Monday Muffin Madness & Groundhog Day?

Yep - it's Groundhog Day 2009. This has got to be one of the craziest holidays ever; unlike "Hershey Day" or "Hug Your Wife Day" - both of which I like very much. I've never been one for silly superstitions, I guess.


But, since it's Monday, I think it's time for some Monday Madness. Mondays around here are pretty hard. Nick can't wrap his head around the idea of actually having to do some schoolwork. I can't either (ha-ha). We did science: read about magnets and played (did experiments) with them, most of the morning. Now, to do some math - that will make Nicolas "mad" for certain. ((sigh)) Homeschooling is crazy (mad) at times. I mean, why would I keep them here, when I could send them away and be all alone in peace in and quiet - no squabbling or messes? No way to explain things that they don't understand or answer their little questions about God and the "mad" world they live in? No way to know who and what is influencing their thinking, and therefore their opinions, preferences and personalities? No way to get dozens of hugs and kisses... Yeah - I would be mad to send them away. But - there are some "mad" things in the air lately.

Besides giant rodents seeing shadows... Babies! Not in the air, but - in a mom's group I attend; they're everywhere and more in the forecast. Pregnant, blooming, glowing and beautiful women with belly-bumps. It's awesome when other people are pregnant - and not me. Think about it for a minute... What an amazing thing: to sustain, nourish and give life. On the flip-side, I know these weary preggo women are looking forward to their heartburn and backaches ending soon. Poor things... I so remember! Who can forget? Even a 90-year-old woman can remember her pregnancy and childbirth. It's quite the event and although I claim that men have it easy in regards to their physical bodies and all that they DON'T have to go through, they all miss the precious little hands moving around inside of them. Oh - and the feelings... of when a baby has the hiccups... honestly, God made those moments extra special or we would never go through having a baby more than once.

Unemployment is in the air. It's crazy that so many people are looking for employment, including Hubs. He's been looking since July, actually. Yeah - it's "mad" that there's so much competition and that stores are closing, at least in our town. So, we have homeschooling, pregnant mommies everywhere, unemployment rates and... oh - autism and related disorders. Yep - pretty "mad".

Autism is crazy. There were days before we went GF-CF, that I thought I was going mad. In all seriousness, it made me wonder what I was made of. Dealing with a "mad" child and all that went with it, it reduced me to my lowest point of human something - I can't even use the word "dignity" - because there was none in me. I can remember thinking, "Something is so wrong here! This is all just so not right!". (Hey - who says I have to be grammatically correct when I am stressed out?)

Moving right along... let's get to the good part: M U F F I N S !

Today is a day of victory! Finally, a muffin recipe that looks good, tastes good, has texture, flavor and that Nicolas likes! Oh happy day... I'm going to post it below, in case I forget where (of the 10 gluten-free cookbooks I have borrowed from the library) this came from. Plus - I did do a bit of altering.

Taken from page 142
Sugar Free Muffins

1 cup GF flour mix (potato, tapioca, garbanzo bean & fava bean flours)

½ tsp guar gum

2 tsp aluminum free baking powder

1 tsp GF cinnamon

2 tsp organic agave nectar

3 Tbsp canola oil

1 egg

½ tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp rice milk

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix dry ingredients together and sift. In separate bowl, mix wet ingredients together, stir until blended – add to the dry mixture. It will be thick. Fill 2/3 full or divide evenly in lined 6-muffin pan.

Short bake time, around 6-8 minutes. (Use a timer, just in case the phone rings!)

Nick's GF-CF-SF Muffins!