Custodians of Beauty

These dull, gray and cold days of winter seem long and unending. Fortunately, our family was able to escape the dreariness and celebrate a birthday this month. For our daughter's second birthday we hosted a moose party themed after the cherished book,  If You Give a Moose a Muffin , by Laura Numeroff. My siblings and I grew up reading this funny story and listening to the book on tape. The silly tale is about a hungry moose who follows the smell of fresh muffins. He enters the house and asks the boy for a muffin, but this is just the beginning of many comical requests. The amusing complications that ensue will entertain youngsters (and adults).  Since I had such a hoot planning last year's caterpillar party , I was eager to start collecting/creating the decor for the moose party. The book was acquired (for free!) when I posted an "ISO" in the local Facebook sale page.  I'm hoping to do another post featuring this book with photos of the illustrations....

Taking a break from packing to bake some muffins! These are my ALL time favorite muffins to bake. Granted, I don't make very many muffins, but even if I did, this one would be at the top of the list. Don't let the avocado/blueberry combination scare you away! The avocado lends a subtle flavor and gives the muffin a delicious creaminess and the streusel adds a sweet crumble to the top. You can find the original recipe on Ali's Blog, Gimme Some Oven . Don't the photos of her baked goods make your mouth water? MMmm! Ok, so here's how my Blueberry Avocado muffins turned out. I altered her recipe slightly because I didn't have greek yogurt (I substituted with sour cream). Below is my revised recipe if you care to try it. The recipe yields a dozen muffins. Muffin Ingredients: 2 cups flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 ripe avocado, pitted and peeled 3/4 cup sugar 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 1/4 ...