Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Friday, October 31, 2014

Fall Ends ~ Blueberry Millet Muffins

Yesterday morning there was a layer of fog over the fields.  Kind of pretty and perfect for a Halloween-ie type photo.



 
Walking to the mailbox I discovered
the recent rain brought me another batch of parsley.  I quickly cut that, and got it in the dehydrator.  It's packed with goodness, so I was thrilled to get more stashed for winter.




If I am going to attempt to bring in my rosemary plants, I will have to do it today.  They are predicting snow Friday and temperatures in the low 20's.  

Five Minutes for Me ~  a cup of rosemary tea.  I simply brewed it with fresh sprigs.


Last week I placed an order to stock up on millet.  The company sent me a free box of organic brownie mix.  Youngest baked it up.  Delicious!

I also re-stocked my millet and discovered a Blueberry Millet Muffin recipe.  I am not a vegetarian, so I don't stock items such as potato starch or other starch to eliminate flour.  So. I adapted the recipe to what I had, and they turned out pretty good.





First, I had to grind my whole, raw millet into a flour (2 cups).  Then I mixed it with the dry ingredients:
 
½ cup organic all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg

I creamed the softened butter (real butter) with the brown sugar, before adding the remaining ingredients.


1 cup light brown sugar
½ cup butter, softened
3 eggs
½ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon extract

I lastly, stirred in 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries (that I stocked up on over summer).   I did use my homemade lemon and vanilla extracts for this.

Bake at 350°F for about 25-30 minutes in lined muffin pan.



The muffins have more of a nutty flavor than blueberry, but they were still good and hearty.


Give a Mom a Junk Drawer.....
 

....and she ends up making Christmas decorations using what she finds in the drawer.  I know, I know.  I couldn't help myself, and I hate throwing plastic in my garbage.  Oh, I'm already making another "thing" to share soon.  I had no business getting into a playing mode, but I was hit by the creative bug while decluttering.

Go over to S.C.R.A.P. Blogspot (link provided) to see more on what I created.

Last night one of the girls helped me put a few pieces of outdoor furniture in storage, and officially started stacking wood on the porch for winter heat.  Rain and possibly snow is in today's forecast, and I didn't want to be hauling in wood in the rain (or snow).

Have a good weekend and stay healthy and warm.



3 comments:

Patricia @ 9th and Denver said...

I love that you're so creative with the junk drawer!
Good for you.
I've never used millet. Your recipes sound interesting.
We have some wood cut and finally have a forecast of temps in the upper 30s over night lows... we'll be getting ready to haul some wood up then too.
Keep up the good work there on your homestead...

Sam I Am...... said...

Good for you on the re-purposing. I've been wanting to "chuck it all" and sit down and do something creative too.
I transplanted my herbs yesterday as we had freeze warnings but it never froze.
Your muffins turned out looking very delicious. I've not used millet before but nice to know I can use my food processor to make flour.
Take care and stay safe and dry and warm. Happy Halloween!

RB said...

Very cold weather headed our way tomorrow and into Monday, maybe longer. I also got the last of my parsley picked, cleaned, dried and into individual plastic bags in the freezer. To save money on plastic bags, I pack individual portions in cheap sandwich bags, then toss all those in the more expensive plastic freezer bags. It's more economical, and I often can use the more expensive freezer bags repeatedly doing it that way cause the cheap sandwich bags often keep contaminants from spreading to the more expensive bag.
God bless.
RB
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