Last Night's Dinner

Would you believe I had completely forgotten that I know how to make chapati?

Seven years ago, a one-legged Fijian man with tatoos, an eye patch, and a gap-toothed grin taught me how to make Indian flatbread in a community kitchen in rural Kenya. (He later gave me a pink and purple bracelet and many a mournful gaze, so my rolling pin skills must have made an impression.) Chapati is simple and delicious but I haven't thought to make it in years.

Last night I had Kristen over so we could connect over bowls of leftover lentil barley soup. Whole-grain chapati was just the thing - the wheat and flax making it good and nutty, the oat flour keeping it soft, the coconut oil and honey complementing the spice-and-vinegar of the lentils. I'm glad I remembered that I have that skill. Pretty sure I still have the bracelet, too.

A Letter to the Fall

Dear October,

Could you please stay forever?
If you do, I promise I'll be good.

Sincerely,
Libby

[anything you want them to be] Muffins

I've been asked for the recipe for "my apple muffins" or "my maple muffins" or "my breakfast muffins." Fact is, it's the same recipe, a "nothin' naughty" stroke of genius that works for just about anything. I'm tired of looking the original up and remembering all my little tweaks every time I bake it, too, so here 'tis:

• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 lemon, juiced (about 2 tablespoons)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla*
• 2 cups whole grain flour (I always do part whole wheat, part oat. I grind oats in my coffee grinder, much like the Ingalls ground wheat in The Long Winter, except they did it by hand and I do it by electricity.)
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed*
• 1/4 cup whole oats*
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts*
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon*
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg*

*Approximate measurements, which is better than saying "a handful" or "a generous shaking."

Mix dry ingredients. Separately, mix wet ingredients. Make a hollow in the dry ingredients and pour in wet ingredients. Stir only until blended. (Don't overstir!)

Makes about 2 dozen. Bake at 350 for 12-20 minutes (sorry, can't remember how long it takes).

These puppies are moist, aromatic, and incredibly delicious. I almost always make a streusel topping of oats, walnuts, cinnamon, and honey that I sprinkle on before baking. If I'm lazy (or out of oats) I drizzle honey on top and sprinkle it with cinnamon.

I've made these with apples, which is yummy. I've made breakfast muffins with carrots, apples, and dates. I've made blueberry ginger muffins that I served with a spiced honey butter. I've made them with 1/2 cup of honey instead of the maple syrup. I'm guessing you could do just about anything with this recipe. I want to try pumpkin, and a savory muffin with garlic and onion and celery and some kind of seed. This afternoon I'll be making blueberry pecan muffins.

Most muffins are tricksters. They call themselves muffins to fool you into purchasing them as a healthy alternative to cookies or doughnuts when they're actually loaded with bad-for-you ingredients. But not my muffins! And they're still packed with flavor. Try for yourself!

Doing It Myself

I've been following a lot of Do-It-Yourself blogs lately, largely due to a recent quest to eat right, to avoid buying what I could make myself, and to use natural alternatives to standard chemical-ridden products. It's about stewardship -- of my money, my health, and God's creation. It also gives me wicked bragging rights.

These DIY women, though -- and they're all women, it seems -- punch holes in my smugness balloon. I can feel pretty good about tweaking recipes to make them good for you until I read posts about grinding your own flour and soaking your grains for 24 hours. (Like I know I'm going to bake something a day in advance!) DIY Women always have obscure herbs and various essential oils on hand, and loads of time to drive to farms to buy raw milk and then make it into butter and yogurt.

Reading DIY blogs has brought up a few questions I'd like to ask the DIY Women:

1. Is there anything that baking soda cannot do?
2. It seems that you all love the scent of lavendar. Why on earth?
3. Do you actually exist in human form or are you some kind of bread-dough-kneading, homeschooling, food-preserving superbeings with internal natural remedy encyclopedias?

I'm brought back from DIY despair by the reminder that I work a full-time job outside of my home, besides living in a community that I invest a lot of energy into. I don't have to be a DIY Woman. I don't have to drink the koolaid kefir flavored with natural juices from fruit trees cultivated in my backyard. I can do things my way.

Today's run...

... as well as Monday's, took place beneath the stars early this morning. Strength training was included. Just started a fitness camp with other members of my community, and we're all having a love-hate relationship with it. Typically, we hate it until it's over, and then we love the fact we did it, and then we walk around bowlegged like cowboys and hate it again.

You often hear people say that a workout made them painfully aware of muscles they never knew they had. That's silly. I had a very good health teacher in 5th grade and learned all the Latin names of all the muscles. I may not remember all of them, but at one point, I did know that I had them. I am currently painfully aware of their existence.

Fitness camp lasts a month, and although I'll keep running throughout and afterwards I won't be regularly blogging about it anymore, because the only thing more boring than my molasses jogs is reading about them.

Happiness is...

...contagious laughter, babies who snuggle, reminders of the Gospel, Sunday afternoon walks, and the particular shade of blue of an October sky.

Today's run...

...was long overdue.

It was overdue because it had been sixteen days since I'd gone running (last Thursday's attempt being too piddling to mention).

It was also overdue because I finally overcame the Exercise Equipment Phobia that has prevented cold-weather consistency throughout my running career.

That's right: I conquered the running-to-nowhere machine.

I logged only two miles but increased my pace by more than two minutes. And now I'll join the throngs of latecomers who won't stop raving about the bandwagon to those who jumped on it long before. Beyond the practicalities of ensuring a steady pace and keeping track of the time, there are mirrors! accessible bathrooms! security! day-and-night, rain-or-shine availability! the privacy (having my apartment's little weight room to myself) to play music out loud, even sing along! My life will never be the same.

Tune in next week for my enthusiasm over other bright ideas like Facebook (I never dreamed I'd reconnect with so many old friends -- and even see pictures of their babies!), GPS (no more phoning friends for directions for me!), and Google (why, you can find out anything you wish to know! Just type in your query and poke the "Search" button and up pops the Internet!)

Today's run...

...took me past a sign for Tangley Lane. Isn't that a good name for a street? It reminded me of getting my hair brushed as a kid. So did my three-mile jog, actually -- an it-hurts-but-it'll-be-over-soon experience.

The only difference? Instead of a pretty ponytail on the other end of it, I got sore muscles and a sweaty face and the satisfaction of knowing that I didn't give up.