
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger root (a 1 inch piece)
zest of one orange
1/3 cup whole milk yogurt or soy yogurt
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
12 pieces of candied ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line twelve standard muffin tins with
muffin liners.
2. Place currants in a bowl with orange juice and enough water to
cover. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl place flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt,
cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Stir with a whisk to incorporate.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugars until well beaten.
Add the carrots, ginger, orange zest, oil, and yogurt. Mix well.
5. Add the carrot mixture to the flour mixture. Fold just until no
patches of flour remain. Drop by 1/3 cups into muffin liners. Bake
for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center muffin
comes out clean.
6. Cut each piece of candied ginger in half. Place on muffins.

Recipes to follow

About four months ago, I started writing recipes for this little local up in coming magazine. I went to enormous lengths to produce the best photographs possible: spending $50 on one meal at Whole Foods to get the prettiest food possible, tricking the viewer into thinking my kitchen was clean, and scolding my kids to smile (until, of course, they weren't smiling, but fighting back tears [I said sorry afterwards-- a lot. I promise!!]). Turns out, the owner of the magazine liked her own work much better than mine (actually, I like to think she was jealous), and I would get either pushed to the last page with some unreadable fine print, or just bumped altogether. Needless to say, I did not stay with the magazine. But, I think the things I submitted were not too bad for an amateur, so I am going to start posting them here. And anything else I come up with.

Serendipity

Tuesday I found a butterfly. It was resting on our tiny lilac bush just outside our sliding glass doors. A perfect moment. The baby was in his high chair (which was surely appreciated by the butterfly who was not going to be squished by the Charlie Man), the camera was ready, the sky was overcast (no dark shadows), and the butterfly was complacent. It stayed with us, perching on my children's fingers, until I had photographed it at least twenty times. To some, this may not be spectacular, but to us--with a 140 square foot yard, only one flowering shrub, and a thunderstorm ready to break at any moment--keeping company with a large butterfly for ten minutes was miraculous.