Before Tuesday, if you'd told me I could make English muffins that are puffy, inviting and full of flavor, I might have said, ah, nahhhhh. I've made them in the past using a couple of different recipes to ok results. But not results good enough to make them on the regular. With the English Muffins…
I just can't seem to get on the pumpkin bandwagon this year. Everywhere you look, things have been pumpkin-ized. It's not new, Starbucks has done a pumpkin spice latte for years, I can remember 31 Flavors doing a pumpkin pie ice cream when I was a kid, but I must be spending too much time in the aisles at Trader Joe's, because I already have pumpkin fatigue. Pumpkin spice chai, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancake and waffle mix, pumpkin macarons, pumpkin yogurt, pumpkin cream cheese. Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin (Marsha, Marsha, Marsha)! And I know when you saw these muffins, you thought pumpkin, right? Nope. Sweet potato. Chipotle and cinnamon-scented sweet potato corn muffins.
I'm in the airport security line. Passengers are taking off their shoes and jackets, putting their laptops and liquids into bins for the x-ray machine. TSA employees are calling out reminders to remove belts and money from pockets. It was a morning flight, so in the bin along with my purse and toiletries, was my breakfast.
"Oh, I'm sorry, those muffins can't go through," says the TSA guy.
I take a beat, trying to figure out what he's talking about. Then I smile, "Oh, because they look too good, right?"Whenever I find myself in front of the pastry case at Starbucks, I can’t fool myself into thinking that the blueberry muffin is going to be a good idea…even when it’s at the airport, I’m headed on vacation and letting myself eat what I want.
