Thursday, September 30, 2010

Prune Muffins


Prunes have a bad rap. I think this stems from their association with the elderly. That's ageism people! Stop being so bigoted and enjoy this natural treat. Old people are awesome. I can't wait to be super old! Old people get to bed as early as they want, put together so many jigsaw puzzles, and sport the very best vintage cardigans.

Perhaps people are wary of prunes because they are afraid if they eat too many they will poop a lot. But if those terrible Activia commercials (with that creepy arrow pointing to the groin area) have taught me anything it is that people don't poop enough! Gross anecdote time: Once one of my friends sister was in town. Let's call him "Jim." So, yeah, Jim's sister couldn't poop. So I gave his sister a bag of prunes (because I like to keep them on hand). Apparently, that wasn't enough. She even ate a whole another bag to no avail. I am actually not too sure how her problem was solved come to think of it. Anyway, I was telling my dad this story and he said, "But why was she constipated? She is of Guatemalan descent." I was like, "Wuh?" He thought I was talking about Jim's girlfriend. My dad apparently thinks that only white Americans and African Americans get constipated due to their cultural fear of fresh fruits and vegetables. So, yeah, that is both a story about prunes and how my dad is a bad listener.

Okay, I will finally get to the point of this post. Last night I made my specialty, prune muffins. Pretty much what happens is that I take Mark Bittman's basic muffin recipe from How To Cook Everything (my favorite book!) and jazz it up a bit. I used to spelt flour that I'd buy in bulk from the food co-op when I lived in Portland because I was a big ol' communist hippie back then. To the recipe, I added a half cup of walnuts, a half cup of prunes, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon. They turned out pretty good. I think it could convert a prune hater.


For some reason, Mort had access to my book and changed to the word "muffins" to "muffings." I asked him why he did it and he seemed just as confused as I was.


Whiter than North Dakota: Flour, baking soda, and sugar.


Diverse like California: added cloves, ginger, and cinnamon.


Wet ingredients.


All Done!