Yummy Blueberry Muffins

The other day you will remember my first try at making Treacle cookies and burning more than half the batch. I thought I could still eat them but they were simply too hard for me and my gums are a little sensitive right now.

Torrential rains have been coming down for the past week and over on the large island off the coast, Vancouver Island, hundreds of people have been evacuated. More rain is expected though I think it is supposed to slow down a bit.

With weather like we've been having, a person craves hot drinks and comforting snacks so I made these very easy blueberry muffins. The ease of this recipe is just what appealed to me besides my love of berries. Easy is good in my vocabulary with my short attention span and health issues.

I can safely tell you that these muffins will be made again soon. They are simply "yummy".

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 c. milk
2 c. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. frozen blueberries

Blend together oil, sugar, egg, and milk. In separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Then blend together the rest of the ingredients taking care to add the blueberries last. Don't stir too much or the dough will turn blue from the berries. Bake for 30 minutes or less at 375 or 400 degree oven.

Enjoy!

Update: My yummy Blueberry Muffins were pronounced the "best" muffins I've ever made. Quite an endorsement considering how easy they were to make. I did find them very tasty myself.

Gift to Self

I've been eagerly awaiting my Christmas gift to myself; a pair of earrings from the talented Jillian at The Noisy Plume. The earrings arrived in yesterday's mail, wonderfully packaged and with a nice little surprise of Zen tea inside.


Today I am feeling tired after non-stop cleaning and organizing for the past two days. I can only do a little bit and then I must rest and so what should take a short while stretches into a long period of time. I haven't even had a shower yet but I wanted to show off my earrings (made of green quartz) and say a big "thank you" to Jillian for the thoughtful touches with the parcel.


Receiving my parcel, wrapped up all nice and pretty & with such attention to detail, really made my day.

Treacle Cookies

Today it looks like this outside.

[Northward view from my patio.]

Yesterday, we had our first snowfall on the mountains to the north though it was a glorious, sunny day. Today, the black clouds are menacing and it is windy. I decide I want some Treacle cookies with tea, to stay warm and cosy.

I haven't said so before but I am not the world's great cook so I really love recipes that are simple and quick. This recipe was simple to put together after I learned that treacle is actually blackstrap molasses or a golden syrup. I opted to use the molasses so my treacle cookies are darker than the ones in the photo at the link above. Also, I'm always busy doing something else rather than fully attending to my cooking and I overdid the first batch of cookies, he he. I will eat them anyway as they are for dunking in my tea.

[Cookies from 2 different batches. Ones on the right are overdone.]

Here I am in front of the television learning about why you should not feed a raccoon. I've always thought that raccoons are such cute little creatures and we have so many in this city so it is good to be reminded not to feed them! They are after all, wild creatures.

Now I am feeling toasty and beginning to think about things like tidying and cleaning. The work of re-piping is feverishly going on in the hallways here in my building. In a few days the workers will need access to all the units to do the re-piping that is required in each unit. I will be so glad when it is all over with. Now, where do I put the Christmas tree so I don't have to take it down again when the re-piping work is ready to be done in the unit?

The Gift

In the chill of the evening I stopped off at my doctor's office to pay a small bill. A task that has been lingering in the background for some time. I thought it was good to stop and pay the bill while I was in the neighbourhood, rather than mail a cheque. At last, I can strike this errand off of the "to do" list.

Outside the office I met up with two trees, one more barren then the other. I take delight in how the tree with bare branches nonetheless looks like it is dressed for an evening out. The moon is in another direction but the street lamp's glowing ember shines through the naked branches, as if to say, "I will give you warmth and light tonight." How romantic!

The other tree is still clothed in leaves; arrayed in all her golden splendour. She stands firm against the rough winds and sleeting rain of the past few months, defiant in giving up her leaves for another season. I admire her strength.

And me? I stand at my doctor's office ready to depart and head into the night. So happy for the gift of a royal purple scarf. Hand made by God's poetic hand maiden, Destiny Diadem. Even her name is poetic. She unexpectedly gifted me with this lovely and long scarf and it was utterly PERFECT for the night. A delightful surprise.

Fire in the Morning

It is 5:20 a.m. and there is a knock at my door to tell me there is a huge fire down the street. I go outside on the patio and try and get photos. I don't have a good camera for night photos but these will show you just how big the fire is. Swirling, billowing black smoke turns to gray, then shades of crimson.

I can hear several sets of sirens for the past 25 minutes but I don't know what is burning. I will have to go out and see or check the news later this morning. I pray no one died or got hurt. 25 minutes later and I find a report on the city's breaking news. There is a 3 alarm fire ripping through several businesses. It is sad. So much waste but I am hopeful no residences were affected and I am hopeful the small business owners had insurance.