Tis the Season!!

Hi Everyone!

Here it is, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, and like most of you, I am feeling the excitement of the Holidays! Family, Friends, Celebrations, Decorations, and FOOD! Have a look at some of the goodies I am making and if you see something that makes your mouth water, please get in touch and let me know! I can have your sweet temptations made fresh and packaged in special Holiday boxes and bags ready for gift giving or a treat for yourself! Thanks Everyone!! Love to you all and may your Thanksgiving be filled with Love, Gratitude, and Tasty Food!

Holiday Treats From Muffin’s Kitchen

(a sampling)

All Goodies are packaged in Holiday bags and boxes and ready for Gift Giving!

Toffee

Toffee - Buttery and crunchy handmade toffee, covered with a layer of semi-sweet chocolate and chopped almonds.   

$18.00 per pound

 

Chocolate Barks

$16.00 per pound

Peppermint Bark - Christmas Favorite. Layered and swirled peppermint infused dark

and white chocolate, sprinkled with crushed peppermint candies.

Espresso Bark - Milk Chocolate Bark with roasted Espresso beans and Turbinado Sugar.

Cappucino Bark - Swirled Milk and White Chocolate with Roasted Espresso Beans and Turbinado Sugar.

Peppery Nutty Bark - Pepper infused and spiced dark chocolate with dark cherries, pistachios, and cashews.

   Special Hot Mustard

  $8.00 per jar

                     Hot and Rich Mustard Perfect for Turkey, Ham, and Cheese Platters

     Cakes, Pies, and Cupcakes

            Midnight Chocolate, Red Velvet, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Pecan, Pecan Chocolate, Pumpkin-Pecan, Chocolate-Pistachio, Coffee Cakes, Linzer Cookies, Lemon Drop Cookies, Almond Cookies

 

Tell me What you Want!

I am also available to make side dishes for your holiday celebrations!

 

                                                                       

                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                       

Long journey to now...

It has been a long time since Muffin and I have posted updates to the blog. I wish I could pinpoint what has kept me from posting, because I have surely been cooking up a storm, but I cannot find one single reason out of all of the lessons, experiences, and weeks, that would explain my neglect to the blogging I so enjoy. So let's just say, Good to be back!

Over the past few months, I have gotten into and out of a relationship, fallen in love with Peppers and Adobo sauce, and have gone back to school. After many years of yearning to learn how to cook like a professional, I have finally enrolled in Culinary School. Before going to get my BSW many years ago, I wanted to pursue this degree after I got my AA, rather than going the traditional route of a four year degree. But with someone else holding the purse strings and making some decisions for me, that was not to be. When I found myself laid off, laid up, and cooking and baking for extra money, I began searching for my path. One day, I found myself applying for financial aid and enrolling in Nashville State Community College and going after my dream. It all fell into place before I knew what happened! I have finished my third week and 3 tests so far, and it is just getting started! I wish it was all cooking, baking, stocks, and garde manger, but it also requires "Book Learning". Getting back into studying and cramming for tests is going to take some getting used to, but I am So Ready!

The first week of classes, my back went out. The second week of classes, 2 of my ceilings fell in due to a leaky roof. The third week, I fell and hurt my back again. But "what does not kill us, makes us stronger", they say, so soon, and after the past year of challenges, I fully expect you to see me leaping small buildings in a single bound, because I Ain't Dead Yet!!! If I can get back in the groove of studying again and balancing life, this will be an amazing journey!

My plans for the weekend? Cutting potatoes and carrots into little, uniform pieces and shapes, all with fancy, French names. I cannot wait!!! I will keep you all posted!!

Summer, Cicadas, and Cupcakes

It is official! Summer is here! With the Memorial Day holiday upon us and my sighting of the first lightning bug of the season while grilling burgers on the deck, it IS Summer in Tennessee.

