Okay, yeah. So I made these almost an entire month ago and am just now blogging about it. I am sorry, dearest readers, all three of you. But a big reason is because of this face:
Andromeda Peterson (Andy, for short) has very quickly taken up whatever time I've had free. She is three months old and adorable. She is part mountain cur and part monster. The great thing is, we know she's truly ours because the first thing she did when she entered our home was to head straight for the booze and start licking the vodka bottle. I mean. Come. On.
Obviously I am a great caretaker because I tried to take a picture of her doing it, instead of immediately trying to stop her. I'm no hypocrite.
...Please. Don't worry. I did eventually stop her...Right after I also had some vodka.
So anyway. At the time that I made these, I was still doing a 3+ hour play about the bible with at least two references to cardamom, so I sought out a recipe that featured it that just so happened to be delicious.
Recipe #14: Cardamom -Ginger-Pear Muffins
Choice of libation: Inspired by the puppy -- vodka. Only I sipped it from a glass with some ice because I'm just not as hardcore as she is.
Choice of music: There's some joke here about "how could you ever card-a-mom who looks like Gwen Stefani?" but I'm too tired to formulate that, and really I just wanted to justify listening to Tragic Kingdom.
And in my opinion, no one ever needs to justify listening to this album.
"Cuz I'm just a girl...Little ol' me..."
One of the people in my cast had a coconut allergy, so I substituted it with almonds. It added great texture and I don't think I missed the shredded coconut.
When I make this again, I think I might double the ginger and cardamom (even though cardamom is FREAKING EXPENSIVE).
These came out incredibly light and fluffy. They were rather gentle in flavor, but not bland. And considering you can use greek yogurt instead of oil and whole wheat instead of all purpose flour, it is a tasty treat THAT IS ACTUALLY GOOD FOR YOU. Mmm...don't speak. Just eat.
Stolen and heavily adapted from
http://www.lucismorsels.com/
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1/2 Cup oil or greek yogurt*
2 teaspoons vanilla (don't be silly - use RUM)
4 eggs
1 Cup whole wheat flour
2 Cups AP flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ginger (I would use more, like maybe even 2 teaspoons)
2 pears, chopped (approx. 3 cups)
3/4 Cup young coconut, chopped (or use thinly sliced almonds)
*If using nonfat greek yogurt, add a few tablespoons of oil to maintain fluffier consistency. Note that muffins with yogurt must be stored in refrigerator within a day of baking to prevent spoilage.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with nonstick spray or line with cupcake wrappers. In a large bowl, combine sugar, oil/yogurt, vanilla, and eggs. In a separate bowl, combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and ginger. Add flour mixture to wet mixture. Combine thoroughly. Add pears and coconut. Spoon 1/3 cup batter into each muffin tin. Bake 18-20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Cool and enjoy!
