Recipes Gone Wild

While flipping through Twitter during my lunch break this week I came across this article/recipe from Greenpointers.com. Greenpoint, Brooklyn is actually closer to our old neighborhood, Long Island City, Queens, than our new one in Brooklyn. While living in LIC I loved running over the Polaski Bridge, taking in the views of the NYC skyline and Welcome to Brooklyn sign, into Greenpoint, Brooklyn and then back to LIC, Queens. I hear Greenpoint has recently experienced a surge of young people (and the gentrification that comes with them) thanks to the HBO show Girls that is said to be set in Greenpoint.

Anyway, considering our own recent squirrel-in-bird-feeder incident and Jen's love of baking, this article seemed to hit home with us. The muffins sound right up our ally too. We haven't made them yet but plan to and we'll let you know how they turn out...

Posted by Libby V
The other day I got an alarming series of texts from my friend Camille. She had just baked a batch of muffins, cooled them, and set them on the countertop in ziploc bags while she stepped out to run some errands. Upon returning home, she entered her kitchen and glanced around. Something was wrong. Granola crumbs littered the floor. She heard a rustling, and surveyed the room. It was then that she locked eyes with her intruder— a fat squirrel, having entered through the open window, now huddled under the kitchen table, seemingly trying to calculate the probability of successfully dragging a Ziploc baggy full of muffins and a package of sprouted chia-goji berry granola out the window without being eaten/killed/captured and/or losing his loot.

After a tense moment of deliberation, the squirrel decided none of it was worth risking his life (maybe scones, or croissants, but not muffins), and the li’l’ guy dropped his bounty and darted back out the window. Camille stood in the crumby aftermath, stunned. Of course Greenpoint squirrels want to munch on whole-grain muffins and sprouted chia seed-goji berry muesli. It’s a wonder Mr. Squirrel wasn’t doing a juice cleanse, or perhaps he was trying to squeeze in a grain binge before an upcoming detox. Camille was only more stunned to find him BACK on her windowsill a few days later as she ate her morning toast at the kitchen table, his paw pressed against the glass as though to say…Hey pretty lady, you got any more muffins?

Hey—Squirrel’s gotta look out for number one. Winter’s coming, and if you’re a forager (like our neighbor, Mr. Squirrel) you know it’s time to store a little extra energy for keeping warm. It’s also time to turn on the oven and make your home smell like toasted wheat. I asked Camille to share the recipe that Fats Squirlio couldn’t resist. A timeless classic in the world of muffinology—The Morning Glory Muffin. We used to get these at the grocery store all the time when I was a kid. Much like carrot cake, these muffins are a sweet and irresistible treat, but also have some real nutritional goodness, like vitamins A and C (thanks to the carrots, apple, and OJ). She found her recipe in the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Book. If you make them, then you can share them with friends, or squirrels, or squirrely friends. Whatever you want. They’re your muffins! 


(Squirrely) Morning Glory Muffins
Makes one dozen

Ingredients:
1/2 cup raisins
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour (or a 50/50 mix of white and wheat if you want them a little less hearty)
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups peeled and grated carrots 1 large tart apple, peeled, cored, and grated (or leave the peel on; your choice)
1/2 cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup sunflower seeds or wheat germ, optional
3 large eggs
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup orange juice

Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin, or line it with papers and spray the insides of the papers.
2) In a small bowl, cover the raisins with hot water, and set them aside to soak while you assemble the rest of the recipe.
3) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, spices, and salt.
4) Stir in the carrots, apple, coconut, nuts, and sunflower seeds or wheat germ.
5) In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and orange juice.
6) Add to the flour mixture, and stir until evenly moistened.
7) Drain the raisins and stir them in.
8) Divide the batter among the wells of the prepared pan (they’ll be full almost to the top).
9) Bake the muffins for 25 to 28 minutes, until they’re nicely domed and a cake tester inserted in the center of one of the inner muffins comes out clean.
10) Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes in their pan on a rack, then turn out of pans to finish cooling. Wrap any leftovers airtight, and store at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.

About Libby V Libby VanderPloeg lives and makes work in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. She grew up in Michigan on the edge of the Great Lakes dunes, and has lived in Chicago, New York, and Stockholm. Her work comes out of her deep affinity for storytelling, music, letterforms, printed ephemera, and wildlife. None of these works could have been made without the world's finest brioche and several good, strong cups of coffee.

POTted Plants

Good news folks, I passed my physical therapy board exam! The actual score report won't be released until sometime next week but, for mental health sake, they posted a pass/fail note to the website this weekend. Well mine said pass, PTL. Don't stop praying though, I need a job now. :)

In other good news, the air quality in and around our apartment has improved lately. We had a few theories regarding what brought on the change, but I think we may have found our answer...

