Rhubarb Muffins

Last week I was on a big rhubarb kick. I never had rhubarb growing up — I don't even know if it entered my consciousness until we moved to Portland a few years ago. Then I discovered its sour/sweet yumminess in all manner of baked things and I was hooked.

I started the week with the rhubarb cobbler that Angry Chicken mentioned here. It was good, but not quite my perfect dessert (even with the vanilla ice cream we slathered on top). I used the remainder of my rhubarb in a muffin recipe I first got hooked on last summer. I remembered it as being good, but I didn't realize how good until I went to take a photo and saw that I was down to the last muffin. And I'm sorry to say it was I who ate. them. all. (well, not that sorry!)

Bon appetit!

Rhubarb Muffins adapted from About.com
1 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. buttermilk
2/3 c. oil
3 c. flour (I use half whole wheat and half white)
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
1.5 c. chopped rhubarb

Mix wet ingredients together. Add dry and stir to combine. Fold in rhubarb. The batter will be really thick. Scoop into greased muffin tins and bake at 325 degrees for 25-35 minutes.

Note: I make my muffins just a little sweet. For a little extra sweetness, mix 1/2 c. brown sugar with 1 T. butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Fascinating, I’m sure

Inspired by the “25 Things” meme that was floating around the net of late, as well as the aforementioned questionnaire by Bernard Pivot, my own variation. Or, as I like to think of it, the ultimate in narcissism: an interview with myself!

1. Favorite word: Reinvention
   
2. Least favorite word(s): Religious Right
   
3. Favorite number: 17
   
4. Favorite swear word: Fuck
   
5. Favorite flower: tulip
   
6. Favorite song: Cuts You Up by Peter Murphy
   
7. Blogger I wish I knew personally: Amy Karol, Angry Chicken
   
8. Favorite sound: these days, silence
   
9. Least favorite sound: smoke detectors
   
10. Favorite color: black, no, magenta, no, ahhhhhhhhh........... (sorry, Monty Python reference). Umm, it depends.
    
11. Favorite way to spend time: good friends, good food, good wine.
    
12. Famous people, living or dead, that I’d like to have at a dinner party: Barack Obama, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, James Lipton, Alice Waters, Leo Lionni, the Dalai Lama, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert
    
13. If I had taken a different path, career(s) I’d like to try: trial lawyer, chef, author, social butterfly
    
14. Something you don’t know about me: After having Anna, I seriously considered becoming a lactation consultant. I am still looking to find the perfect opportunity to combine my strengths and skills with a way of supporting women, preferably globally.
    
15. If heaven exists, what I would like god to say to me at the pearly gates: "Shall we play again?"
    

A big shout out to my buddy and photographer extraordinaire, Duncan Davidson. Thanks, Duncie!

Subscriptions and RSS and Feeds, oh my!

Believe it or not, I am a bit of a technophobe. I hate having to upgrade software, and the real reason I manage to do as much as I do online is because I married a geek programmer.

As I'm learning more about this land of blog, however, I'm beginning to understand the appeal of subscribing. Instead of wondering if Redneck Mommy or Angry Chicken has updated recently (and having to go to my browser and hit refresh endlessly to find out), I can subscribe and simply get notified whenever they've got a fresh post.

Tsh, of SimpleMom has written a great post explaining all about RSS and subscribing here. She goes into just the right amount of detail without overwhelming you with geek speak.

Of course, I still cheat. By putting my favorite links over in the right side of my blog, I can easily see who has updated whenever I log in (and so can you!). But still, subscribe. It'll save you time and help you to keep up with your blog fix. And that will leave you with more time for wine and chocolate, and other of life's most important things!