This spring and summer have had a bit of a (noisy) twist to it with the arrival of the 13 year Cicadas. For those of you not in a region where they are burrowing out of the ground in droves and filling your mornings and afternoons with their deafening hum, let me tell you a bit about what we are experiencing here in Nashville.

Cicada

Checking each other out

Cicada

Cicada Foreplay

These 1.5 inch long bugs make such noise that it comes in waves and sometimes resembles the sound of a loud electrical hum in the background of the high volume chirping. I have witnessed neighbors yelling "Shut Up", blindly into the trees. (it doesn't work, by the way) A friend tells me that the sound made when snapping one's fingers resembles the mating "click" that they make to attract each other. He tells me he tried it out and it worked. One actually turned around at the sound. Since these insects are far from shy and love to land all over your body when you are making no noise at all, I am not brave enough to try this experiment for myself. Even though they are harmless and will not bite or sting, I really do not want to have them swarming all over me more than they do already. Horrors! (just look at the creepy eyes on these things!)

One little known fact about cicadas is that they are a favorite treat for dogs, so Allie has been in bug heaven since they emerged this Spring. When we go out to walk during the day, she hunts feverishly for the perfect cicada, looking up into the trees and into the grass. She finds the perfect snack sized insect and moves on to the next one. Supposedly, they are full of protein, but a binge can cause trouble so we have to limit her snack time to no more than 3 per walk if at all possible. They quiet down at night, but in areas, they swarm the ground, similar to singles at a bar on a Saturday night. When we come across one of these cicada "speed dating" locations, Allie will practically pull my arm off trying to eat as many as possible in one gulp.They say protein is a Good thing??

In a couple of weeks, they should disappear into the ground and do whatever they do for the next 13 years before they come back again. I admit I will not miss the skeletal remains that litter the sidewalks and driveways, but the pups around here are sure going to miss their snacks!

A bounty of bugs on a night time walk.

Speaking of snacks... for Humans...A welcoming thing that summer brings is a taste for fresh, light desserts and treats. With all of the fresh fruits and vegetables that make summer so delicious, I see many cobblers, pies, and tarts in my future. But today, I am putting together cookies and cupcakes. The ease of packing up these goodies for a picnic or a road trip make them fit right into the "living easy" we all love this time of year. I have made some lemon custard to fill some citrus cupcakes, some monster cookies, and chocolate drop cookies to fill some orders and send to Jason's Memorial Day party on Monday. I also tried mixing up a whole wheat chocolate chunk cookie, and with some dibs and dabs of this and that, I have a crunchy, whole wheat cookie filled with chunks of chocolate and the faint hint of molasses. Pretty darned good, folks! But you can never go wrong with a Monster Cookie filled with peanut butter, oats, candy, and chocolate. Yummy!

Monster Cookies

Have a Wonderful Memorial Day!! Check back soon for some new step by step recipes. This week is going to be good!

Banks, Beaches, and Canine Diabetes

What a mix of things going on in my life over the past 3 weeks! Where to start...As you know, I have been unemployed since a lay off in September and have been carrying COBRA. Well, those good folks with the COBRA Administrator decided to Double debit me for the month of May. (No. Not my idea!) This has turned into a chaotic nightmare of phone calls, red numbers, and financial madness. The bank wants "Bad COBRA Administrator" to pay the fees and They want the bank to send them letters, further extending this nightmare. Banks and Insurance companies...Grrr. No reserve funds for me, so this started a chain reaction of Red in my account. I am hoping to have this cleared up and behind me this week, after 2 weeks of trying to turn it around.

The same day this happened, I was given the opportunity to escape to Florida for a few days and take in some of the Players Championship and enjoy some R&R with a friend. Kind of hard to say no, but with no extra pennies, and my pup Allie, being newly diagnosed with canine diabetes, spontaneity was a challenge. But I got the green light from my amazing Vet (Thank you Dr. Malone), My angel of a pet sitter (Thank you Karri), and my BFF (Thank you Linda) and the generous heart of a special friend (Thank you Scott), I was able to jump in the car the next day without a penny to spend and head South.I knew my Felines and Canine were in the best of hands and so was I, so I said a few prayers and hit the road for the beach.

