Gingerbread Carrot Muffins

I got this recipe from the 3rd edition of What to Expect When You're Expecting. They're supposed to be good for reducing morning sickness, what with all the ginger in them. I haven't had morning sickness, but I thought these might be great to take along to the birth center since we have to provide our own food there. I know muffins usually freeze well, so I've made these up now and I'll toss some in the freezer to take along when the time comes.

I'm not a huge fan of fresh ginger, so I left that out, though I did use the ground ginger. I used wheat germ and chopped pecans, but I didn't toast the nuts cuz grating the carrots was enough work as it is.

These turned out really yummy -- Daniel and I had them with lunch, and he ate a whole one and then asked for more. I think I would rename them Apricot Carrot Muffins if I made them again, since without the fresh ginger it's the apricots and carrots that really stand out.


Gingerbread Carrot Muffins
(Makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ
1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup finely chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 cup white grape juice concentrate
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp minced peeled fresh ginger
1 cup grated carrots

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Line a standard-size 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, flaxseed or wheat germ, oats, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and baking soda. Add apricots and nuts (if desired) and stir to blend.

In another bowl, combine the juice concentrate, eggs, oil, vanilla, and fresh ginger and whisk to blend. Add the juice mixture to the flour mixture and stir gently just until the batter is smooth and well blended; be careful not to overmix. (It took me about 25 strokes to mix the two.)

Gently fold the carrots into the batter. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, dividing evenly. (Cups will probably be very full.) Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 18-20 minutes.

Transfer the muffins to a wire rack and let cool completely. The muffins can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days or frozen up to 1 month when individually wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a freezer bag or container.

Note: Not a fan of ginger? Leave it out and substitute another teaspoon of cinnamon.

Huggermugger Hats, Babies, and Friends

At last, I've created a hat worthy of the title Huggermugger! Ever since I opened shop, I've been wanting to make up a hat pattern that I could call the Huggermugger Hat because wearing it felt like a hug for your head. And I've finally done so! I have four in my shop at the moment, all adult/teen sizes, but I'm working on making a child size.

The Huggermugger Hat is crocheted from two strands of yarn held together, so it's extra thick and extra warm. I'll be adding the crochet pattern to my shop soon as well.

In other news, I'm 36 weeks along in my pregnancy today. I had a midwife appointment this morning, and the baby is head-down, in perfect position for birth, so I'm praying it stays that way. I haven't really mentioned being pregnant much here, and that's because there's rarely anything to say -- I'm having a very ordinary, normal, uncomplicated pregnancy, so what's there to write? I've gained 26 pounds so far, the baby's growing nicely and has a strong heartbeat, and I'm pretty much ready for it to arrive any time now :-)

Speaking of baby arrivals, my best friend Julie, who runs the Etsy shop This Cosy Life, had her third child this week, a healthy baby girl. Hooray!

Up next: another giveaway! Don't touch that dial ;-)

Wondering Where I Am?

If you've been wondering why I haven't been posting much lately, well, it's because I'm pregnant. Yup! Eleven weeks along, so due at the end of February. This is our second, and we're pretty excited, as you can imagine. And I'm pretty tired. Running around after Daniel is tiring enough, and this just adds another level of weariness to the mix. So I've been napping several times a week when he naps, which would ordinarily be my time to blog and work on stuff for my shop.

The other thing is, I'm not feeling very creative right now. I remember this happening the first time around too -- it's like when my body is creating new life, the rest of me loses the drive to create much of anything else. I haven't been writing much, I haven't been crafting much, and I just mostly want to sit around and watch old eps of Lost and munch on dried apricots. Plus, my mom is here visiting this week, so we've been doing some fun stuff like take Daniel to the train museum and go shopping at the mall, which is lots of fun but also tiring. But I'm not abandoning this blog, or my shop, honest! I'm just taking it easy right now.

So now you know :-)