Harvest Muffins

“The true harvest of my life is intangible - a little star dust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched” ~ Henry David Thoreau

It is apple season, and I love to celebrate it with delicious desserts. Now I don't know about you, but I like lots of fruit and nuts in my muffins. Feel free to adjust the ingredients to your taste. The mashed bananas are in lieu of oil, lowering the fat content.

Harvest Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cloves
4 Apples, peeled and grated
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1 cup Raisins
1 cup chopped Pecans
3/4 cup mashed ripe banana
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs, beaten

Combine dry ingredients. Add apples, carrots, raisins and pecans and mix well. Add mashed banana, milk, vanilla, eggs; stir well. Fill paper-lined or greased muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Glaze:

Combine equal amounts of butter and honey, brush still-warm muffins

Saying Goodbye

And God asked the feline spirit

Are you ready to come home?
Oh, yes, quite so, replied the precious soul
And, as a cat, you know I am most able
To decide anything for myself.

Are you coming then? asked God.
Soon, replied the whiskered angel
But I must come slowly
For my human friends are troubled
For you see, they need me, quite certainly.

But don't they understand? asked God
That you'll never leave them?
That your souls are intertwined. For all eternity?
That nothing is created or destroyed?
It just is....forever and ever and ever.

Eventually they will understand,
Replied the glorious cat
For I will whisper into their hearts
That I am always with them
I just am....forever and ever and ever.

Author Unknown

Summer breeze...

...makes me feel fine Blowing through the jasmine in my mind See the smile a waiting in the kitchen Food cooking and the plates for two Feel the arms that reach out to hold me In the evening when the day is through ~ Seals and Crofts

Memories of summer breezes will blow through my kitchen this winter, with the bounty of produce that I put up every year. Roasted tomatoes and red peppers, green peppers, corn, ,zucchini (grated), blueberries and peaches and freezer jams. Still to be added, homemade pasta sauce and winter squashes. Fresh herbs are dried and stored in jars. I brought in my parsley and thyme from my little rooftop garden and they are thriving on the windowsill under the fluorescent light my food critic bought for me, along with a pot of leaf lettuce.

So what have you canned and/or frozen from your farmers markets/gardens to enjoy this winter?

Tomato-Anchovy

"Make food simple and let things taste of what they are" ~ Maurice Edmond Sailland

The Equal Opportunity Kitchen is hosting this month's Presto Pasta Nights. Thanks go to my friend Lucy over at Sweets, Savories, Etc. for the inspiration in the creation of this Tomato-Anchovy Sauce. When I was at the Coit Road Farmers Market this past Saturday Lynette gave me a large bag of assorted tomatoes, roma, yellow grape, yellow plum and others. I roasted them with the idea of making this sauce. The food critic loved it!

Tomato-Anchovy Pasta

1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 oz. tin anchovy fillets, drained and chopped
Roasted tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Grated Asiago cheese

Sautee onion in a deep skillet over medium heat until carmelized. Add garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the anchovies and roasted tomatoes. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes. Stir in parsley and serve over cooked pasta. Season with freshly ground black pepper and cheese to taste.