Before I left for Florida for some rest, change of scenery, and to visit with my family at the same time, I burned some midnight oil making my Espresso bark, cookies and toffee to share with my family. Cooking therapy was in order and it was packed up and ready for the cooler come Thursday morning. It was worth it and they loved the goodies. Seems that Espresso Bark makes everyone smile that takes a nibble. Makes my heart smile. :)

Espresso Bark

After a week off from making confections, I am ready to jump back in and get the bus rolling again. I did take a different route for my cooking therapy this past weekend and put together a Southern BBQ dinner. I love BBQ and I always enjoy making and eating my special pulled turkey breast BBQ, Mashed Potato Salad, and Secret Recipe Coleslaw.

Skinless Turkey Breast in the Special BBQ Sauce

This is how it all starts out after putting together a special sauce of vinegar, onions and tons of spices.

Cooked Turkey Breast 

 Cool the turkey until you can handle it easily enough to shred into long strips. Add a few more spices, stir it all together and after 2 more hours, you have delicious, low fat, spicy, "slap your Mama" BBQ.

Voila! 8 hours later, time to dig in! Worth all the time, love and effort.

By the way, the beach was incredible! Great visit with family, wonderful trip with my friend, fresh seafood, A+ golf, Shuttle launch viewing, successful shark tooth hunt, and just a tad of sunburn. Allie is doing well with her insulin so far, but it is a process we will walk through. I have plans to start making some gooey goodies in the next few days and hopefully sharing them with a lot of folks, so... Life Is Good! Oh! That Bank and COBRA thing? Not so great! Since this is my place of peace and smiles, let's just let it go for now! Great to be back!

Cupcakes and XBox 360

It has been a little while since my last post. Let me catch you up! I have been busy cooking, baking and trying to switch things up a little bit. So far, it has been a wonderful 2 weeks full of  very enjoyable "social outings", cakes, truffles, toffee, and a bunch of pretty pink cupcakes. Life has been very busy for the past few months, with a lay off, a hip replacement, surgery set backs, pets, and life in general. Cooking has always been my passion, so once I began "self therapy" via the kitchen, everything seems to be brighter around Muffin's house. And it all started with the gift of a Kitchenaid Mixer. Life is good.

With a special family birthday coming up, I decided it was time to spread my culinary wings and try something new.  My oldest son turned 26 in April and I decided to try my first "free hand", special fondant cake. Jason being the avid gamer that he is, I decided it had to be a cake to reflect his passion. This was the result:

XBOX 360 Controller Cake

This was before the black outlines and final details were added to the cake, but I was happy with it for my first attempt. But more importantly, my son was very happy with it. I made my own recipe for Chocolate Marshmallow Fondant and the cake was covered with a crumb coating of homemade chocolate buttercream, then covered with a healthy layer of the chocolate buttercream. All of this yummy chocolate was covering a triple chocolate layer cake. ( The Bomb!) My son shares my love of really good chocolate, so it was a hit! I have to practice every ounce of self control Not to eat gobs and gobs of frosting as I go along, but it is almost impossible for me not to pop pieces of the fondant in my mouth. Edible play dough for grown ups!! If any of you do not think fondant tastes good, you have not tried really good marshmallow fondant. It is irresistible!

The next special event I was asked to help with was the 1st birthday of a very special little girl. Zoey was a miracle baby and to be part of her celebration as both the cupcake baker and a special friend of the family was a blessing and a half. They asked me to go for a Princess Theme full of bright pinks and Princess colors. I gave it my best shot and made red velvet, chocolate filled, lemon filled and vanilla, all with cream cheese and buttercream frostings. I had a blast. I made an attempt at little pink fondant crowns. The weather was wet and rainy for quite a while, so they all didn't dry, but I was able to get a dozen of them made to top some of the pink ones. 

