Forwarding Address

On Friday I'll be changing this blog's URL to http://cboersma.blogspot.com/.

The current one is much too long, and there is no point to making references that only I understand and enjoy.

Sorry for the inconvenience, but we'll all be much happier in the end.

Baking Ventures

I had the afternoon off today and the weather was kind of gloomy, so I thought I'd do some baking. I planned on making banana bread, but I also wanted to make some muffins because I need breakfast I can grab on the way out the door for those 4:45am shifts, and I get tired of granola bars.

After looking through my huge Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book (a gift from my mother to inaugurate my independent womanhood, I suppose), I settled on Oat Bran Muffins. These sugar-free muffins looked like a healthy morning meal and, having never baked with oat bran before, I thought I'd give it a shot. I also used a Multi Purpose Baking Mix in lieu of all-purpose flour, so these muffins are gluten and wheat free to boot.
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Oat Bran Muffins

















Prep: 15 min Bake: 16 min
Oven: 400F Makes: 12 muffins

You will need:
Nonstick cooking spray
1 1/4 cups oat bran
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1/2 cup raisins or snipped dried fruit

1. Lightly coat bottoms of twelve 2 1/2-inch muffin cups with cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl combine oat bran, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.
3. In a small bowl combine egg, applesauce, milk, honey, and oil. Add applesauce mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in raisins.
4. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake in a 400F oven for 16 to 18 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups; serve warm.


Aside from the oil, I'm okay with everything in this recipe. The muffins came out in dense, un-risen lumps and they tasted a little too healthy, but I think they'll make a great breakfast food. If I make them again I think I'll substitute butter for the oil and try to add a little more honey to sweeten 'em up.
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The recipe for the banana bread I make comes out of the Better Homes and Gardens book as well and it's been consistently delicious each time.

Banana Bread

Prep: 25 min Bake: 55 min
Oven: 350F Makes: 1 loaf

You'll Need:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (5 medium)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil or melted butter or margarine
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1. Grease bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of one 9x5x3-inch loaf pan; set aside. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl combine eggs, bananas, sugar, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in nuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in a 350F oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean (if necessary, cover loosely with foil the last 15 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowing). Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.


I suggest using butter and always cover with foil after 40 minutes in the oven. Check if the bread is done by using a toothpick or fork. It usually requires an extra 5-10 minutes.

Love, Mom

I absolutely love the blog Postcards From Yo Momma. It's not necessarily the content of the posts that remind me of my own mom, but it's the voice or feeling behind them that seem so familiar. All submissions are correspondence from moms sent via email, message board, instant messenger, or text. Here are a few of my favorites:

25 Cent PBR
25 cent pbr at the rhino club on sundays! Of course you probably dont want to frequent there but i thought of you when i saw it.

It's Hell To Get Old
FANX!!!!!!!! For fixing the disposal!!!!!! It’s hell to get old-I knew that the wrench thing was all it needed, but I would have had to bend down and put my reading glasses on and with shortterm memory, try to retain the concept of clockwise vs counterclockwise. You are my best girl.

Ask God About Your Sass Mouth
Stay home tonight baby. We don’t know enough about what’s going on at that party. And also pray about the attitude you have had today. Love, Mom

Tru Dat
Mom: my bad, as they say.
Me: Tru dat, as they say.
Mom: That’s how I roll….I’m a ding dong.

It's Fishy
Mom: FYI, Women of childbearing age should only eat Lake Erie fish once a
week or month (I forget which). Pregnant women - more stringent. Maybe not at all, I forget that too. We had Lake perch last week and then I saw the warning in the paper
Me: Does that include women of childbearing age who are not having children
at the moment?
Mom: YES. Just in case. Perhaps it stays in your body and will farm your
future embryos.

