Tuesday, January 18, 2011

{TWD} Lemon Poppyseed Muffins - Guest Post

Earlier this month my oven suddenly failed. I quickly ordered a new one and arranged a delivery date. Then we had 6 inches of snow, followed by too-cold-to-melt-things temperatures, making delivery impossible. It has finally thawed around here and my new oven is scheduled to arrive at dusk this evening, that is, after I could photograph the muffins. I was faced with the prospect of a missed or delayed Tuesdays With Dorie posting, but luckily my daughter Allison, previously known here as A.L.E., agreed to bake and photograph the muffins and write a post for me.

Allison is an artist, writer, entrepreneur, and cook/baker. She chronicles it all on her blog, Friends and Hammers. I'm her mom, so I'm biased, but any time I need a smile or a laugh I head over to her blog.

Here's her post:



My mom asked if I could bake these lemon poppy seed muffins for her, since she's in oven limbo right now and, while you can fry an egg on the sidewalk in Atlanta in the summer, you can't bake muffins on the sidewalk in Atlanta in the winter.

They're super easy and I could do the (few) dishes as I went along. I had all the ingredients except for sour cream, so I used yogurt. You'll notice that my poppy seeds were seriously antique, and I didn't taste them beforehand per Dorie's recommendation, but they were fine.


Best of all, we had guests staying over last night and I was able to greet them with a big basket of baked goods. I like to be able welcome guests with food, especially if they're coming in from a road trip. (I think I get that from my mother!) My usual "impress visitors with minimal effort" standby is Dorie's Swedish Visiting Cake, but these muffins might just become my alternate.

the verdict:

Guests loved the muffins. Roommates loved the muffins. I loved the muffins. They were like fluffy muffin-shaped clouds of perfect lemon flavor.


The muffins were chosen for TWD this week by Betsy, of the blog A Cup of Sweetness, who has posted the recipe here.

15 comments:

Jessica of My Baking Heart said...

They look wonderful! Yay for Allison saving the day! :)

TIA @ buttercreambarbie said...

great job with the muffins! and your guests must've been thrilled with them.

Pamela said...

Sounds like the muffins were an all around success!!

Nickki said...

So glad the muffins were a success! Good for Alison :-)

Flourchild said...

SOrry abou the oven and all the stress there...but nice your daughter came and saved the day. The muffins are rockin!

cocoa and coconut said...

Well hello to Allison. I enjoyed reading this guest post. I'm sure your guests loved them. They look golden and tender...

Welcome to our crazy blessed life said...

My go to is Swedish Visiting Cake as well. :) Fun guest post, nice job Allison!

dorie said...

Oven limbo for your mom, who's such a great baker and cook, must be really, really tough. It's wonderful that you jumped in and baked and blogged for her. Love your line about being able to fry and egg on the sidewalk in Atlanta in the summer, but ...

dharmagirl said...

hooray, allison, for baking and photo-ing and posting! your muffins look just lovely:)

Di said...

Great guest post! I can't wait to hear how you like your new oven, too. =)

Leslie said...

Being without an oven would be like being without an arm, so I'm glad you have one lined up, as soon as the weather cooperates. But at least it gave us a chance to ready Allison's post and her guests something tasty to enjoy after their road trip!

B said...

Thanks for baking with me this week. Or thank your daughter for me. They look delicious!

Mary said...

Hello ALE...great post and you have a great mom.

TeaLady said...

Allison, this was a great post. Nancy, you have a great daughter there, to bake AND post for you is awesome. But then, she IS your daughter.

Muffins were a hit - that's always a good sign.

Kayte said...

Great muffins, ALE...and I love your blog as well...have been a faithful reader for a bit now and your mom is right, when I need a smile, an interesting and creative viewpoint, and to live a bit vicariously, Friends & Hammers is a great place to land. Very fun. I so want to make those pickled onions and carrots. Soon, very soon.