Muffins and Modernism

...in the coffee shop sits a girl, pleasurably absorbed in gazing at the crowd, and mingling, through the medium of thought in the turmoil of thought that surrounds her...

This quote is from a reading from my “modernism and visual arts” class last year (wow it is over a year ago now that I started my last semester of college) and it brings back such strong emotions of my senior year. Senior year was definitely the best year at college. One of my favorite activities was packing up my computer and books in my backpack and getting my reusable coffee mug and walking over to the Daily Grind coffee shop in the rain. I would get there so early in the morning each Sunday that I would get organic blueberry muffins right out of the oven and piping hot raspberry chai latte with soymilk and pay with quarters. I would then set up shop at one of the high tables and work until Donny would come get me for lunch at the UC. I would get so much done those days – that is where most of my senior thesis got written.

So, below is a muffin recipe that I made up as I went and the addition of applesauce instead of milk and substituting oats for some of the flour gave it a flavor and texture very reminiscent of the organic muffins at the Daily Grind.

Marley's Applesauce Oatmeal Almond Muffins (MAOAM)

½ cup butter
1 ¾ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 ¾ cups applesauce
2 cups oats
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp baking powder
1 ½ cups chopped almonds

Cream the butter, sugar, eggs and applesauce together in a mixer. In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients (oats, flour, salt, baking powder and almonds). Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well.

Scoop ¼ cup mixture into each greased muffin pan and bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Makes 24 (a lot!) regular muffins