Cranberry Flaxseed Muffins

The routine of everyday life is a necessary evil. As much as I'd like to believe I enjoy spontaneity and the thrill of the unknown, when it comes down to it, I'd rather have my day planned out by the hour than have it be a complete mystery. This isn't to say I don't love to give into the occasional impulse or act on a whim—I do—but my life needs strong framework in which to build off the quiet improvisations of life.

As much as I may object to the idea of a life of routine, I need the structure and control it provides me. I like to know when I am going to wake or eat breakfast, what television shows I can look forward to watching, or when I can plan on tucking into bed for the evening. It may not often be an exciting life, but it is all my own.

I have been on a different routine the last two weeks and it has been a struggle to adjust. I mentioned it briefly before, but I never expected the transition to be this difficult. I've read that it can take a month or more to develop new habits, to adjust to a new schedule, and the thought makes me feel defeated. The good habits I kept up are dissolving before my eyes as bad ones are starting to take their place. I am fighting against it, struggling to stake my claim on a chaotic world, but some days I fear I am losing ground.

My body is used to waking up with the sun and eating a slow breakfast before heading off to the gym. My mornings are now rushed; I'm lucky to have five minutes to eat a makeshift breakfast. I only have time for the gym after a long day at work, when the last thing I want to do is climb onto an elliptical machine. It's a work in progress.

I am developing a new habit that makes me a bit worried, however. After suddenly gaining several more hours in the evening, I am not sure what to do with them. I can't resort to my traditional hobbies—it is often too late to bake and too dark to photograph—so I nibble on chocolate chips or munch on apple slices, snacking to make the time pass by quicker. As a previous non-snacker, this new pattern makes me nervous.

As I work to fit my routines around the new framework of my life, there are still a few constants (and baking is one of them). Last weekend I made a batch of muffins, trying to find a way to incorporate the ground flaxseed that has been taking up space in the cupboard. I didn't expect much from these muffins, but they took me by surprise and I found myself sincerely enjoying them. I made another batch and froze them to enjoy for a quick breakfast over the next week. As I work to find my footing in this new routine, these muffins have already redeemed many a rushed morning.

Cranberry Flaxseed Muffins are a simple, healthy breakfast muffin. Low in both fat and sugar, these morning treats really do deserve a stamp of approval. The nuttiness of ground flaxseed is wonderful against the sharp sweetness of dried cranberries and helps to keep you feeling full much longer. With a hot mug of black tea, this is a breakfast that is hard to beat on-the-go or savored slowly.

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Raspberry White Chocolate Scones

After a wonderful, relaxing holiday break, it is time to get back into the routine of everyday life. I have been resisting it, wanting to hang on to the languid afternoons and laughter-filled evenings with family and friends. It is hard to face the starkness of reality again. I find my feet tripping over themselves as I settle back into old habits and the mundane quality of everyday activities. I know I must cut ties from the holidays, so to speak, so I can face work and school with a clear mind, but it is proving harder than I anticipated.

My mind keeps drifting to warm fireplaces, hearty dinners, and silly games...

I am used to having long, slow mornings where my body can wake up with the sun and I can eat a quiet breakfast as my eyes adjust to the morning light. Life as a graduate student afforded me this small luxury, filling the rest of my afternoon with classes and homework until my job took over and filled my evenings. Mornings became my time to unwind, the small moments to share alone as I mixed up dough in the kitchen or watched the repetitious nature of morning talk shows.

My schedule in the new year, however, is just the opposite. My alarm goes off well before the dawn and I stumble around trying to find my rhythm as my eyes burn under the yellow light of the apartment. I head out to work in the dark, arriving to a windowless room, wishing my tired brain had the capacity to remember to bring a cup of coffee. Most days I do not even see the light of the sun until mid-afternoon passes. My body is slow to adjust to the new routine, confused by the sudden lack of my natural alarm clock.

Oh, I miss my solitary mornings with the sun...

Though my weekday mornings may have vanished, this only strengthens my desire to fully enjoy the slow pace of the weekend mornings. I usually like to make a special breakfast for myself, whether it be waffles, pancakes, or a modest bowl of oatmeal. Over the holidays, I made a batch of these Raspberry White Chocolate Scones. They may be a simple pastry, but they lent a luxurious quality to the morning I made them and the mornings that followed.

I think we all deserve to give ourselves a little morning luxury whenever we have the space. A good scone can start a quiet morning off just right.

The sharp tones of ripe raspberries meet the sweetness of white chocolate in this delightful breakfast pastry. Raspberry White Chocolate Scones are carefully mixed together to keep the raspberries whole and sprinkled with a little extra sugar before baking. Perhaps what the photographs do not display well is just how incredibly moist and tender these scones truly are. These make for a lovely treat on a weekend morning with a cup of tea or mug of coffee.

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Lemon Cranberry Scones

I'm not quite sure when it happened, but somewhere (somehow) I developed a taste for tart foods. Traditionally, I'm a sweet and salty kind of gal, alternately loving the sweetness of a warm chocolate chip cookie and the crisp bite of a salty potato chip. These are the tastes I grew up with in the heart of the Midwest. Rarely a dinner table was without a half empty shaker of salt (the pepper stayed curiously optional), and the breakfast table looked scarce without a sugar bowl at the ready. Certainly sour and tart foods made an appearance, but they never stayed long enough to wash up at the sink and join me in the kitchen.

It is difficult to mess with tradition, but if you push against it hard enough, you can make space for new ones.

Last winter, I had a quiet affair with grapefruits and sour Greek yogurt. This summer I simply couldn't get enough lemonade. My palate is evolving, expanding to embrace the sour and tart flavors I've neglected for so many years. While just two years ago, these Cranberry Lemon Scones would have been far out of my comfort zone, today they feel like a natural extension of my growing affection for new tastes. The marriage of lemons and cranberries makes for a sharp and charming flavor profile.

I like to imagine that my taste buds are finally growing up.

The tartest of fruits reside in the winter months. In a way, I find it fitting. The berries have lost their allure, growing tarter with each passing day, and the bright flavors of fall have become subdued. It is time for the grapefruits, cranberries, and lemons to come out to play. The sharp taste of these fruits mimic the chill of the winter air, sweeping the taste buds like the rush of cool wind.

In the dead of winter, when the sweet fruits of long summer days are but a fading memory, the contrast of the tart fruits of winter remind us of the changing of the seasons.

Lemon Cranberry Scones are delightfully tart. Scones are infused with lemon zest and riddled with cranberries. The dough is quite sweet, especially because the dough is sprinkled with sugar before baking. However, the bright, tart cranberries act as a strong contrast to the sweetness, rendering the scones both sweet and tart. A simple lemon glaze rounds the flavors together. Be warned, however. These scones are certainly not for everyone, but are wonderful for those with a tart palate.

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