Settling up some IOU's

Ever notice how relatively small things that you promise people (or yourself) can start to snowball into a long list of stuff that somehow never got done?

Yeah, me too.  Well today's post is an attempt to try to do some catching up...

First off, a special little girl asked her abba to send me an email requesting more pictures of the dogs. 

It's not nice to keep a young lady waiting, so here you go TT (ask your abba to click the pictures to make them bigger):

It's hard to tell since they are both black, but this first one is of Jordan sharing her bed with Lulu for an afternoon nap.

Next is a picture of Yonah in doggy heaven:

And one more in case you wanted to see his happy face:

OK, that scratches one item off the list.

Next... there were several requests for the cornbread muffin recipe. 

I had to do some thinking about this one since I try to be careful about posting copyrighted material on my site without the owner's permission.  You see, the recipe I used is from a wonderful cookbook devoted entirely to muffins. 

What I've decided to do is post this one recipe along with a few links to a few sites where you can purchase the whole book (new or used) if you are so inclined.  This may or may not satisfy the letter of the law... but it's enough to let me share the recipe with a clear conscience:

Mad About Muffins: A Cookbook for Muffin Lovers
Recipes by Dot Vartan
Illustrations by Shelly Reeves Smith [Zahava's note: book is GORGEOUS!]
Publisher: Andrew McMeel Publishing

You can buy it here, here or you can find some great bargains on it used here.

Sweet Corn
1 1/4 c all purpose flour [Zahava's note: Bogner clan uses 70% whole wheat/30% all purpose]
3/4 c yellow corn meal
1/2 rounded tsp salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/3 c granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk (Zahava's note: we sometimes substitute buttermilk, yum!)
1/4 corn oil (Zahava's note: we use canola oil)

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees (Fahrenheit/that’s 200 degrees for our Celsius friends). Combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl. Lightly beat the egg in a small bowl. Add milk and oil to the egg and stir well. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and blend the ingredients. Fill greased muffin tins (do not grease pan if you use a silicone pan like we do!).

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Serve warm. Makes one dozen muffins.

Zahava's note to treppenwitz readers: This book contains a ton of fabulous, easy to make, and very creative muffin recipes! I have not been disappointed by even one of the many I have tried... And I have tried quite a few, including: Cinnamon; Butternut Squash; Pear Cardomom (a favorite!); Prune Nut; Oatmeal Applesauce; Orange Chocolate; Fudge; Mint Chocolate Chip; Peanut butter Chocolate; Mocha Chocolate Chip; and Lemon Coconut; and I haven’t even tried a third of the book!

David's note:  This recipe is truly idiot proof.  This is demonstrably true since I was able to pull it off (with the able assistance of my 12 year old son), and the results lived up to Zahava's exacting culinary standards! 

Last (but not least) for today are a couple of huge thank you's to fellow bloggers/treppenwitz readers for gifts above and beyond the call...: 

Completely independent of one another two lovely women came to the conclusion that I looked a tad malnourished (hah!) and decided to send me (ok, my family too) some Girl Scout cookies.   So here is a huge shout out and thank you to both Orieyenta and Jaime.    Just one question: Does this make me look fat?

Anyway, I think I've whittled down the list enough for one day.  Thanks to everyone for your patience... if I've promised you something (yes you, NRG) I hope to deal with it in the next few days.