We wrapped ourselves up in blankets and discussed exotic fruits, slaughtering chickens, CSA distributions, and the ninja deer who ate the remaning snow-covered kale.

Yes, ninja deer.

And we ate some muffins.

Shredding carrots is obnoxious. I recommend using a mini-prep or food chopper to do the job. We have a mini-prep, but I’ve discovered that my stick blender’s chopper attachment does an equal if not better job, takes up less counter space, and is easier to clean. Anyone in the Portland area want our old mini-prep?

Carrot-Oat Muffins

Wet ingredients:
2 c. shredded carrots
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 c. canola oil
3/4 c. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Dry ingredients:
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c. rolled oats
1/4 c. oat bran
1/4 c. ground flaxseed
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 T. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and spray oil a muffin tin.

In a large bowl, mix together all of the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Pour dry on top of wet, and stir until just combined, being careful not to overmi. It will seem wetter than muffin batters you might be used to.

Spoon the batter into 12 muffin cups. Bake for 22-25 minutes, until puffed and golden brown, and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack, and feed to your favorite farmer.

What to do?

Muffins, of course. I could eat breakfast muffins for days, and variations are infinite. I was out of eggs, but I did have a box of Ener-G Egg Replacer in the cupboard. I’ve used it in the past when cooking for vegans or those with an egg allergy, but I’ve never used it just because I had no eggs.

Surprisingly, these were good. They didn’t have the gummy, floppy texture that I often associate with baked goods made with egg replacer — I suspect the flax and whole wheat flour helped.

Early Morning Eggless Pumpkin Raisin Muffins

3/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 c. ground flaxseed
2 tsp. Ener-G egg replacer (or 1 egg, slightly beaten, if that’s what you prefer)
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. canned pumpkin
1/4 c. butter, melted and cooled
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. raisins

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Spray oil a muffin tin. Mix dry ingredients (flour through egg replacer) in one bowl, and wet ingredients (milk through maple syrup) in another. Pour wet into dry, stir to combine, and stir in raisins.

Divide batter among 12 muffin cups. Bake 18-20 minutes, until muffins are slightly browned and spring back when touched. Cool briefly in the muffin tin, then on a wire rack.

It took us over an hour and a half to get both of our cars out, and we didn’t even really have to shovel too much. Of course, some of that time was spent helping other folks with a shovel, a push, or both.

Our downstairs neighbor, poor guy, parked in the driveway. He’s completely plowed in. He’s out there now, hacking at the thick layer of ice-on-snow with a pickaxe. He’ll be out there for a while. I’ll be surprised if he manages to get his car out by noon.

We got eight inches in Portland. Eight inches of powder would not be so bad, but these are eight sleety, icy, frozen inches.

From this morning’s Sunrise Herald:

Wind chill is too generous. It should be called wind freeze today. It is wicked out there, blowing easily at 20 mph with 40 mph gusts. The snow, meanwhile, has moved on, but in its place is the wind, which should be blowing all day.

Highs expected in the 20s, but you won’t know it. Sun comes out, but you won’t feel it. Keep as little skin exposed as possible, and keep the tots bundled when they go sledding. Skin can get frostbitten within minutes in these temps.

[...]

Most schools at 8 a.m. were reporting delays rather than closures. And if your town has a street, there is more than likely a parking ban.

We came in after our morning’s effort and I made us some coffee and a big pot of cheese grits. I’d found them in the bulk aisle at Whole Foods for 99 cents, much cheaper than in a box. (Though if you’re strapped, you can buy them on Amazon.) Grits are an easy savory breakfast — 1 part grits to 4 parts water, a pinch of salt, and five minutes of stirring.

Cheese Grits
Serves 2–4
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Whisk in 1/2 c. quick-cooking grits and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to a simmer, and allow to simmer until thick, about five minutes. Add in about 1/2 c. Monterey Jack cheese. Dish out into bowls and top with butter pats.

Cheese grits are warm, satisfying, and perfect for a post-shoveling breakfast.

An Englishman and a Scotsman were discussing oats. The Englishman, with his nose in the air said “In England, we feed oats to our horses, and in Scotland you feed oats to your men.”

The Scotsman replied, “That’s why in England you have such fine horses and in Scotland we have such fine men!”

I grew up eating the instant oatmeal from packets. Mix with boiling water, and in sixty seconds it sets up into healthy, delicious wallpaper paste. One time, eating breakfast in the car as usual, I sneezed. Strawberries-and-cream wallpaper paste wound up all over the windshield. Ew.

Even regular rolled oats would have been better. But a few years ago, a friend introduced me to steel-cut oats, and I was sold. They cook up to a nice chewy texture, with a nuttier flavor than regular rolled oats. But no matter how you eat ‘em, oats are a healthy, filling, frugal way to start the day.

We used to buy McCann’s Steel Cut Oatmeal in the big tins, but that is a habit that gets expensive quickly. These days, we buy our steel-cut oats in bulk, which is much cheaper and (I think) tastes just as good.

There’s a thousand ways to cook oats. You can make them in your slow cooker overnight, you can cook them with milk and buttermilk, you can cook them in the oven, you can even eat them cold. But my favorite way is the old-fashioned way, on the stovetop.

They don’t actually take that long to cook, even on a weekday. Put them on while you shower, and they’re ready to eat when you’re dressed. If you’re pressed for time, you could omit the toasting, and/or soak them in cold water overnight.

Steel-Cut Oats
makes 4 servings

Put 1 c. steel-cut oats into a saucier or pot, on the stovetop over medium heat. Toast the oats, stirring frequently, for about five minutes or just until fragrant. Add 4 c. water to the pot. Simmer for 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oats have thickened into a nice porridge.

I like mine with raisins, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and local Maine maple syrup. How about you?