I Will Sit In The Dark And Wait For You
i would rather hang around w/you then go to the mtns and the times when you are doing something else, i will sit in the dark and wait for you to come back..mom

Here is my own contribution:

Call Me Sometime...
when you feel like talking for a while. i don't want to call if/when you are tired or busy or just hanging out. i'm home after 6:45 monday. thursday evening and friday evenings are good, too. or during the day if you are free (like, when is that, right?)
love you, mom

Capitol Hill Block Party

I attended the Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle this evening and was a little disappointed. Granted, my expectations were a little high - blinded by the prospect of finally seeing Vampire Weekend - but I still think my complaints are justified.

As I neared the gate on Pike and Broadway, my Hipster-O-Meter maxed out and then completely crashed. The hipster genre keeps coming up with new and even more ironically-ugly fashion statements. Cut-off denim shorts with slouched ankle boots and three shear shirts that I can still see your black bra through? You are too much.

That's pretty much par for the course, but what I was not expecting were crowds of complete jerks. If navigating through sweaty, drunken people, pot smoke, and condom balloons to see Girl Talk isn't enough, you feel the need to shove everyone and then lean against me for two songs. I object.

To add insult to injury, the sound quality was awful at each stage. We saw Menomena at the main stage, and they played a decent set, but the left speaker was blown and crackled with each bass note. Poor sound equipment cannot be blamed entirely for the mediocre Say Hi performance at the Vera Stage, as frontman Eric Elbogen was not any less awkward now that he has a full band behind him, but the levels seemed to be off because there was no distinction between his muddled singing and his guitar.

There were too many people to take pictures, but I wish Ezra Koenig had been wearing these shorts.

Seeing Vampire Weekend at the main stage was exciting, but the crowd was bizarre. There was actually room to breathe, but it was late, everyone was schwasted, and it was time to go home after hearing One (Blake's Got A New Face).

Oh, and Governor Chris Gregoire introduced Vampire Weekend. Weirdest, most awkward thing ever.

Bureaucracy

For anyone who reads this blog and is not aware (I'm being a little pretentious here in my estimate of faithful readers), The Bygone Bureau has started a "microblog" called Bureaucracy. It's chock full of short posts with a variety of links. This little venture was created to legitimize our time wasted on the internet and supplement our longer articles with easily-digestible mini posts. These posts are a lot less about me and far more interesting. I recommend subscribing with your favorite RSS reader.

My Run In With Nature

Our backyard is shielded on either side with a wall of trees and shrubbery. One of these barriers serves as a sanctuary for many species that have to wait for the guard of night to roam around. I have seen many cats, raccoons, opossum, and squirrels all living together in apparent harmony where no one bothers them (or bothers to landscape).

I have had no problem with these critters until recently.

A few weeks back I participated in a raffle. There were some really great prizes - gift certificates, t-shirts, banana splits - but, like the winner I am, I rode home with a five pound bag of birdseed on my back. Yep, that's a lot of birdseed.

Disappointment aside, I tried to make the most of my winnings. I filled up the bird feeder left by a previous tenant in hopes of enhancing the backyard with some new visitors. Instead, all I did was attract a squirrel closer to the house.

Mr. McNutters

At first I thought it was kind of funny watching the little guy, and I was relieved to know that my huge bag of birdseed would be gotten rid of somehow. However, after the feeder was drained for the second time in one day and there was not a bird in sight, I got annoyed.

I learned that a good way to get rid of squirrels, but keep the birds, is to add cayenne pepper to your birdseed.

Mr. McNutters and Nancy

I took this advice and waited. The squirrels had been watching for my return and quickly pounced on the full bird feeder. They continued eating, as though nothing had changed, and I worried that I had wasted a third of my cayenne pepper on these rapscallions. Then, the one eating looked up as if he had just caught a whiff of something most foul. He froze, had a fit of violent sneezes, and ran away.

After the squirrels left, the feeder was surrounded with about six birds, and I was pleased with my success.

The squirrels did come back for one more sneeze attack, but I haven't seen them since. If they decide to return, the cayenne pepper and I will be waiting.