Red Velvet and Lemon Filled Cupcakes

Here was the pre-party table. It was a good time had by all and I was so happy to be able to be a part of it. It was a wonderful day!

I will be updating the week just past very soon. So much is going on and I have hopes and wishes that it will continue to be filled with confections and friends. Till' later...

Sugar Buzz Continues!

It has been a few days since I have posted, but not due to anything going wrong. To the contrary, I have been so busy with my confections that I will be working the rest of the week filling orders for goodies. I am hoping this continues after Easter Bunny Season and Mother's Day, because this makes my heart smile.

The Lemon Cookies are the latest hit and I have to admit, I am having a hard time staying out of them myself. I can make ganache from memory (simple, I know) and find myself trying to dream up new ways to make these little bites of heaven and calories more delicious and fresh. My new ones are going to hit the sample market (my amazing and honest friends) and hopefully make it to everyone else. I will post photos of it all as the week goes on, so stay tuned and keep checking in! I love having you with me on my journey in sugar!!

Cheese Wafers

Truffles, Toffee, and Cheese

Happy Saturday! It has been a beautifully exhausting week, full of chocolate, nuts, truffles and cheese. I have actually landed my first dessert catering job. It is small, but I am excited about it. The job is for a group of 20 and I am providing a small truffle tray, with an assortment of cherry, peanut butter, and pretzel truffles, my toffee, and my cheese wafers. I find myself dreaming up new ways to create and share, package and sell, market and present, the decadent treats.

This is one of the things I have always wanted to do, and no matter how short lived it might turn out to be, I am going to enjoy it completely while it is happening. I hope it continues to happen for a very long time, because I am having a blast! Like those of you who love to create in the kitchen as I do, every little pinch of seasoning, every stir of the spoon and the "whir" of the KitchenAid mixer, makes me smile as I watch simple ingredients transform into something that brings a smile to someone's face and joy to my heart. How cool is that anyway? Wish me luck! Thanks for following me on this journey! It is nice to have your company! And to those of you who have offered you graphic design talents (Sue W.), and those who are helping spread the word and samples of my treats, You Rock!

Happy Spring Fondant Cake!

Well, this weekend, I spent almost the entire time up to my elbows in sugar, cornstarch and food coloring gel. And I loved every minute of it! Since I keep mentioning being "up to my elbows", I should tell you that I am not exaggerating (much). I keep a clean dish towel on my shoulder, one by the sink and one on the table, as well as washing my hands as many times as  medical professional would in so many hours. I wash 2 aprons, at least, each day. It's cool. I like it!

This is a photo of my first attempt at a fondant covered cake, complete with my own little fondant Spring and Easter decorations. I know might seem somewhat simplistic to some of you who have been doing this kind of thing for a while, but I am tickled!!  Now it is time for me to expand into more intricate decorations and see if I can make a go of this! Can anyone say Petit Fours? Wish me luck and Please send any suggestions you might have! I welcome any and all! And as far as buying fondant from a supplier? Nah! My marshmallow fondant is yummy and fun to make. I need to find a new job and a new path. This one makes my heart smile. So between looking online for opportunities and waiting to hear from Purina, I know I have found a way to finally do something I enjoy! And the perk of being able to be home with my pets while "working" is something I would love to do all the time!

If this cake looks yummy, or you would like to know how I made my fondant, I would be happy to share my recipe. Just give me a shout!

I have orders for my candy and am hoping for more. This confection gig is a blast! Let me know if you have a sweet tooth! I can help!

Have a terrific Monday!

Adventures in Fondant

It has been a few days since I have posted, but wanted to let you know what has been happening in Muffin's house. I am not one to just dabble in something when I want to learn a new trick or talent, and this week has been no exception. I decided in my quest to cook for both business and pleasure, that I would explore the world of fondant. My toffee is terrific and my truffles are known to add 3 pounds just by looking at them, but I wanted to try something new. I decided on Fondant. And that is where I have been this week. Happily elbow deep in sugar, marshmallows, corn syrup and lovely, sticky confections. I am having a blast and have gone through enough sugar and chocolate in the past 5 days to fill 20 Easter baskets. Fortunately, the Up side for me when baking is that once I am satisfied with how my recipe tastes, I am happy to stop nibbling and just keep playing.

The first fondant I made was a cream based one so I could practice with candy. To play with the concoction by stirring, making figure eights while mixing it and then kneading, made me smile. Some might call me a nerd, but I am cool with that. I am a Happy Cooking Nerd. I have made scrumptious vanilla cream and chocolate cream candies and once I get the "pretty part" down pat, I will be satisfied.

This is the "before":

Cream Fondant

This is the "after":

Vanilla creme fondant and chocolate creme fondant candies.

I have to admit they taste really good and it was fun! Then I decided I had to try marshmallow fondant so I can make a cake and try to make it beautiful this weekend. I kept hearing about how so many "store bought" fondants tasted bland. I have to say that this is one is delicious and was So easy!

Homemade Marshmallow Fondant

Isn't it pretty? It is like being able to make your own play dough and then eat it with out being put in time out! How cool is that?

Some of the other things I have put together are toffee truffles and Easter Eggs.

Fudge Peanut Butter Eggs

 Can you tell I am having fun? I am delivering some of these to friends tomorrow and maybe someone will want some custom Easter Baskets or just a decedent treat to keep for themselves. Either way, I still get to play! Let me know what you think and if I can share some sweet indulgences with you!

What to do when I grow up?

Going through yet another life transition due to a lay off, people often ask me what I would like to do and what kind of job I would really Love to live. I have been a legal secretary, courier, Stay at Home Mom, retail manager, and Administrative Assistant, the latter, many times over. Notice that none of these jobs have anything to do with the Bachelor of Social Work degree I hold. Go figure. I have the smarts for the degree, but none of these "Jobs", with exception of being a full time Mom, have taken me where I know I have wished to go in my heart. My heart has always been with my kids, my animals and in the kitchen. I adore my kids, and have a passion for all things kitchen and animals. I am also a Wanna Be Techie and Blogger. All in all, not exactly what some folks would consider exciting, but to me, to find a way to combine all my passions to make a living and make a difference, would be the "Ultimate".

I have my hat in the ring for a Purina Cat Chow Correspondent position and that would be amazing! I love animals, especially my own cats and dogs, and believe the opportunity to actually work and share news and tips about cats would be perfect! I am also up against 100s of other people for the position, so I will keep on hoping, keep on blogging and see where it may lead. In the meantime, I am enjoying the opportunity to learn new tricks in the kitchen and hopefully, find a way to share my recipes and tips, and market my goodies. I plan on offering an amazing Easter Basket for grown ups. I will share some photos and today, will share my recipe for Easter Bread.

Let's start with a photo of the finished loaf:

Easter Bread

You start the bread by
scalding a cup of low fat milk. Let it cool to 110 degrees.

Stir In 4 tsps. active dry yeast and 1 tsp. sugar

Yeast is So Cool!

Foamy Mix

Let this sit for 5 minutes. The mixture will foam. Cool, huh?

Fit your Mixer with the dough hook attachment. Place flour, salt, cool foamy yeast mixture, butter pieces, 1/2 cup of fine sugar, 2 large eggs, zest of one lemon, dried cherries, golden raisins, and mix well to combine.

Knead with mixer, adding extra flour if necessary, until it starts to pull away from side of the bowl.

Turn this out of the bowl and knead "in the air" to form a big ball of dough. Put in greased bowl, turning to grease both sides, cover with plastic wrap and a dish towel, and put in warm place until doubled in size. (at least an hour)  I usually place it in the laundry room while I am drying clothes and it turns out to be a great warm, environment. Multi-tasking rocks!

After it has doubled, punch the dough down once, (I love that part) and gently separate into 3 or 6 equal pieces (depending on how many loaves you wish to bake). Cover with towel and let them sit for about 5 minutes.

Then roll these pieces into ropes, either 3 twenty inch or 6 fourteen inch, and braid them to form a tightly braided loaf, placed on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Cover the dough and let rise again, until doubled, in that same warm place.

Once it has doubled, brush with an egg yolk wash, bake at 350 for 30 -40 minutes. Remove from over, cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing. Store in bread bag at room temp. Yummy, slightly sweet bread. Makes amazing french toast. Amazing!!!

Crunchy outside and so soft inside.

The history of Easter Bread changes according to country, but basically, it is a traditional part of the Easter Table to enjoy those items usually given up for lent. It is also baked with all Kosher products in my kitchen and a Jewish friend of mine tells me it is also Challah Bread. Either way, it is yummy and worth the effort.

Enjoy!

Canines, Cats, Cooking and Cops...TGIF?

Happy Friday Everyone! It started out feeling like a Friday, but seems to be heading towards more of a Monday morning kind of feeling. Bummer! Good news is that I got my hair cut and ran some errands before the rain started. The Bad news is that I was actually pulled over by a cop, two, Twice, Dos, Double, times today within a 3 hour period. No, I wasn't speeding or running red lights. Seems my tags have expired and not having been driving much at all for the past few months due to the hip surgery, I guess it slipped past me. AND I found out that somehow, sometime, my glove compartment was missing many things including my registration. (ugh) AND the proof of insurance I had expired in February. AND, for those of you familiar with Belle Meade's finest, that was the first place I was pulled over. Didn't stand a chance, even when trying to explain the circumstances. There is no way out when they get you in Belle Meade unless you were born in that Zip Code, or so the legend goes.

On my way home, I decided a nice, Iced Americano from Starbucks might calm me down. And it did. For about 2 minutes. Before I could pull onto Highway 100, the blue lights came on (Metro's finest) and I had to go through it all over again. This guy was reasonable and nice, so I drove on home, and realized I had to drive to the bank to make a teeny tiny deposit. So I picked up my dog Allie and drove as slowly as I could into Bellevue, in the rain, trying to wish myself invisible until I could get back in my driveway. Guess I am parked here until Monday when I can go get all of this straightened out.

I did deliver samples of my Easter Bread, Homemade Toffee, and Yeast Caramel Rolls to my hair salon and am hoping for some orders. I need the money anyway, but now looks like I might have some court costs to save up for when I go to traffic court. (Ugh) I have been happily cooking for the past 2-3 days. I have been giving samples to people and so far, the reviews have been good. Now if word of mouth can work it's magic, it would be great! Both the courts and I would be very grateful.

Allie had been waiting for hours for me to return, so she was happy to get in the car and go to the bank with me. Unfortunately, they were out of the usual dog treats, but like a good Scout, I usually have a spare in the car for just such an occasion. All is good!

For those of you who are not familiar with cats, they also wait for you to come back home after being gone all day. They love and miss you just like the pups. All 4 of mine greet me at the door and swirl around me until I sit down and pay them some quality attention. So when I dash in and right back out again, they are not happy cats. One made sure to let me know that she was not happy and it was evident when I got back home. (ugh) No details necessary, I'm sure.

I will be posting the recipe and photos of the bread baking over the weekend, but for now, my feet are up on the couch, Allie is at my feet, and the cats are all in boxes throughout the den. I think it is quiet time for us...at least for an hour. TGIF!

My Mind On Insomnia

If I had not mentioned it before, I had (what I like to call) an "early in life" hip replacement in November, which followed closely behind a massive lay off from a job I loved. Since those events and a few set backs post surgery, I have become sadly well acquainted with a good case of insomnia. Some might think this would be a totally a Bad thing. But always trying to make the proverbial lemonade when life throws me a lemon or two, I have found a few positives about these new waking hours. I have also learned that my pets are better at bedtime than I am. Allie, my pup, starts staring me down around midnight. She knows this is just not working out!

