Thursday, July 06, 2006

Muffin tops - the edible kind and not the ones spilling out over the top of jeans




Being the book worm that I am, I recently started a book club in Hiroshima to meet some more new people and just talk about books and maybe eat some nice food along the way too. Anyway, the book group (all four of us - well you have to start somewhere) met at my place tonight and it provided a perfect opportunity for me to get in the kitchen and whip up some more muffins.

So, especially for Big Bean who was so excited by the sound of Pumpkin and Chocolate Chip Muffins here's the recipe.

1 1/2 cups of plain flour
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup of canned pumpkin
1/2 cup of sunflower oil
1 cup of chocolate chips
2 eggs
Splash of milk

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line with muffin cases a muffin tin ( I prefer the rustic look so I don't bother with muffin cases, although it does make the tin harder to wash).

Combine all the dry ingredients together and sift into a large bowl. In another bowl beat the eggs, stir in the pumpkin and then add the oil. Blend all this together really well. Now make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the pumpkin mixture. Stir until blended - if you think it looks a bit too dry add a splash of milk. Now add the chocolate chips. If you are anything like me you will have significantly less chocolate than when you started out - I can't help but nibble. All you have to do now is spoon the mixture into the muffin tin and bake for about 20-25 mins. 23 mins is usually the magic number for my muffins but all ovens are different.

Let them cool in the tin for a few minutes and then put them on a wire rack. I am currently wire rackless but the one in the grill does the same job. These keep in a tupperware box for a few days but they generally get eaten much quicker than that.



Tonight's little meeting went really well and next month we are reading the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency which sounds quite good. If any of you have read it let me know what you thought of it.

The English classes are going great, it's really good fun and I am enjoying them much more than I thought I would. In fact, I am taking on more classes so I am going to be very busy and will definitely have less time to spend baking muffins. This will probably be no bad thing for the waistline, although I am still going to the gym three times a week and can now run a mile in ten minutes - this is a big deal for me! Anyway, I am going to give three classes per week to one girl who is going to live in England for three months. It should be really interesting as she wants to learn more about English life and culture (maybe I can make some scones with jam and cream!). I know we will have plenty to talk about.

That's it for this week, have a good weekend and happy muffin baking!

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