Strawberry Muffins Forever

About a week ago I made a list of things I can do on lazy mornings. Bake muffins! was on the top of the list. This morning I found I had a bunch of strawberries that needed to realize their potential.

I read some food blogs recently and I noticed they all have extreme close-up pictures of their food. So here I am, carrying my coffee and muffins into the backyard with my camera. Then waiting for JT Dancer to walk past the barn so I can get him in the background. But instead of a gray horse, I only saw this mud monster.

The trick is to get the food in focus, but have a portion of it out of focus, preferably in the corner of the frame.

By the way, the muffins were delicious.

Strawberry Muffins Forever

First you put on some Beatles. Despite the name of these muffins, pre-psychedelic Beatles are best for baking. I'm thinking Rubber Soul or Revolver.

Adapted from Pillsbury Best Muffins and Quick Breads.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour


• 1/2 cup sugar (note: I've been using 1/2 sugar 1/2 Splenda with no problems)


• 3 teaspoons baking powder


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 3/4 cup soymilk


• 1/3 cup oil


• 1 egg, beaten


• 1 cup chopped strawberries (chop them small; I reckon I'm getting 16-24 pieces per strawberry)


• 2 tablespoons sugar (this is to sprinkle on top. I used regular sugar rather than my 1/2 1/2 mix mentioned above. It seems like it would crust and caramelize better)

Heat the oven to 400 Spray muffin tins with cooking spray. Get two bowls. Sift the dry ingredients together in one bowl. Mix the wet ingredients together in the other bowl and add to the dry ingredients. Mix together lightly until the ingredients are just moistened. Do not overmix. Add the chopped strawberries and stir them in gently. Using an ice cream scooper fill up the muffin cups with the batter. Sprinkle the sugar over the tops.

Bake at 400 for 20-24 minutes until a knife poked in the middle comes out clean. Let them cool for a minute. I usually pull out the bottoms so that each muffin rests on their side while they cool. Otherwise they might get soggy in spots.