by special request....the carrot

   i adore carrots. really, i could LIVE on them. as a testimony, i also have 20/25 vision- i have to intentionally fail eye exams to qualify for glasses, because i love them... once when i was in the 8th grade, our dear family friend, who is a dermatologist, gave me a gamma gobulin shot because the soles of my feet & my palms were turning ORANGE- which is just one over on the color chart from yellow-the color of hepatitis...granted, our neighborhood grocery store had just caused an outbreak of hepatitis (which i know everyone in my hometown remembers-you remember, don't you, 1978?)  so we were on heightened alert......i never got hepatitis- just a little vitamin A overdose. (and a huge shot)... vitamin A-fat soluble-who knew?
   as well as being potentially toxic, carrots are extremely versatile. we love them steamed, in stir fry, added to a sunday pot roast, glazed with brown sugar, orange juice & butter, raw with dip or hummus, shredded in a big salad....but i don't need to sing the virtues of carrots- you know all about them- chances are you've been eating them in some form or another since you were 4 months old.
   the short history of this little blogging adventure, though, reminds me that i tend to gravitate toward baking. this coupled with the carrot thing naturally brings to mind carrot cake. unfortunately, though i love it & have a number of good recipes, i can't make it. it always sinks. and has strange texture. fortunately, my mom & my sisters make it very well (we'll talk banana bread sometime soon, too) . so do a lot of bakeries, so i don't spend much time worrying about it. maybe someday i can figure it out. until then , i will enjoy someone else's...
   many years ago at a bed & breakfast in colorado springs, i fell in love with these muffins  AND i can make them. they are made with carrots. and a lot of other things. good use of a vegetable, huh?

*morning glory muffins*
2 cups flour- may use 1/2 whole wheat/ 1/2 white
1 1/4 cups sugar ( you healthy types can substitute 1/2 apple sauce)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1 1/2 cups shredded apples
1/4 cup raisins (if desired or not feeding these to children who may think they're gross & pick them out)
1/2 nuts (optional* i don't care for nuts baked into muffins or bread- i think they're gross & pick them out)
3 beaten eggs
1 cup oil (or again, use 1/2 applesauce- & rename them "applesauce glory muffins")
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup coconut, if desired or 1/2 cup drained crushed pineapple, if you have some

combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt & cinnamon in a mixing bowl. in another bowl, mix up the carrots, apples, and *optional nuts & raisins, coconut & pineapple. mix in the eggs, oil & vanilla. pour this mixture into the dry ingredients & combine thoroughly. fill muffin cups 2/3 full & bake at 350* for about 18-20 minutes.... these make a great snack or quick breakfast on the way out the door......football players like them, too:)

   -the snackmom