Recipe for Fun Friday - Alexandra's Carrot Muffins (Murder Most Fowl)

So, muffins: a convenient breakfast/snack, cake masquerading as breakfast, or the ugly stepsister of cupcakes? Personally, I absolutely love muffins and quick breads. I'm not really a fan of frosting, so cupcakes are pretty meh to me. Pretty to look at, but not a lot of substance. The only frosting I like is cream cheese frosting, which I love so much I could eat it with a spoon (which I have, leaning over the sink with shame).

Carrot cake has always been one of my favorite cakes, heavily spiced and topped with thick layers of cream cheese frosting. And since there's carrots in there, I can always pretend that it's actually healthy! Luckily, I don't have to do that with these muffins. Since these are meant to be breakfast, there's no cream cheese frosting (sadly), they are absolutely packed with carrots and very lightly sweetened with honey and not sugar.

These are fast and easy to put together, with a wonderful, moist texture. They make a quick grab-and-go breakfast, which I like to enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea on the front steps while my dogs romp in the yard before work.

Despite how tasty these are, there are two changes for the next time I make these muffins: a tiny bit more sweetness (either by increasing the honey to 1/2 cup or adding raisins) and a lot more spices (probably 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp cloves).

Enjoy!

Alexandra's Carrot Muffins
Mia's Note: I prefer using coconut oil in my baking, since it's tasty and healthy. Also, I never keep buttermilk around, preferring to mix a bit of vinegar with regular milk. Works like a charm. Lastly, I use Ultragrain All-Purpose Flour, which packs in the nutrition of whole grain flours while working like a regular all-purpose flour. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Makes one dozen. Use as many locally produced ingredients as possible.

Ingredients
2 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup safflower or canola oil (See Note)
1/4 cup buttermilk (See Note)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (See Note)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 cups grated carrots (about 4 medium)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

Beat eggs light, and then mix in honey, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla In a large measuring cup, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda, salt, and spices. Add dry ingredients, carrots, and nuts to the egg mixture, and mix lightly with a fork until just combined.

Bake in greased muffin pan for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown on top (mine only took 15 minutes).

Thirsty Thursday and Hungry Hearts - Murder Most Fowl by Edith Maxwell

Hosted by Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

Thirsty Thursday and Hungry Hearts is a weekly meme where I share tasty snippets from the book(s) I'm currently reading.

This week, I'm focusing on Murder Most Fowl by Edith Maxwell. I'm including two parts from a rather long scene: one focusing on drink, the other food.

The scene: It's St. Patrick's Day and Cam (the protagonist) and her friend Lucinda have just been served been served their Irish stew, fish and chips, and requisite green beers at the local pub. Paul Underwood, a suspect in the ongoing Wayne Laitenen murder investigation, has just joined their table.

"A double Irish whiskey neat, with water back." At the waitress's look of confusion, he groaned. "Just bring me a small glass of water when you bring the whiskey." 

When she'd gone, Cam remarked, "I don't know what a water back is, either." She took a bite of the stew and let a chunk of meat dissolve on her tongue as she saved the stew's rich flavors. 

"Adding a little water to whiskey opens up the flavor," Paul said. "I should stop saying it anyplace but at the bar itself. The server ought to know the term, but..." 

Cam swallowed. "So you weren't friends with Paul anymore? But I saw you driving away from his place Saturday afternoon." 

"Yes, I went to see him." Paul looked at the band. "We were trying to sort of work through a couple of things." 

"You mean the reason you stopped being friends?" Cam asked. 

"Yes," Paul said without meeting her eyes.

***

They ask more questions, and Paul gets upset and leaves. They continue on with their meal.

She pulled her attention to the most delicious beef stew she'd ever tasted. 

"Is that good?" Lucinda asked, popping another French fry into her mouth. 

"Very." Cam poked her spoon around in the bowl. "Beef, carrots, onions, potatoes, of course. But the flavor is what does it. I wonder what their secret is."

"I read a recipe that calls for a bottle of stout in it. Can you taste beer?" 

Cam rolled a spoonful around on her tongue. "That might be it. I'm going to try this at home. Make it for Pete whenever he solves this case." 

"You could do it all local, too." Lucinda waggled her eyebrows. 

"Absolutely, and then give the recipe to the shareholders next summer or fall, when I harvest carrots and potatoes. Good idea."

