New Year, New Adventures

GLoW IN THE DARK CUPCAKES! Well, not really. But close.

All that matters is that they taste good. And look cool. January though, I am back to muffins! This is good because muffins are easier because they don't have frosting, and bad because they don't have frosting.

We had a black light party (and thus the cupcakes). I wasn't even mentally prepared for the new year. I don't really know what there is to prepare for, but somehow I don't feel ready for 2012! I am pretty sure that this will be the next best year of my life.

Many exciting things will happen this year, like:

The end of the world
I'll graduate college
Elder Helms gets home
Elder Hill gets home
Elder Hoye gets home
Elder Webb gets home
The Hunger Games comes out
The Hobbit comes out
Brave comes out
The Woman in Black comes out

...and other adventures. Bring it on!

-Meg

And I forgot to mention that the pictures are courtesy of my dear Sam.

Simply having a wonderful Christmas time

You know, Christmas. That time of year that is busy but beautiful, cold but cozy, expensive but exciting. In the past two weeks, I have made two kinds of cupcakes.

Vanilla on vanilla,

...and Gingerbread. (Recipe found here)

Except I used my favorite cream cheese frosting recipee. (We've been spelling it like that at our house recently. Don't ask)

Sam and I learned a duet on the piano, and it was so much fun. I loved playing and practicing with him. We make a good team. And it was one of my favorite songs, "Angels We Have Heard on High," except I always sing the words to "Angels from their Realms of Glory," except I only know the first line of that. But it's just so cool!

Anyway, I was secondo as usual. I like it because the player on the bottom pedals, and I like using the pedal because it makes me feel powerful. The hard part about the bottom is it's all in F clef, which I'm far less skilled at reading. But it is good practice for me.

I received many wonderful things, like a crockpot, luggage, clothes, and a watch. Sam gave me some wonderful pictures, and he got a large framed print of our favorite one.

But I do love giving people presents, like zebra print sheets for my sister Lindsey who's obsessed with all things zebra. And I gave Adriana a gift certificate to Color Me Mine, so she can go make some cool pottery.

In other news, I have been running and working out because a) I have time, b) I'm going to get fat from all the goodies and treats that the holidays bring, and c) I have new running clothes and watch.

Well, time to bring on the new year. And the new semester. Yay!

Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

It seems that I hardly ever post Muffin Mondays actually on Mondays. Anyway, this weekend we had a delightful white elephant party at our house. I made these Christmas cupcakes and everyone loved them.

I did not read the recipe as closely as I should. It yields 21, so unless you want 42 cupcakes, I suggest you don't double the recipe...

But it was great to have so many cupcakes! Russell and Sam helped me, and I think they liked the part where they got to crush the peppermint candy canes the most.

I put the crushed bits of peppermint in the batter, the frosting and on top of the frosting. There was lots of goodness going around.

Recipe found here!

-Meg

(Thanks, Sam, for the photos.)

The most wonderful time of the year

Rainbow cupcakes! Yes, because it is Christmastide, I'm going to be making cupcakes instead. Mostly because I went crazy and bought lots of Christmas cupcake liners.

Finals are sucking out my soul like a dementor, but you don't want to hear about that.

You want to hear about cupcakes and how lovely my life is.

There really isn't a recipe. We made a white cake from a box mix, and divided it into four. We dyed the separate batters and then layered them in the liners.


There is a recipe for frosting. I'd recommend this to anyone, even if you don't like frosting.

4 TBSP butter, softened
2 cups powdered (confectioners' sugar)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 TSP Milk

Whip together and voila!

There has been much wind and coldness. But Sam and I went up to Syracuse to be with my family. It was lovely, because I love being with all of them.

Happiness has been filling up every corner of my life, and although it always ebbs and flows, I know that I'm happy deep down inside, I just have to remember that.

I have so many things to be happy about.

I think Katie said it best. "You know you're in love when you don't have to explain why you're in love."

Yup.




Things I am thankful for:

My ability to love others and be loved.

Times when I think that I don't have the right words to say, but I try anyway.

The strangely confident feeling that everything is going to be OK. And not just OK, but brilliant.

That wise girl whose been writing in my journals all these years.

My sisters, Sam, my roommates, my parents, and all the other people on Team Megan.

-Meg

Making it up as I go

I am really big into life evaluation. I worry that sometimes I spend more of my life analyzing my time than actually living my life. Anyway, the point is that finals are coming around the corner. That means another crossword puzzle to construct, a few papers and lots of studying to do.

Because I was home for Thanksgiving break, and when I came back I was busy doing stuff with my cousins and Sam, I neglected to go grocery shopping. I will be fine... I have food, but I don't have fresh food, like eggs or milk or bread. [sigh].

