I often think about muffins because making them has become part of my weekly routine. I try to fit in making a batch two – three times a week. I first began making them at least 30 years ago, along with loaves and cakes. Now I don’t have time for the others, and I don’t need the calories, so muffins are my baking focus. They are a quick, reasonably healthy snack for my sons and my mother, they don’t take long to prepare, and they freeze very well: doing the bird thing. I usually have a variety in the freezer.

Lately, for some recipes, I’ve been chopping up a handful of dried cranberries and tossing them in at the end. Big hit with my sons and my mother, so it’s a keeper. Finally, as you can see from the photo, I increasingly sacrifice quantity for quality. I like to see and eat tall, rounded muffin tops.

If you want to know how I get my muffins to look like this, let me know and I will post about my strategies developed over the years. – Maria

Rise from the water. Bloom out of the darkness. Radiate into the world.

street artist

I saw this beautiful graffiti in Kensington Market yesterday and it spoke to me. It’s time for us to see our strengths and to build on them. Let them shine. Let them grow. Let people see them. Celebrate our strengths. Share our strengths. Be our selves, fully.

Thank you to the artist who drew this. I am grateful. – Cris

Onion rings. One of my favoutite street-style foods. I bought them here in Kensington Market in Toronto. I’ve enjoyed onion rings for as long as I can remember. These were particularly good because they were not greasy, the batter was delicious and the onions were tasty. In the summer I am going back for more, and a strawberry shake.

I saw this recipe online a few weeks ago and I would love to try making my own onion rings. The post has a dipping sauce that looks like it’s tasty.

Do you like your rings with a sauce or without? Let me know in the comments. – Cris

This is me. Looking rock ‘n roll!

I was strolling around the Market and decided to try on some John Lennon inspired sunglasses.

Should I have bought a pair? Let me know in the comments: yes or no. – Cris

Do you like to iron? I know that many people don’t like it and have strategies for avoiding it. I like it: the freshly-ironed smell, the wrinkle-free smoothness, the care and link to tradition passed down by my aunts. I am fussy about how linens and towels should be folded and organized in the linen closet.

These are my mother’s linens. Her house is dryer-free. She doesn’t care much if they’re ironed, but I do it because I need to maintain some standards, and I enjoy doing it. Maybe I need some things to stay the same and it is another way of showing that I care. I bring home what needs to be ironed because I really like my iron. It is a T-fal, which I’ve had for many years. My strategy for iron longevity is to empty out the tap water as soon as I’ve finished ironing. Works for me!

By the way, the blue-flowered flannel is a fitted sheet. Does anyone have a strategy for folding them flat? They drive me crazy. – Maria

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