A muffin a day

Palm blog 4-13-05

Yesterday I had 'snack' at preschool, which means it was my turn to take eats (versus treats) for 25 (21 kids and 4 teachers). Before Matthew started school, I remember laughing at our friend J. who more than once forgot her day to take snack to her daughter's class. In her case, however, snack is code for cupcakes or cookies. At our little red schoolhouse, no sweets (and no junk food) are allowed, and only water is served to drink. (These are kids that also compost, if that puts things into perspective. We hear all the time about what's good for the worms at school!)

I don't cook much, nor do I bake. But, tired of the bagel and cream cheese routine, I've shifted into mini muffin mode. Last month, I made oatmeal apple muffins as part of our snack. ('Snack' is supposed to have a balance of protein, carbs, and fruits or veggies, and we try and take into account that there are some vegetarian children, one with a dairy allergy, and one with a nut allergy. So, no nuts at all. And a good selection of options to ensure everyone can find something to munch on after playing hard.)

I decided to take the health-oriented carrot raisin muffin route. 72 mini and 2 jumbo muffins later, I was weighing the virtues of bagels... No, I hold firm that I'd rather take something interesting and different, something homemade and treatlike even if healthy. Kids like muffins, and minis seem to have special appeal. Plus, muffins are easy. (Note to self: next time just buy pre-grated carrots.)

Having eaten a jumbo one for breakfast, I will admit that these turned out just 'okay.' I think I didn't like the use of crushed pineapple in the mix maybe. Neverthess, we headed to school with 72 muffins, 5 cans of mandarin oranges, 4 cans of black olives, and 36 mozzarella cheese sticks. I dutifully recorded what I brought on the fridge calender per state regulations. When I went back at 5 for pick-up, I peered questioningly into the kitchen, worried snack might have been a failure or, worse, that there might not have been enough. I was reassured to see a small plate of oranges, obviously leftovers, sitting out, and 2 muffins. A parent-teacher confirmed that there had been enough, that the muffins went over well, and that Matthew was very proud that I'd made snack. But, no, he didn't eat a muffin. He likes raisins straight from his snack drawer, but he won't eat anything with raisins in it. Oh well. Next week I'm thinking of pushing the limits just a little and taking sweet potato muffins. (I did things too last minute this time. But I learned my lesson and have planned ahead for next week. I picked up mandarin oranges at Costco today. 12 cans for 5 dollars versus the 5 for 5 I paid at the grocery the other day (for store-brand). That's a crazy difference.)

This morning, I made Sour Cream Coffee Cake muffins (for us) from the Bed and Breakfast Inns online site. They were absolutely and addictively awesome. Not something you can take to school, but perfect for home.

I could easily live on muffins. A Bundt cake every now and then isn't a bad thing either. Actually, there' a bread pudding Bundt recipe I'd really like to try, but you need 4 slices of day-old white bread, and we only keep wheat in the house. Crazy. I can remember in the not-so-distant past where we never bought or ate wheat. Now, it's so ingrained that it seems silly to buy white bread just to make a cake! What would we do with the rest of the loaf? After all, Matthew's basically only ever had wheat when it comes to toast and sandwiches.

Have we been in San Francisco too long? Or would this have happened to us anywhere we lived?