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Beef stew is probably in my top 5 of delicious comfort foods. I'm definitely going to try this recipe once the weather cools down, but until then, stop by tomorrow to check out a recipe for carrot muffins. They're cooling on the counter as I speak/type!

So everyone, what would you include in your top 5 comfort foods?

Book Review: Murder Most Fowl by Edith Maxwell

Title: Murder Most Fowl (A Local Foods Mystery #4)
Author: Edith Maxwell
Genre(s): Mystery| Cozy
Publisher: Kensington
Publication date: May 31, 2016
Page length: 304 pages
Source: Bought (at BoucherCon!)
Format: Hardcover
Author's website: https://edithmaxwell.com/

Spring may be just around the corner, but a cold-blooded killer has put the big chill on the residents of Westbury, Massachusetts. It looks like organic farmer-turned-sleuth Cam Flaherty will have to set aside her seedlings for the time being as she tills the soil for clues in the mysterious death of a local poultry maven. 

With the weather getting warmer, Cam should be spending her days pruning blueberry bushes and taking care of the new batch of chicks that just hatched. But murder knows no season. So when her fellow fowl-raiser Wayne Laitinen is found dead at his breakfast table one morning, Cam must put down her trimming shears and put on her crime-solving hat. 
The kind-hearted chicken farmer didn't have any enemies--or did he? A wealthy financier has been working hard to convince him to sell her his land, while a group of animal rights activists recently vandalized his property. Money troubles were threatening to sink his marriage. And a thirty-year-old scandal was driving a wedge between him and one of his oldest friends.  

Murder, blackmail, cover-ups. There's a fox in the hen house. But where? With some help from her off-again, on-again flame, police detective Pete Pappas, Cam will have to crack this case before Wayne's killer flies the coop forever. Goodreads

My Review: This is the 4th and latest book in the Cam Flaherty Local Foods Mystery series. I haven't read the earlier books, but I never felt confused or like I was missing anything. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I'm definitely going to go back and read the rest of the series.

As with most cozies, my favorite part of the story was the setting. Cam Flaherty runs a small, organic farm that her great-uncle passed on to her after he was no longer able to take care of it. I wouldn't think that I'd find farming all that interesting, considering I can't even remember to water my bamboo plant (good thing it's hardy). Yet I was genuinely interested in her day-to-day affairs, and found the life and worries of an organic farmer oddly fascinating.

Also very important, Cam is a great protagonist. She doesn't put herself in harm's way, and she doesn't conceal useful evidence or information from the police, choosing to work with, not against them. She's also rather resourceful, a very refreshing change from the "too stupid to live" protagonists who are usually saved by mere luck and not their wits.

The supporting characters were mostly well-fleshed out, and the romance is realistic and well-done. It enhances and adds some sweet points to the story without overtaking it.

The subplots involving a missing girl and an overzealous animal rights group were handled quite well, and added necessary layers to the plot.That being said, the resolution of the main plot was a bit of a letdown. The big reveal of the murderer was anticlimactic and fairly straightforward, though the final confrontation had a good level of tension.

Despite my nitpicking with the ending, I absolutely devoured this book, finishing it in a day (I know author's hate hearing that since they spend so much time writing it, but I couldn't help it!). It's a fast read, but with a depth and lack of frivolity I don't often find in cozies. Definitely recommended.


Final bite: A wonderful addition to the world of culinary cozies. Great setting, great protagonist, great read. Go buy it!

Rating: 4.5/5
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Sidenote: I think the reason I love cozies so much is that I'm a big-city girl; the charm of small-town life and running a business that's part of the community really appeals to me, but only from the outside looking in. It's not a life I'd actually want to live, so these stories let me try on lots of different hats without having to commit; one week, I'm an organic farmer, the next I'm a tea shop/cafe/bakery/clothing shop/etc owner, but with none of the woes of owning a small business in a tiny town (this reasoning goes double for my love of historical fiction. Wonderful reading, but as a woman of color and fan of modern medicine, no thank you).

Make sure to stop by Thursday and Friday, as I share snippets of the foodie scenes and an excellent recipe for carrot muffins, provided by Alexandra (one of Cam's volunteers). Have you read this book before? If not, do you plan on reading it? Let me know in the comments!