Frozen Muffin Batter and Cookie Dough

I love to bake on Sundays, it makes me feel like I am somehow ready for my week.  I picture nourishing boxed lunches packed with homemade goodies, like muffins, cookies, and granola.  The problem is, my family is getting smaller and my needs are less and less.  Anna has married, and moved down the road, so it is just Olivia and I.  A whole batch of muffins and or cookies is almost too much for our little family, by the end of the week things are a little stale, and wind up as chicken food.  

I have taken to freezing dough, to bake throughout the week in small batches.  The benefit of freezing the dough instead of the baked good, is that they hot and fresh, not dry and sticky. I’ll be honest, I just don’t like the taste of frozen baked goods.   They are easily baked in the morning and packed for coffee break or recess and you will not be tempted to stop along the way to pick up a sugar laden muffin or sweet from a local coffee shop.   These little treasures are great to have on hand when company arrives for a cup of coffee or tea, or you want to invite the girls over for an impromptu stitch and bitch.  (I believe cookies go great with wine.) It is so nice to have several different variations ready to bake.

Muffins are easy.  Mix up your favorite muffin recipe, or even better, 2 or 3 different ones.  Line your muffin tray with paper liners.  Fill the cups to ¾ full, and quickly pop in the freezer until they are solid , this will take about 2 hours.  Transfer to a freezer-safe container or a plastic freezer bag, push out all the air so they don’t accumulate frost. Don’t forget to label and date.  Muffins will store frozen up to about 3 months.

Cookies are just as easy.  Mix up a couple different kinds of cookie dough.  Line a cookie tray with parchment paper and drop cookies onto the paper.  You can really pack them on, since you are not baking them, you don’t have to worry about spread. When your trays are full, pop into the freezer and allow to freeze.  Save in a freezer-safe container or a plastic freezer bag, appropriately labelled and dated. Squeeze all of the air out of the bag.  Cookies will store about 3 months.

To bake, simply place frozen dough back onto a lined cookie tray or muffin tin and bake from a frozen state. They may take just a little longer than the recipe calls for because they are starting from a frozen state.   I like to top my muffins with a little granola, cinnamon sugar, jam or even seeds or nuts to make them look more appealing and add interesting textures and tastes. 

Simple Living

There is hardly a day go by that I don't find myself sitting down with a cup of tea, visiting my favourite blogs.  The writers are like old friends; kindred spirits.  They tell me about their days, their families, their meals.  They show me the progress on the left sleeve of the sweater they are knitting, or a new dishcloth pattern.  I see their Christmas trees being brought in and decorated, pumpkins carved, eggs painted, closets tidied and organized; simple details of  lives being lived.

I have heard people, who don't seem to understand, comment that no one cares about the minutia of other peoples lives, but I beg to differ, these are the most important things.  When I stand at the checkout counter I am bombarded with the stories about Miley and Britney and  Angelina and Brad all over the magazines. People-stories help us to create our own lives in the way that we want to live them. 

 I understand that blogs don't tell the whole story. Behind the scenes there might be squabbles with partners and children, there might be health issues, there might be fears about money and jobs, but those are the things that we don't need to know.  This is not the part of life we want or need to focus on.  We all have struggles, but it is in the snapshots of beauty and grace-filled bits and pieces that recognize abundant living is available to all.   

In this blog I want to emphasize the simple life.  Simple things should not be confused with the easiest things. Knitting a pair of socks, for instance,  is not easier than buying a pair... but they carry with them such a sense of accomplishment with each wearing.   When I say simple, I don't mean minimalist.  I live in a house with lots of stuff accumulated over a lifetime.  When I say simplify in this context, I mean to part with those things and activities  that do not make me happy and do not reflect the person I am or the family  want to create. When I say simplify, I mean that I create simple meals of simple ingredients, I work hard to support local businesses and farmers and artisans instead of  contributing to the consumer-driven economy. When I say simplify, I mean I am trying to use the simplest of ingredients to clean my house, to save me money and to lessen the impact of harsh environmental toxins in my home. When I say simplify, I mean I am trying to get away from as many disposable items and plastics that I can in an effort to save money and be environmentally sensitive.  In creating this blog, I should make it clear, that I do not consider myself an expert in anything,  I am just sharing bits and pieces of my life as I live it. 

I am excited to spend lots of time working on this blog, and my  hope that you come and visit me with a cup of tea in hand.