FIRE TRUCK - THE KITCHEN AID MIXER

Hello, friends! Yesterday the Kitchen Aid Mixer – promptly named “Fire Truck” – arrived via my w00bie UPS man. Preeeeeeeeeeeeecious, yes, preeeeeeeeeeeeecious! I mean, yes. I am thrilled. So to break in my new mixer, I made perfect pumpkin spice muffins:

(Double Batch)

4 cups flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 scant tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1 29 oz can of pumpkin puree

⅔ cup melted butter

1 cup evaporated milk or half and half (I've used milk before, or vanilla-flavored yogurt)

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

4 large eggs, beaten

4 tsp vanilla

Combine ingredients in large mixing bowl. In separate bowl combine wet ingredients. Fold wet ingredients into dry; stir until moistened. Do not overstir/mix. I only mix enough to moisten the ingredients. The baking powder and soda will start activating the gluten in the flour pretty quickly, so the batter will start getting puffy/fluffy -- this is good! Add raisins or pecans if desired. Spoon ½ cup batter into each muffin tin; tin cups should be almost full, but not quite. Sprinkle top of dough with cinnamon sugar prior to baking.

20-25 minutes in a 375° oven, or until toothpick or knife tests clean. (I use a metal kabob skewer to test my muffins -- bigger than a toothpick, but not as big as a knife)

Perfect muffins, inside and out! The texture should be moist and fluffy on the inside. Comparable to: pumpkin muffins at Starbucks, but not sickly sweet. Just the perfect amount of sweetness!

I thought about going to the gym this week. I could have gone. I chose not to. I know if I just go, I will fall back into a routine. Why am I not going? I have enough workout clothes. I have new Saucony trainers. I have socks that don’t irritate my feet (Old Navy plain white anklet socks – most comfortable socks IN THE WORLD). I am not physically incapacitated. I can’t even say that I hate exercising because I don’t. In fact, I feel accomplished after a successful workout. Okay, so my plan is to go to the gym Monday, November 29^th, following a doctor’s appointment I have scheduled for that morning. That will give me enough time to do a workout and to check out the gym. Previously I set a goal to just walk into the gym, but I feel like that would make me look nutty, if I just walk in and then turn around and walk back out. I do not want to be fat and nutty at the gym. 

Part of my aversion to going to the gym – especially a huge gym like 24 Hour Fitness – is that I have a medical condition called lymphedema, which causes swelling in the lower legs. One of my maternal aunts has the condition, too – it can be genetic. People stare, which I guess I understand. I expect that some people are thinking, “Damn, girl, lose some weight! Get rid of those cankles!” Unfortunately, lymphedema doesn’t respond to weight loss; it’s a dysfunction of the lymphatic system. You can look it up on the Wiki if you’re interested. That doesn’t mean I can’t lose weight, but it does mean that my legs won’t ever look totally normal. It’s easy to hide with pants, but not with workout clothes. And since people obviously don’t understand at first glance what it is they’re looking at, many decide that it’s a weight loss issue. I mean, don’t get me wrong – I have weight loss issues! It’s just that I have another issue on top of needing to lose some weight. It’s hard to not be self-conscious of the lymphedema. I suppose I could always wear track pants: LIKE SUE SYLVESTER!!!!