We were in the middle of turning our last batch of apples into apple sauce, when I realized we hadn't used our apples for anything else but snacks and apple sauce. I decided I needed to create something else. I wasn't in the mood for making pie crust and as you may have noticed, I'm on a muffin trip anyway. I quickly found a recipe for apple muffins that had everything I was looking for: whole wheat flour, raw apples, no sugar (she used honey instead), yoghurt. I love when a recipe turns out exactly the way I had imagined. This one is definitely a keeper. The only thing I changed is to cut the amount for the topping in half. Plenty for my taste. Here's the link to the original recipe: http://www.texanerin.com/2014/09/100-whole-grain-cinnamon-apple-muffins.html.
Our very last apples of the season are not the prettiest, I know, with all the dents and bruises, and the occasional worm, but that made them perfect for baking.
I didn't take any pictures during the process this time as I usually do, but I surprised myself when I was still super organized and prepped everything before I got started. My cooking style is usually not the most organized; some might even call it messy. I don't usually mind, it's what's always worked for me and since I rarely follow a recipe and don't even know where I'm going when I start sautéing onions, it doesn't quite make sense for me. It's different with baking though, and I'm learning to appreciate the idea of mise en place. Taking pictures for this blog while I'm baking has forced me to slow things down and get everything measured and organized before mixing ingredients. It feels a lot more structured and I feel like I don't have to look at the recipe every two seconds to make sure I get it right. Plus, I'm left with a lot smaller mess after I'm all done. Win!
Anyway, this is how my apple muffins turned out. They tasted wonderful and only lasted a couple of days. The topping added just the perfect amount of sweetness, but you could totally leave it off completely.
Notice how I not only stole The Texanerin's recipe but also her idea for the pictures? I've been enjoying playing with my camera for this blog and it's so much easier to practice with muffins than with a one year old. The only problem is that I usually do all of this when it's already dark out so I don't get a whole lot of natural light. I've been paying so much more attention to pictures on blogs since I started writing and am using other blogger's photographs as inspiration.
I'm sure (or at least I hope) you notice a difference in the pictures I've included in this blog post compared to my earlier ones (this one for example). I started to explore the basics of photo editing, and by that I don't mean using the effects button on my photo app on my cell phone. I wanted to get a feel for what I can do, how difficult it is, and if I would actually use it regularly before buying expensive software. So I did some research and opted for an online version for now. I used PicMonkey and I'm impressed with how easy it was to use and how much better my pictures look after some minor (or sometimes not so minor) editing. I used to think photo editing was cheating, but let's be honest, my photography skills aren't even close to being that great that I can manage to get the perfect lighting and exposure. So I decided I would focus on the composition of the picture and let a photo editor help me bring out the best in them. And I think it's worth it.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment