We're halfway through the month, how is September treating you?
September has not been my month so far, you guys. I can't complain too much, because I've had two delightful weekends away with groups of friends I adore, but in between and after those weekends, a swarm of small and large stressful things have been flying around me (literally a swarm: one of the things was what felt like a colony of flies that moved into my kitchen during one of my weekends away, I spent this week destroying them and then cleaning up afterward). So I guess it is not surprising that with all of this stress, my face has been breaking out like crazy, after like six months minimum of no breakouts at all. But I am too old for this nonsense! You shouldn't have to put on anti-pimple cream and anti-wrinkle cream at the same time! As much as I hate that I have to recommend this, Clean and Clear Persa Gel is my anti-pimple cream of choice; it's dirt cheap, you only need to use a tiny bit, so that little tube lasts for a long time, and if you dab a little bit on overnight as SOON as you feel the pimple coming in, it'll either make the life cycle a lot faster, or it won't actually sprout at all. One warning: use an old pillowcase on the nights when you sleep with this on, it can bleach the pillowcase. (Don't ask me if that means it also does weird things to my skin, I don't care, it works on pimples).
However, if you're in need of some good news today, I've got some for you. A few weeks ago, I read a galley of one of the best books I've read all year...actually, maybe one of the best books I've read in the past few years. I cared about the characters from their first pages, I rooted for them, I hated when they made mistakes but I understood why they did, I cried with them when they cried themselves, out of sorrow, but also joy (I promise, this is not one of those sad books, my tears were from sheer emotion, not grief). I was going to save this book recommendation for the week it came out so you all could read it immediately, but then this week the National Book Foundation announced that this wonderful book, FAR FROM THE TREE, is on the National Book Awards longlist for Young People's Literature. And I was so happy for this book that I cried from joy again! FAR FROM THE TREE comes out in just a few weeks, so you should all pre-order it now and then read it the day it comes out and then email me or tweet at me and we can talk about how much we loved it.
I think this weekend I need to banish my bad luck from the past few weeks by baking something delicious smelling and tasting (is that my version of burning sage? maybe). I'm not positive what I'm going to bake, but as I was looking through some favorite recipes, this recipe for doughnut muffins stood out to me. I haven't made them in years, but I remember how fun they were to make and how great they were. And since doughnuts play a significant role in my upcoming book, I have a feeling I'll be making and buying a lot of doughnuts and doughnut like baked goods next February. I should probably make these again, just to get in practice, right?
Doughnut muffins
makes 18 muffins
(original recipe from the Jimtown Store Cookbook, my many changes are reflected below)
Muffins
3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 stick (4 ounces) butter, softened
3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
Muffin coating
1 cup sugar
1-1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 stick (4 ounces) butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour the cups of two muffin tins (or prep muffin tins with paper muffin cups, they'll be less pretty but this is easier).
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in one bowl. Mix together the milk and buttermilk in separate bowl or large measuring cup. Using either the bowl of a standing mixer, or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, cream the softened butter. Slowly mix in the sugar, and beat for 2 or so minutes until the butter/sugar mixture gets paler. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.
Add the dry ingredients and the milk mixture in batches, alternating back and forth, and mixing lightly by hand with a rubber spatula or spoon. When it's all just mixed, fill the muffin cups with an ice cream scoop or big spoon.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until the muffins are firm to the touch. While the muffins are baking, combine the sugar and cinnamon for the muffin coating, and melt the butter. When the muffins have cooled for a few minutes, take them out of the tins, brush them all over with butter, then roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Enjoy!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Jasmine
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