My Sprout and Strawberries

It's a historic day for America and the world.  If you're looking for a reflective and meaningful blog about such events, please click here.  I'm proud to call Martha my friend and I truly love her blog.

If you'd like to continue into Ginger's land of happiness and sprinkles, please read on:

So, spring is here and I'm loving every minute of it.  Except the tornadoes, not loving that, but mostly everything else.  Especially the flowers.  Here in Georgia, unlike California, there are flowers, flowers everywhere.  Random purple flowers line the highways.  And no trash, again unlike Calfornia, because of the $1,000-plus fines given to people who decide to litter on the highways.

And look at this pretty bloom I discovered recently:

For some reason, it seems that the kids tend to "grow like weeds" during the springtime. Is it all the sunshine and fresh air?  Not sure, but our clothing allowance is maxed because of all the new shoes and new clothes needed to keep up with our growing kiddos.

Another great thing about spring...STRAWBERRIES!! 

I came across this yummy recipe (in my People magazine of all places!) - see below - and tried it out.  Grant and I gobbled these up but my Miss Picky gave these the "sad face" rating.  Poor Sienna, she really doesn't like strawberries.  In fact, it was about this time last year she told Bill she'd rather have a spanking than eat a strawberry. 

The conversation went something like this:

Bill:  "Sienna, eat those now.  You have to try a bite."

Sienna gets up, grabs Bill's hand, looks him square in the eyes and says: "Let's go upstairs." Meaning, let's just get this spanking business over with because there is no way I'm going to eat those strawberries.

Man, I love that girl. 

Anyway, if you like strawberries, give this recipe a try.  Great for mid-week breakfast or as an addition to your next tea party.

Strawberries and Cream Mini Muffins

** a mini muffin pan is required (I used my Pampered Chef one, yay!)

1	cup strawberries, slightly under-ripe, diced into ¼" pieces
1	squeeze of lemon juice
1	cup flour
½	cup sugar
1	tsp baking powder
¼	cup vegetable oil
⅓	cup sour cream
1	tsp vanilla extract
1	large egg
1	tsp powdered sugar

1) Preheat oven to 400 deg. Line a 24-cup mini muffin tin with paper baking cups.

2) Put diced strawberries into a bowl, spritz lemon juice on them and stir gently to combine.

3) In a medium-size bowl, stir together flour, sugar and baking powder.

4) In a small bowl, beat together oil, sour cream, vanilla and egg. Pour mixture over dry ingredients, stirring to combine with a wooden spoon. Fold in strawberries.

5) Divide batter evenly among the paper cups in the mini-muffin tin. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

6) Place tin on a wire rack and leave for 5 minutes. Take out the muffins and continue cooling them in the paper cups on the wire rack. When the muffins are completely cool, place the powdered sugar in a small sieve. Shake sieve lightly to dust the muffins with sugar.

Happy Spring!