So I tried to make muffins, right, like I do every weekend. And I was all, "I can just make up my own recipe... la la la..."

I mean, I did it once before, right?

Um, they are gross. Embarrassing thing is that I gave them to my home teachers before I even tried them myself. And they were nice and they lied and said they were good! When Sam and I ate them, we just could not eat another bite. So now I feel really dumb. And I think I need to stick to recipes that people have actually tested. Maybe I'll try to fix it, but for now, just know that today's Muffin Monday is gross so I am not even going to post the recipe.

And yes, I am aware that I forgot to post about muffins last week. Forgive me. Here it is! This recipe is delicious, and there is more sugar than flour.  They are technically financiers, which is a French Muffin. Oui Oui!

And Sam got to separate the egg whites from the egg yokes. He was very excited about that.

So finals are just around the river bend... and as close as I am to finishing it... I'm giving up NaNoWriMo. I'm 37 thousand words in, and I could still finish...But no. Let's face it, I'd rather be spending time with Sam or doing my homework. Because I'm shamelessly in love and school is important (even though I am seriously lacking motivation).

And I know that writing it here makes it official. And I hate to say that this is the second year in a row that I have come short of 50,000 words. I have done much more than I did last year--I think I got to 17k?--and I have a legitimate story.  I started with nothing and now I have this little plot and a million characters and I love them, and they are their own people.

Ya, lots of psycho madness goin' on right now. Thought I'd just rattle on to the world about muffins and writing and love.

I am going to write more soon. I promise. More scenes from the weekend:

-Meg

Muffin Monday! Cranberry Cornbread

This weekend was another glorious one, filled with a healthy dose of excitement, sleep, stress and giddiness.

11/11/11 11:11 happened, and I knew I had to do something epic, so Sam and I went roller blading.

And I went home for my friend Jantzen's homecoming. That meant spending time with my wonderful sisters.

Today's Muffin Monday is Cranberry Cornbread muffins.

Recipe here

I'm getting really sick of muffin pictures. They're just so boring... but they don't taste that way!

Creating novels and recipes...

I write what I feel inside of me. So my novel is never going to be turned into a movie, or even a play. It is just my little story, my reckoning with the thoughts in my head. It is my connection with my ancestors. Not my grandma-- not that close. Far, far distant. I'm talking about my ancestors who were hunter-gatherers. And I feel connected with them so I write about it.

It isn't an easy story to explain, and it isn't really about the plot anyway. It's about love, and writing just to write. I love it.

I wrote my own recipe on Sunday, actually. I adapted it from the basic muffin recipe that came in my muffin cook book.  Here it is! (all my muffin pictures are starting to look the same! ahh!)

1 1/2 cup normal white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 or 3/4 cup butter milk (I don't remember how much I put it, so take your pick.)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
chocolate chips

I baked it at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. But check it.

Yes peeps, I made a recipe. I am become domesticated. The world is about to end...! You better believe I'm in love.

-Meg

Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins

You're probably wondering how I disappeared off the face of the planet. It is a combination of several things, one of which is NaNoWriMo. That is short for National Novel Writing Month. 

That is why I was so negligent in posting last week's muffin Monday. So this is shamefully late. Forgive me. Recipe found here.

Roommate Katie saved my butt again. Whenever I make cooking mistakes she saves me. Thank you thank you!

-Meg

More falling

I am falling in every direction--behind, asleep, in love...

Random things:

The new Coldplay album is fantastic. Familiar but so new and beautiful.

This weekend we went to a corn maze. That meant lugging all my Salt Lake city folk up to the edge of the boonies. I am pretty certain we all had a blast... especially in phase 3.

I got to my friend Alexis! And I hope to see her again before she leaves on her mission to Sacramento Cali.

Utah tripped over itself. Our football team is having issues. I feel bad for them, poor little beat up kids. That game was so boring. Even if we loose it should be exciting.

This Muffin Monday is one of the best.

I thought it was going to be awful, because I misread the recipe. So ya, kind of double it and add a lot more flour.Trust your gut and ask your roommate for help if you don't know how to fix your recipe. It's good. Imagine a pumpkin roll in a cup. Yup.


I am the luckiest girl in the world.

-Meg

Turning, turning

It's still autumn and I'm still listening to country music, which is usually a summer sort of thing.

The fall in Utah has been a rich cacophony of color and light. I cleaved unto fall break and now I am back into the thick of school.

Now is the time for turning leaves... I'm finding myself doing that once again. Right now I'm reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

Pumpkin muffins are called for, even if the cute liners stuck to the bottoms. These are "healthy pumpkin muffins." Next week I will make less healthy muffins...

Recipe found here.
Sorry it was so late... I was up until 3 a.m. last night finishing my crossword. For those of you asking, yes, I will post it on my blog so you can all torture yourselves with it.

