muffins and muffintops

The rain has washed the skies clean and high and the sun shines in palely through my sash window this morning. This is not a time for hangovers. This is a time to get one's arse out of bed and go profit from this (no doubt all too brief) spell of clemency.

Quickly book February flights to Amsterdam to go see Lins and Maaik and their baby, Finn. Patrick too with any luck (Patrick reminds me of Ti sometimes. Hard to put my finger on exactly why without more thought than am currently capable of). Throw on some random clothes. Locate trainers (which are, like all sentient shoes, in different places), call Amy to give her the happy news that she is joining me on my stroll and to get out of bed poste haste and head down to Finsbear park.

The park is teaming with people. I do like the park. I also like that it's 5 mins from my front door. Lots of football matches going on on one side. Lots of very shouty men. Don’t keep it all bottled up inside… let it out darling. Bit further on and the guys are a lot bigger. Oh no they aren’t – Finsbear has, it seems, a number of American football teams in the vicinity. They seem to be wearing very tight tights and throwing themselves at punchbags (or each other with a slightly scary sound) quite a lot. Is this normal? We don’t know.

A couple of brisk circuits of the perimeter and an hour or so has gone by. The cobwebs are blown away by the fresh wind on my face and I feel alive once more. Not bad after an evening getting rather battered in Covent G.

Meant to come back and watch the last 2 episodes of Green Wing (I don’t as a rule watch TV at all but I do adore the silliness of this series and it makes me laugh and laugh) but Mara has taken over the living room with books and study stuff so go downstairs into my book lined cave and play Robots in Disguise and stick things in my scrapbook until the glue runs out and I am forced to stop.

Oh pants this is a dull blog. Anyway Red comes over for a cup of tea and I make some muffins (easiest thing to bake by a MILE) and we just chinwag about plans for the year and books she is promoting and how completely RUBBISH the new Louis de Bernieres book is (tis out this summer. I strongly advise you not to buy it. Red struggled bravely to the end. I couldn’t even finish).

The smell of the muffins fills the flat and they are as yummy as usual. Take all of 5 minutes to combine, 25 to sit by, drink tea and wait, and another 5 minutes to wolf the lot :-)

Here, therefore, is my recipe (as this year seems to be all about the baking) for……

ANYTIME MUFFINS (awesome at teatime, divine for breakfast)

9oz wholemeal flour
4 oz brown sugar
4oz crunchy breakfast cereal (more if you like it)
3 tbsp nuts or sultanas (or a mix of both)
3 level tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 egg
1/3 pint milk
75ml oil

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt

Beat egg, add oil and milk

Add to dry mixture, then add cereal and sultanas (or nuts or whatever you’re putting in)

Spoon mixture into 12 muffin cases/greased tins. Not quite to the top as this stuff rises like buggery.

Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 20-25 mins


Amy is coming round in 5 minutes and am going to make us yummy Spanish omelette and watch some chick flick she swears will not make me vomit (can’t remember name. you’ll hear about it if it’s very good or very bad… otherwise it doesn’t matter). Ergo must be offski and do the washing up so as to have some space to cook. Evening all!