She mans the check-out line, and so as I wander through the store, picking out apples and boxes of cereal, I listen for her gentle voice. The grocery store that I frequent is small--compact enough to hear Marsha and to know most of the clerks by name.
When Marsha checks me out, we talk. Usually we just chat about food (because it is food, after all, that brings us together). But on some days, we talk about each other, about how we are feeling, about friends and family near and far.
I bought a card for my friend in Japan, and we talked about Asia, about teaching, about what it means to be brave. Her voice is always calm, soothing, and she smiles at me as if I hung the stars out in this big Texan sky.
When I first moved to Austin, I mourned the people that I left behind. Not only friends and family, but people like Marsha, people that I saw on a weekly basis as we both went about our daily lives.
Yesterday, when I walked out of the grocery store carrying a huge bag of avocados, I found myself smiling and even humming. Marsha had been there. We had shared a few minutes together, we had wished each other a happy good-bye. I walked out of the grocery store knowing that Marsha and I would see each other again, that we would see each other soon, and I realized that this city is beginning to feel like home.
So these muffins are for my friend, Marsha, who always greets me with the warmest smile and the kindest words.
Yes, you heard me: avocados.
An avocado is an ideal source of fat. We all know how creamy a freshly sliced avocado feels in our mouths...imagine that creaminess in your batch of muffins or in a loaf of bread.
As I type, I'm waiting to put a loaf of Avocado yeast bread into the oven. The loaf is beautiful, and I'm excited to share it with you in the next few days.
But for now, I give you these muffins. They melt-in-your mouth and make you wish for morning to repeat itself all day long. I added some shredded coconut to the batter, and as soon as my spatula folded in the last bit, I knew I had created a muffin worth sharing.
So buy a bag of avocados from your local grocery store. Say hello to the clerk that checks you out. Go home, and make these muffins. Enjoy one, or two, or three, knowing that you are consuming heart-healthy fats.
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups whole or low-fat yogurt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup mashed avocado (from about one ripe avocado)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and lightly grease a 12-tin muffin pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine your flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir until well-distributed.
3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together your yogurt, eggs, mashed avocado and vanilla until smooth (it is okay if there are a raw avocado chunks).
4. Gently fold your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients. Stir only until just combined. Gently fold in your shredded coconut with a spatula.
5. Divide batter equally amongst muffin tins (I had a bit left over and made a mini-loaf). Bake in your preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until muffins are light golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wired rack.
Always,
Monet
Anecdotes and Apple Cores