Since I returned from that wonderful vacation (about which I have not yet posted), I have been making a real effort to leave one or two 'unscheduled' days a month on my calendar.
By that, I mean I'm trying not to make plans ahead of time for every single day I have off work.
It's been a real exercise for me, but I'm convinced that I'll die early (or just seize up some day) if I don't learn how to relax.
Today was an unscheduled day.
And it happened to be Miss Helping Hands' day off, too.
I asked, "Whatcha doin' today?"
She answered, "No plans until tonight."
I said, "We should make something."
She said, "You mean, like, bake something?"
"Yeah."
"Muffins! I want muffins!"
We looked at our supplies and realized we didn't have the ingredients for any of her favorite muffins.
So we made three other kinds, instead.
We started with a recipe for blueberry yogurt muffins, which we adapted, because we had no blueberries and we wanted to use the vanilla yogurt we had on hand.
We added some peach jam (the last little jar from last summer's canning) to the yogurt to make the full cup the recipe called for.
And we added some orange juice concentrate to substitiute for orange zest.
While Miss Helping Hands got the muffins into the oven, I whipped some of the peach jam into some softened butter and let it re-form in the freezer.
When the muffins came out, hot from the oven, the skinny girl's plate looked like this:
You really need a close-up so your mouth can water.
The not-skinny girl's portion looked like this:
But, man was it yummmmmmy.
While the peach muffins were baking, Miss Helping Hands whipped up a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.
I confess to eating a mini...they are scrumptious.
I will not tell you what the skinny girl ate.
I don't really know.
While the pumpkin muffins were baking, I made a batch of granola from Alton Brown's recipe.
I've probably told you about his recipe before, but it bears repeating that it is delicious.
I didn't have any cashews on hand, so I subbed pecans, and I used molasses instead of maple syrup.
This stuff has to bake at 200 degrees for an hour and fifteen minutes.
My step aerobic workout routine takes an hour and ten minutes.
I was plenty hot by the time the granola and I were done...
...and I was plenty hungry, too.
But, first things first.
I made a batch of apple pie muffins with the apples we'd taken from the deep freeze when we first decided to bake today.
So.
Much.
Sugar.
I won't be eating these, but they look and smell wonderful, and I can imagine Me Darlin' Mither and the girls enjoying them like dessert.
I did have a cup of cantaloupe, with 4 ounces of Greek yogurt and a third of a cup of the freshly baked granola poured over it for lunch.
Oh.
My.
Yummy.
Goodness.
You need to try that for summer breakfast or lunch some day very soon.
Really, you do.
While we were finishing the clean-up from our 4 1/2 hour baking stint, I began to search for the most important item in the kitchen.
I couldn't find it anywhere.
Not on the counters.
Not in the dishwasher.
Not in the cupboard where I keep it.
I began to be "audibly concerned" about its whereabouts.
"Mom, take it easy, I'm trying to remember where I put it."
More frantic searching.
Aha!
"Hannah! It's way back here in the cabinet. I must have this kept right here with the drinking glasses."
Do you know what she said (under her breath)?
"Okaaaaaayy...I guess it's the summer of the big jar."
Well, yeah.
When the weather dishes up blistering 100+ degree days for weeks on end...
...I must have my afternoon coffee on ice.
Lots of ice.