Speeding Up and Slowing Down

You know that feeling you get that life is moving at a much faster pace than when you were a child? Friends and I often say "Where did the month of (insert month here) go?" It's mind-boggling and crazy to think that our lives can get into such a routine that entire days/months/years fly by.  I know I'm not alone since it's been written about here and here. While it's not a science, it's all about perception, and for me the months of September and October happened so quickly I can barely believe it's November.  

Last time I wrote, I mentioned that I was traveling for work and D was interviewing at way too many places for his fellowship.  Well that ended finally (!!!) and while I'm thankful for the opportunity to travel to all corners of the U.S. I don't ever want to do it again…ever. To be exact, in the past six weeks I've traveled to 11 cities: New York, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Denver, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Nashville, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Minneapolis and Dallas. Even when I read over that sentence I still can't believe it.  Who does that?  While most of it was work-related, a few of the trips were with D to scope out cities he was interviewing in. Did I mention he also interviewed at 15 places and traveled for 85% of them? He went to California 3 TIMES. Ok, enough. It helps me to put into words the sheer craziness that ensued in our home. 

I tell you all of this because during these past few months there was not much time for cooking.  I ate out, a lot. During all of that travel, D and I had an unexpected weekend in Chicago after our flights were cancelled to Cleveland.  We soaked up the weekend by checking out a few new restaurants, biking around our neighborhood, going to Oktoberfest, and visiting our local farmers market. Heaven. On. Earth. It was the end of September and the leaves were starting to turn and the market was bright and bursting with beautiful produce.  I saw some behemoth zucchini and knew one of them had to be mine.

Zucchini is one of those miraculous vegetables which can be eaten as a savory side, mixed with pasta, or baked into deliciousness.  I decided to go with the latter and found a recipe for Zucchini, Banana and Flax Seed Muffins.   These muffins are not too sweet and are very soft and light.  They are the perfect accompaniment to start out your morning with a cup of tea or coffee.  

Zucchini, Banana and Flax Seed Muffins (adapted from Martha Stewart)

Butter/Nonstick cooking spray

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

3/4 cup brown sugar (Martha recommended 1 cup but I prefer mine lightly sweetened)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher is good)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups coarsely grated zucchini

1/3 cup mashed ripe banana (from 1 large banana)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Grate the zucchini first and allow it to drain in a colander with paper towel for 15 minutes or so. Also note the other farmers market jewels below :)

While the zucchini works it's magic, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly coat 12 standard muffing cups with butter or cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, flaxseed, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  

Add zucchini and banana to the dry mixture and stir to combine.  In a small bowl, stir together the milk, egg and vanilla.  Then, add the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir to combine (do not over mix). 

Divide the batter among the muffin cups using a 1/4 cup for measurement.  Batter should be slightly below the rim of each cup. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let the muffins cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before eating.

Store the muffins for up to 2 days in an air tight container.  You can warm them each morning in your microwave or oven and slather them with butter.  These muffins freeze well too so you can save them for mornings when you're feeling hazy and still hungover from sleep. Simply defrost and reheat them in the oven so they come out warm and crispy.