This is the time of year when folks alike gather round the table and talk farming. We chat about new ideas for the upcoming year or what worked well for farmers last year that they would like to pursue this upcoming year. We also snort about what crop was a bust (damn Thai eggplants...), converse about who is growing what this year and plan seed ordering. This is useful when you are part of a co op of farms so that not everyone is growing the same thing.
You have to keep ahead of the curve and be ever evolving when you are a small scale farmer (I am not an expert on this.. but am constantly learning). I flounder all. the. time. I want to be more with it though, so I guess this is my new years resolution, to be more of a business women when it comes to making a profit on the farm. That means budgeting, researching and not spreading myself to thin. With two children and one fast approaching, I have to be more organized! I have to be MORE ORGANIZED! (enter mantra here).
So if you are attending any potlucks or meetings and need something tasty, and simple to prepare here is my fool proof muffin recipe that I took from the cork board of a restaurant I used to work for. It makes a nice moist, cakey muffin and the fruit variations are endless. Here I added elderberries, blueberries and sour cherries from the freezer. I was a pack rat with the fruit this last season, so I consider us quite fruit rich at the moment. Hey, you gotta be rich with something right? Might as well be fruit.
12 muffins
1 cup sugar (I often use less)
3/4 cup oil (I often use unsalted melted butter or half and half)
- whisk for 1 minute
Add
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
Add
2 cups flour (I mix all purpose with whole wheat, red fife etc)
3/4 cups milk
Mix until it just comes together. Then add your fruit (about 2 cups or so). A trick is to add a bit of flour to the fruit before adding it to the batter so that it doesn't sink to the bottom of the muffin when baking. I also add pure vanilla extract (1 tsp) or almond extract when I am feeling particularly frisky. Remember to butter and flour the muffin tin because those suckers ain't coming out without it. Enjoy!
So interesting! (the meetings not the muffins. the muffins are more yum than interesting). tell us how the meetings go and what you're going to do different.
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