-Meg

Another wonderful weekend

On Friday I got my iPod back! Miracle of miracles, I tell you. The guy who found it sent me an email that he had it, and I was able to pick it up from him.  

He just said that he had lost stuff before and he would want someone to return it to him.  

Yes, the golden rule works and there are honest people in the world. Hallelujah!

How we celebrated:

And watched "The Village." That is one of my most beloved films.

Saturday was the day of hell, and I mean that literally because the ASU Sun Devils destroyed us. We were happy birthdayed to the ground!

At least the first half was pretty exciting...

Now, for what you were all waiting for!

Muffin Monday!

Recipe here

Except I actually did have caraway seeds, so I used those instead of poppy seeds. And we had lots of chives, so I through some in too. And we didn't have milk because milk day is Monday, so I used half and half instead. 

But ya, they were awesome with our Sunday dinner yesterday.

Happy fall break, everyone! (Well, if you don't have a fall break, just pretend you do.)

-Meg

Chocolate Blueberry

I need to stop imagining how nice my life would be if I did not have to sleep. But I must fit a few hours in here or there. I would rather be busy than bored, but then there comes a point where hygiene, fitness, and personal relationships begin to fade away and I loose my grasp on them.

I am so glad fall break is at the end of this week...

I need this time to decompress and work on my crossword puzzle!

I don't want to type up the recipe. I just can't do it. It's 1:05 a.m. If you want it, leave a comment and I'll add it. (It's from my book so I have to type it up.)
Come to think of it, I haven't even tried a muffin yet, so I can't review it. You should just be glad I followed through. It was tough.



Sam and I went to Doughnut Falls this past weekend. It's a waterfall that goes through a rock. It's trippy. I had a lot of fun on that hike. The fall leaves were amazing; pictures would just be useless. You have to go there for yourself.
I went to bed at 2 a.m. that night and woke up to run a 5k.
I watched most of general conference and watched my beloved Utes get thrashed.

Well I love you all.

-Meg

Oat bran muffins, and other astonishing things

Healthy and hearty. These muffins are down to earth, lumber jack tough. I tried out the recipe on the back of the oat bran bag I got when I made last week's muffins.

Recipe found here. I used pecans instead of walnuts because I had lots of pecans. I also didn't use dates because I didn't have any.

I'm getting kind of sick of muffins... but everyone loves them and I don't want to give up my goal!


Yesterday was an amazing Sunday, as Sundays usually are. Dinner at the bishop's house, game night that was of course thrilling, and then being serenaded by Griff.

Life seriously can't get much better than this.

-Meg

Publications of all sorts

This week's muffin recipe is from my first cookbook ever! I have many recipes, but never an actual book. Now I have legit book.

The recipe: Mixed Berry Oat Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup oatbran (This is really hard to find, try looking in the health foods section of your local grocer.)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk (That's a half-pint, in case you are wondering.)
2 Tbsp.vegetable oil
1 egg
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen berries (mine were fresh and it was the best.)
powdered sugar for dusting

Cook at 350 degrees, for 20 minutes.

Combine the wet ingredients (except for the berries,) and separately combine the dry ingredients, then put them together. (I'm finding this is super common in recipes. I don't know why the wet and dry ingredients can't be friends.)

When they cool, dust them with the powdered sugar.

From Cupcakes & Muffins published by Weldon Owen.

Big thanks to my new friend Sam who helped me make said muffins.

-Meg

Lemon Poppyseed

These muffins are so good that I was reduced to a frenzy and rendered incapable of any notion of normalcy.

They were easy to make, and I regret not doubling the recipe, which can be found here.

I keep wanting to spell "seed" as "sead." Silly me.

I have this habit of sprinkling sugar on the top of my muffins to make that gentle crystal crust. Try it! 'Tis so yummy.

I also couldn't help but show off our amazing game night treats. Game nights on Sunday have become the best part of my week. A bunch of people get together and play awkward and awesome games. Then we have treats. This is what we brought yesterday:


And I'm really tired, but also really giddy. (That's an old fashioned way of saying hyper.)

-Meg

White Chocolate Rasberry, (Late Muffin Monday)

Recipe found here.

I don't know why they are gray! If you have any answers, please tell me. Someone suggested it might be the lemon juice? I don't know.

These weren't too bad, but the color just threw me off. They are rich and moist. Almost too moist?

Labor day was a pretty great day. It started off with a big breakfast (at which these muffins were served.)

Then we went hiking to "the beacon." That's code for "top of the mountain."

My legs were still sore, but it was so fun to go on adventures with some of my new found friends.

We finished the day by swimming. Why do we ever have school on Monday? That's my question.

-Meg