The Queens Courier reports: The NYPD busted a pot growing operation in Long Island City on Tuesday, recovering plants, lamps and growing equipment from inside of 11-27 44th Road, said police. Five people were arrested and more than 1,000 marijuana plants were seized, according to Fox New York. 

Upon looking up the address Jen realized this operation was just a few blocks from our apartment. Could it be related? I think so. Good riddance!

Speed Walking

Why does it seem to rain or snow when you most need it not to? For me it’s almost every time I have to trek to school across LIC, get groceries, or do laundry. There’s nothing quite like having your warm, dry laundry re-wet on your walk home after spending a few bucks and waiting half an hour for the dryer to do its thing. To be fair though, this is a very wet place to live and running those pesky errands is a weekly occurrence. I shouldn’t complain.

Through a few winters here, I have learned that even in mid March it’s not uncommon to get a late winter snow storm and the arctic temperatures that follow. This was the case on Friday. Friday began as a typical cold, late winter day of average gloominess. But after racking my brain with my study group for a few hours in the afternoon, I exited the college doors to find a different world awaiting me. The snow and sleet were coming down heavy and sideways. Of course I had no boots, umbrella, or even a hood to throw over me. It was me versus Mother Nature for the 20 minute walk home.

If you think I walk fast as it is, you should see me in inclement weather. On my way I hurried past people walking leisurely down the sidewalk and through crowds waiting in line at food trucks along the curb. What is wrong with these people? Aren’t they getting cold and wet? The snow and freezing rain didn’t seem to register with a certain production company either, because with just a couple more blocks to go, I sped right through some film set. “Hey, um, sir, can you please cross the street,” they requested. But it was too late, I was too fast. I also got a text from my brother at this moment asking how things were. For whatever reason I could only think to respond with, "I feel like I live in Russia." This got him on a rant about the Russian mob, fallen USSR, and singing their national anthem, not surprisingly if you know him. 

Making it home and walking into a warm, cozy apartment after a walk like that is priceless… until I realize Pup needs to go out. I guess there’s quite a bit of Florida blood left in me. I hate to be cold.

The next day they were still filming, and this time I did cross the street and go around. Taped to a lamp post, the location permit stated the filming was for a TV pilot of a show called The Tomorrow People. So keep your eyes peeled during that one, I might be in it. 

Is LIC Right for The Rexrodes?

To say apartment hunting in New York City is daunting would be an understatement. It doesn't help that there's supposedly an apartment shortage right now which I assume will only drive prices higher. As the end of our lease in our first City apartment quickly approaches, I find myself wondering if LIC is the right neighborhood for the Rexrodes. It has certainly served us well in the past, but it lacks many of the attributes we look for in a neighborhood. And judging by the direction it's moving, it may soon become even less "us."

Some of the good: For one, the location could not have been better for us over the past few years. It was so close to the college I attended (but not anymore because I graduated!) that I could bike there in eight minutes. Also, being one stop from Manhattan by way of three different (subway) train lines that are within walking distance is something very few 'hoods can claim. We have great restaurants, a beautiful East River-front park, an amazing skyline view, and it's an overall safe place to live.

Some of the bad: There are no good grocery stores. This is a big deal if you prefer not to eat out or order in most nights. One option is to shop at Food Cellar where, while listening to the best of Sinatra, you can expect to pay $10 for a carton of organic, cage-free eggs with the picture, birth date, and favorite color of the hen that laid them. No thanks. A second option for groceries in the 'hood is Key Foods. The "new management" of this fine establishment hasn't done much in terms of the subtle mold/cat pee smell, crowded aisles, or registers that magically only ring up sale prices when sternly requested. You get the point. Moving on. There is no shopping and no public gyms, another big one for us.

When we moved here I was told by a very snotty broker that we would never find a one bedroom in our price range. Well we obviously did, but the sad thing is I don't think it would be possible in LIC today. The average price for a one bedroom seems to be quickly approaching $2500 a month, with some paying much more on the water. At some point we have to ask ourselves if it's even ethical. Would Jesus sign this lease?

And, the ugly:
Our apartment is no beauty, but at least we don't pay a "luxury" price for ugly. LIC has many uninspiring new residential buildings, most resembling giant stainless steel refrigerators, but a few reach new lows in the looks department. This neighborhood gem, L Haus is so ugly that people think that its yellow/green surface is insulation that hasn't been covered. The building recently sold out (I don't understand how) and I read that in response to the news someone asked, "How could it be sold out, it's not even finished yet?" Lol. Oh, but it is, and at 30% markup from last year.

Luxury comes at a price, no matter how it looks I guess. The cost of a first class ticket on the Titanic was about $70,000 (in today's equivalent) and we all know how that turned out...

P.S. This was written in a fury and my editor is asleep (in my bed! :O) so I apologize if it's messy.