Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

muffins

Ready For A Holiday Time Out?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Between fighting the creeping crud the last three weeks, dark nights, wind, rain, holiday craziness, news nightmares, and a neighborhood zoning fiasco that would break Ghandi’s patience, it’s Holiday Time Out Time.

What do I do when the Grinch grumpies hit this time of year? I have a plan of attack. First I bake. Food therapy. Sunday’s treat of choice was a box mix of poppy seed muffins. Perfect. I used up some leftover milk and all I had to do was stir.

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After tons of time watching the Barefoot Contessa on HGTV, I use the big scoop to transfer the batter from the bowl to the muffin tins. Works like a charm. Much faster too. I do the same for cookie batter except I use the smaller scoop. Tip: you have to push the round dough balls down for cookies. Took me awhile to figure that out, had cookie globes for a bit.

Next on the agenda is to move. While I may need to have the LaZBoy surgically removed from my butt after this siege and replenish my tissue stockpile, moving is the key to getting energy and endorphins.

I always like to start with what’s bugging me the most in the house. Sunday it turned out to be the toilet bowls. Yucky. After a quick cleaning I felt much better and happier. Sometimes it’s the  dishes, or vacuuming or piles of mail, but this time it was the toilet bowls.

Then I get on the treadmill for at least ten minutes. When you’re trying to get energy back you have to expend energy. It’s some stupid physics law, but it’s true. Always add my workout tunes – disco to movie themes – and that helps too. Grinchy moods don’t like music.

Then I work up to walking twenty to thirty minutes a day. It really helps having a treadmill in the Oregon monsoon season, since we have flood warnings this week I prefer to walk inside instead of using a scuba suit and rubber raft.

Third action on the Grinch grumpies be gone list is to create.  Anything. It can range from my holiday shopping list to printing out photos or gluing on the top bead to the mini Christmas tree that fell off. Wrapping a present works too.

Any hands on activity helps the left brain relax and the right brain engage. Another reason I’m taking my knitting back to the day job. Knitting also keeps me from eating since it’s hard to snack and eat at the same time as it mucks up the yarn. A good way to prevent too much holiday grazing.

Last but not least I review my gratitude list. Since I write down five things every night I’m grateful for, it’s always a good time to sit and ponder any time of day and reflect on my blessings. Some days it’s clean toilet bowls, kitty hugs, friends, family and sleeping in on a day off.

And today it’s knowing there are some fine folks out there willing to read my little blog and make comments or likes and communicate with me. Those are Big Magic Moments Thank you. And before I know it the Grinch grumpies are gone!

So my Grinch grumpies be gone action plan is bake, move, create, and gratitude. What’s yours? Got clean toilet bowls? Poppy seed muffins? 

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Come To The Purple Side – We Have Muffins!

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by Kimberly A. Cook                  (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Been spending a lot of quality time in my food pantry lately. Seems I get in there and can’t figure out why I journeyed into the place. Being stubborn, I refuse to leave until the reason comes to me. Works most of the time.

While waiting, I inventory the contents of my shelves and try to figure out how to use some of the odd food items I tend to purchase. On Saturday I wandered in to get the whole wheat pastry flour, courtesy of Bob’s Red Mill.  Finished reading a new fiction book, “The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Café,” by Mary Simses.

Up lose and personal with blueberry muffins. Alas, these muffins are long gone, er, eaten.
Up close and personal with blueberry muffins. Alas, these muffins are long gone, er, eaten.

Her first novel, I enjoyed it greatly and she included a recipe for blueberry muffins. Had to try it. This time of year when the first crisp of the Fall season starts in the air, I want to chow down like a bear going into hibernation – for a decade. Put me in a bakery and I’m going to eat my way from one end of the display case to the other.

In an effort to curb this behavior, I insist on baking, then I give away or freeze the majority to save myself. Granted, I know people eat frozen cookie dough out of the freezer but a frozen muffin will slow me down. (Even though I know I can heat it perfectly for 30 seconds in the microwave to defrost.)

So happily mixing my ingredients together, none with expired dates, I realized the eggs and butter were long past their prime. Drat! Since I had shopping errands to do, I left everything in the middle of the counter and hoped Spec Ops Cat stayed out of it. Due to his strenuous nap schedule, it worked.

Upon my return I made the muffins. They were quite good. Think I needed to bake them a little longer, they seemed a bit pale, like me. Managed to send some home with my Mom and froze the rest, but not before I ate three of them Saturday night watching the U of O Ducks play football.

What is it about watching sweating athletes in great shape on tv make us feed ourselves on their behalf? It’s not like they’re going to burn off our calories or get them in an inter-tv transfer?

I’m going to have to take up competitive push-ups like Puddles the U of O mascot if I keep tucking in these muffins. But now I have my little paws on a recipe for chicken and dumplings from our receptionist at the day job. DUMPLINGS! Where is my Bisquick?  (Do you know that my spell check thinks Bisquick is Bismarck? Isn’t that a donut?)

What is your favorite Fall comfort food? Let the baking games begin!