olive oil muffins

The reality of the impending end of my maternity leave has hit me like a brick. In about 7 weeks from today, I’ll be returning to work, and Mondays will once again be Mondays, essentially different from Saturdays and Sundays. Of course, I’ve been lucky to live in a country where the fully paid maternity leave lasts for 9 full months, because frankly I don’t have the mental capacity to imagine returning to work 2, 4, 8 or even 16 weeks after giving birth – for Ogi’s sake primarily. This, coming from the mouth of a workaholic, should say something about how parenthood changes just about everything.

For the past 7 months, I’ve had more than the occasional strong wish to be back at the office; to work on spreadsheets, look at budgets, arrange meetings, write minutes, anything.  Engage in adult conversation. Heck, I’d even take photocopying. I have been needing a change of pace, a change of scenery and a task-list that deviates from “change diaper, play peekaboo, feed, attempt nap, give up on nap, carry around the house, rock, change diaper…” I’ve come to realize that humans are a strange breed – we always want what we can’t/don’t have and always focus on the ‘greener’ grass elsewhere. I’ve envied my childless friends who can go out at will, stay up late, go for coffees after work, enjoy real vacations. From their point, they probably envy me (at least a tiny  bit!) for having the most adorable 7 month old, who loves me so much that he repeatedly tries eating my face (I don’t have the photos to prove it but it really happens). We people can be so ungrateful and hard to please.  I mean, just a few weeks back we were complaining about the too-hot weather and now at the first sign of rain we beg the sun to come back. Ungrateful, I tell you.

A few months back, the end of November seemed like a point in time I’d welcome with open hands.  As the date gets closer though, the uncertainty and anxiety about life with mommy “on the outside” is mounting  by the day. For the past 2 weeks we’ve been (and continue to be) searching for a solution for what happens to Ogi while I’m at work. Our options include the hiring of a nanny, a flimsy chance of him getting accepted at a local daycare (yes, “accepted” as if he’ll be applying to Yale – daycare centers around here are full and you actually need connections and/or truckloads of luck to get your baby in) as well as the remote possibility of one of us becoming a stay at home parent. Each of the options has its advantages and disadvantages and we’re constantly swinging back and forth from one to the other.

Obviously, we get hungry with all that swinging and emotional upheaval. Thankfully, there’s always a Monday around the corner with its sweet muffin promise.  Well, at least for us grownups.  (Ogi has it good too: homemade purees of baked fall veggies and fruits are delicious, I tell you.)

This week, our task was Olive Oil muffins. At first thought, I wondered what’s so special about making muffins with olive oil. We absolutely never have any other kind of oil at our place so anytime a muffin recipe has asked for oil, olive oil is what I’ve used. I read through the recipe and immediately decided there is no way I’ll be using the balsamic. Personal quirk of not wanting vinegar in my sweet muffins, I know Next, I decided to substitute half of the sugar the recipe asked for with honey. At this point in time, I think I’m becoming semi-decent in reading through a recipe and trying to imagine what it will taste like. I felt this will be good with the orange and lemon zest but I decided to add melted chocolate and some chopped milk chocolate bits in the batter too. I’m glad I did.

While these didn’t climb all the way up on our muffin chart (where the Granola muffins still hold their reign), I thought they were excellent and definitely somewhere in the top 3, at least for me. I liked the texture and crunchy bits of almonds and the added chocolate did take them up a notch. I omitted the powdered sugar (because I really don’t care for it) but I’m sure a chocolate/orange  glaze of some sort would do even more wonders for this muffin. Head over to BakerStreet.tv to check out what twists to the original recipe the rest of the Muffin Monday bakers have come up with. I know I’ll be ooh-ing and aaaah-ing over their (better!) ideas because, hey, I’m human too:)

OLIVE OIL MUFFINS
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis’ recipe
makes 12 muffins

ingredients:   

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup sugar + 1/3 cup honey)
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (I omitted)
• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• about 80 gr / 3 oz melted milk chocolate  PLUS about 30 gr / 1 oz chopped milk chocolate pieces (optional – my idea)
• Powdered sugar, for sifting (didn’t use)

instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F and place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In another large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, eggs, and orange and lemon zests (and melted chocolate, if using) until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the vinegar and milk and then the oil, gradually, mixing while you do.
4. To this large bowl, add the flour mixture and stir until combined.
5. If using chocolate bits (or any other dried fruits or nuts) at them at this point. Crush the almonds with your hands and add them to the batter. Stir until mixed.
6. Fill the paper liners with the batter (almost all the way up).
7. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached (about 20 to 25 minutes). Cool for 10 minutes.
8. Remove the muffins onto a platter and let cool for another 5 min. Sift the powdered sugar over the muffins (I didn’t) and serve.

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* ABOUT #MUFFINMONDAY: Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

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