Since "vampires" seem to be all the rage these days, perhaps my new Awake hours are actually in vogue! I never did get the attraction to this vampire thing, but maybe this is where I do "get it". It is Very quiet at 3:00 in the morning, for those of you who were wondering. I also find that my brain comes up with all sorts of new ideas for recipes, income, and projects around the house. Now that I have that new KitchenAid sitting on my counter in the kitchen, I actually have to talk myself out of going in there and trying to whip up a new delight at 4:00 a.m. Fortunately, some little piece of my brain still knows that the chances of it turning out as I hope it will are slim to none at such an hour. Instead, I just make notes, type ideas and plan my next coupon excursion to the store.

I have decided to try and make Easter Bread tomorrow, well actually that would be Today! Let's see how well my late night recipe idea turns out. If it is good, I promise to share it with you so you can make your own for the special holiday coming up! If it tastes good And is worthy of presentation, I will also share a photograph.

Sweet dreams and Good Morning to you all. I think I covered all of my bases.

The KitchenAid and Chris Meloni

Many of you know that I recently acquired a new Professional Series KitchenAid Mixer and find myself in mixer Heaven. There has not been a day that I have not tried a new recipe with this mixer. There is a beauty in watching this machine combine simple ingredients in a beautiful whirling spiral. I love the sound and the effects that come from this machine. My friend, Nancy, is totally instrumental in my acquiring my new "love" and I will happily be her Girl Friday to show my complete gratitude for making this a reality for me. It is truly the little things that matter, even though to me, this 25 pound silver angel is no little thing. :) Tonight, we try Sweet Dough! I will post progress reports as I go along. So far, only 2 things have hit the trash bin! My transition during this "lay off" period will not go to waste!

You all know what a fan I am of Law & Order, particularly SVU and Criminal Intent. And for those of you who have seen my Toshiba laptop, you know that Christopher Meloni is one of my faves and lines the top of my home screen. I have received many taunts about it, but it is all good! It is clear he is Hot and Talented, but he also has a heart for good causes, so give this link a look:http://kft55.tumblr.com/post/3704547353/chris-meloni-50th-birthday-campaign-update It will give you information on the cause and how to help Chris celebrate his 50th birthday come April.

The cats have all enjoyed this beautiful Spring day by draping themselves in the open kitchen window, and Allie and I had a great walk and a trip to Starbucks. She gets her oatmeal cup of water and I get my regular Americano. Life is good!!!

Muffin Says it All!

Well, here we go! My very first official blog post. I have been meaning to do this for a while, so let's get started with introductions! My "real" name is Susan, but you can Just Call Me Muffin. I am blessed to have 4 cats and a dog as my "live in" family right now, and one of those cats is named Muffin. You will see Muffin in my photo with me. She is a cutie, but also more than a little "dickens". She has a knack for getting into the darnedest situations. In my younger days, I was much the same way, so I thought I would 'borrow" her name for the blog. I am an avid animal lover and couldn't see my life without them. My dog Allie really preferred I didn't use her name, but Muffin doesn't seem to mind. But who can tell with cats?  I am looking forward to sharing the many antics, as well as the day to day life and times, of Me, Muffin, Snickers, Mr. Wilkins, Chloe and Allie.

I am also a fan of Anything related to kitchens, cooking, and culinary treats, so clearly, Muffin is also more than perfect for me. I have been living with such a "plain" name for so many years. It is time to have some fun. :) I plan on beginning my blog with stories about my search for a new career, how my pets fit into that plan, and also throw in a kitchen tip or 2 along the way.You will also be introduced to the pets and how I imagine they see life in this household.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you will continue to read and bear with me as I get the swing of this. I am outgoing by nature, so I think we will be good to go soon!

Muffin