By Teri Cayton
The Parsons Advocate
I am glad the East Coast has gotten through a week with no more storms. The southern region of the country has endured enough so far. Linesmen and work crews are working round the clock to restore power and give them some relief. I have never gone through a loss like that due to weather and I hope I never do. Momma Said, “I am thankful for West Virginia weather.”
I don’t like it much but I will put up with the cold and snow any day instead of a hurricane. The weather patterns have changed so much in the last few years and we are experiencing weather we never had here before. We are having straight line wind events, tornadoes and massive flooding in some regions that I don’t remember happening when I was younger.
Time goes by and we forget a lot of little things but things that are happening now have me questioning if they are natural or not. So many people are talking about manipulation of the weather that it has my head spinning. Do we believe things or do we play ostrich and stick our heads in the sand? Momma Said, “If our heads are in the sand that means our backsides are in the air and powerful people can be getting away with a lot of bad stuff.”
We, as a society, prefer to turn a blind eye to things that are uncomfortable to discuss, to things that we feel are “above our pay grade” so to speak. Maybe we need to wake up and start asking more questions about what is happening to us, are we being manipulated into not believing what we are see is happening? Momma Said, “Maybe we should be asking the five most relevant questions, who, what, where, when and why.”
Raspberry Muffins with White Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
- ▢3 cups all-purpose flour
- ▢1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ▢3 tsp. baking powder
- ▢½ tsp. salt
- ▢¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
- ▢2 large eggs
- ▢¾ cup buttermilk
- ▢½ cup vegetable oil
- ▢2 tsp. vanilla extract
- ▢2 cups fresh raspberries, can also use frozen, do not thaw
- ▢1 ½ cups white chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Stir together and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine with a spatula.
- Gradually mix in the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. The batter will be very thick! Gently mix in the raspberries and white chocolate chips.
- Cover the bowl with a towel and allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes. I recommend a 30 min rest because this batter is juicy from the fresh fruit. During this time, preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- For bakery style muffins, line a 12 count muffin pan with 6 muffins liners, meaning you’ll only fill every other muffin well with batter. Fill the liners to the top with batter, about 6-8 heaping tablespoons. Use a butter knife to smooth the tops of the muffins if lumpy. Press additional raspberries and white chocolate chips on top of the muffins and sprinkle with sanding sugar.
- Place one pan in the center of the oven and bake for 7 minutes at 425ºF, then keep the muffins in the oven, and turn the temperature down to 350ºF and bake for 18-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing. Repeat with the remaining batter, bumping the temperature back up to 425ºF.