Ever Hopeful

Today I realized something. As stressed out as I may get, and as crazy as some parts of my life seem, deep down, I remain an optimist. Phew - I'm glad! Tonights gray and stormy skies that threatened winter storm helped me reach this conclusion. As I sat eating my dinner, looking out the window, I felt an unexpected sense of joy, hope, excitement. I wondered why on earth I would feel this way, since the view outside my window appeared to be a drab drizzly March evening in Michigan. After a few Minutes, I realized that upon paying closer attention, the view outside my window was much more than drab and dull. The trees looked different. The tips of all the branches were swollen (not quite buds yet, but almost). The grass was just a little bit greener than it was even two weeks ago. I love early spring for this reason. It's full of hope, full of anticipation.


So, tonight, embracing the spirit of spring, I decided to do a bit of spring cleaning. No, I did not pull out the vacuum or scrub the bathroom tiles. Tonight was spring cleaning for my freezer. After a little bit of rummaging, I found a bag of frozen rhubarb from last summer. Perfect! I decided to make a double batch of rhubarb muffins. These muffins are only very slightly sweet and they make a wonderful breakfast. The rhubarb gives the muffins a little zing - the kind you feel in the back of your mouth (think sour patch kids). Happy spring, friends!


Rhubarb Muffins (Adapted from Simply in Season - A World Community Cookbook)
Yields 1 dozen muffins


1/2 c white flour
2 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c plain yogurt
3/4 c dark brown sugar
1/2 c oil
1 egg (beaten)
2 tsp real vanilla extract
1 1/2 c rhubarb (diced) (I used frozen and lightly blended it with my hand blender, rather than dice)
cinnamon

Combine the flour, soda, powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the yogurt, oil, egg, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the rhubarb and stir to combine.

Fill greased muffin cups (they may range from 2/3 full to all the way to the rim of the cup). Lightly sprinkle the top of each muffin with a small amount of cinnamon.

Bake at 375 °F for 20 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven. Remove muffins from cups and cool on a wire rack.


Enjoy!