Staycations: Playing Hometown Tourist

(Part three of a five-part series this week)

This is a tough one as there's so much available within 25 miles of most people, things we've seen and said, "Sometime I'd like to check that out." But, we never do... until company comes and we have to play tourist in our hometown. So, even if you aren't expecting visitors right away, let's see what there is to do nearby.

First, let's talk about mindset and all those things that...well, they just aren't you. Auntie Alice, your favorite relative, is coming to visit next week. She's 79 and loves anything to do with music and art. Big John, your older brother will be along in early August and he's into cars and car racing as well as being a history buff expecially when it comes to WWII.

And then there's Bubbles, your still-exuberant, effervescent, and a bit exotic college roomie. She's into "experiences," the more daring the better. Oh, and don't let me forget, your son's friend Sergio from Spain, you know, the family he lived with during his junior year abroad, well, that friend is coming through and he loves the night life!

Okay, so what things would you plan to do with each of these guests?

Because Maine is such a summer-rich state with a gazillion free outdoor concerts, fairs, festivals. art shows, and so, so much more, it's not only hard to even begin to give you ideas, but I also need to keep in mind that, even if you don't live here, hopefully, your area offers this kind of bounty too.

Go to your nearest tourist information center and peruse all the brochures, even ones you think you'd have no interest in. After all, your "company" may have! Go online to your state and county chambers of commerce and tourist info sites. Check event listings online at radio, tv and newspaper sites, and in the many free local newspapers available just about everywhere these days.

For Auntie Alice, there are free outdoor concerts in settings from intown parks to seaside to village green. Bring a blanket, chairs, an elegant snack or picnic and enjoy. Many towns and cities now offer "art walk," once-a-month evenings when all the local galleries, artists, and even antique shops welcome visitors, some even providing music and light refreshment. Check out nearby college museums which often house unexpectedly deep collections. And finally, consider taking Auntie to a class, maybe paint-your-own pottery, island basket crafting, or even SAORI weaving.

Now for Big John, check out what's coming for car shows, especially those oldies nights of shine-and-show at the local burger joint. Here in Maine we're lucky enough to have several auto museums, and the Owl's Head Transportation Museum, covering all forms of transportation, is outstanding. They have vintage plane fly-ins, and their auto auction in August is a great day. We also have a number of short-track racing venues in this area. EVERYONE should go to at least one drag race in their lifetime and jet-cars-under-the-stars is a blast! In our area, as throughout our country, we have a number of military sites worth visiting, and especially here, some of the old coastal forts and fortifications. And one place Big John would be sure to enjoy (yup, IF you're visiting Maine) is Eagle Island, Admiral Peary's home.

Bubbles will be fun to host because possible adventures abound in the summer! There's white-water rafting, which isn't terribly expensive and is most definitely an experience! (I almost drowned the last time I went.) There's panning for gold, and digging for native gems, which here in Maine is likely to be tourmaline. You can rent canoes or kayaks, and a moonlight canoe trip can be magical. Spend a day out on the water with a local lobsterman, eating your catch at day's end. Downhill biking on ski runs is more than I could manage, but hey! if Bubbles is up to it, great! This doesn't even BEGIN to suggest all that's available, but one more idea if you do find yourself in Maine this summer: Gulf Hagis, often called The Grand Canyon of Maine is an absolutely spectacular hike!

And finally, just when you've had quite enough company, thank you! along comes Sergio from Seville. He likes the night life. Now for me, this would be a serious challenge... first staying awake past 8 at night, then the music, the chaos, the drinking... oh, this is SOOOO not my scene!

I'd take him to the local comedy club, and then I'd find some suitable guides, maybe a foreign student group from the University, for checking out the other nearby 20-something haunts. A cop-out? Sure and no qualms either! Be very aware of Sergio's age and make sure any helpers you enlist are of legal drinking age...just in case. Now, I will be the one who's sympathetic the next morning with all sorts of home remedies for whatever may ail our guest!

There is an incredible number of things to sample on your staycation as a hometown tourist. If some possibility just does not appeal to you, then that's the very thing you simply must do!

Tomorrow we look at ways to come together with family, friends and your larger community for the very best staycation fun!



Mary

Staycations: Letterboxing, Geocaching and Other Treasure Hunts

(Part two of a five-part series this week)

The whole idea of a staycation, a stay-at-home vacation, is to save money in this day of high gas-and-everything-else prices. BUT that does not mean you can't have fun and make memories as we do on any holiday. Just think about the root word of "vacation" and consider: the whole concept of a vacation really is "to vacate" - leave - your usual routine, your everyday life, to take a little respite from your constant cares and concerns. And what better way to do that than a treasure hunt!

We can start with the good old-fashioned Long-John-Silver-type treasure hunt, one where a weathered map leads to buried riches. If you want to do this in your own yard, neighborhood, or more general vicinity, why not print out a Google map complete with landmarks, etc. For authenticity, use parchment paper, singe the edges, crinkle and dirty the paper to age it. Write out clues such as "Thirty paces from the old oak tree with the creaking branch."

And for the treasure? At the end of any of these treasure hunts can be any treasure you choose! If I were doing this one for young kids, I'd get a whole bunch of the very inexpensive "jewels," "gold" coins and such that come in bags at the craft store. I'd throw in plenty of chocolate coins too! After the treasure's been found, there's hours more of fun as the finders craft crowns and what-have-you.

Next level of treasure hunting is letterboxing, which is most definitely for all ages! Letterboxes containing a stamp, a notebook, maybe a few trinkets are hidden all over your hometown, your state, the country and yes, the world. All you need is access to a computer, a notebook, and a stamp of your very own. I usually use one that has a witch on a broomstick or sometimes one with an ankh symbol.

To start, go to www.letterboxing.org and plug in the name of your town, county or an area you want to explore. For my hometown, there are letterboxes in the Centennial Garden at the library, in the Community Garden, hidden under a rock by the river and in a number of other places. The website gives you the clues to find each box. When you find it, you stamp the book in the box with your personal stamp, write a comment if you want, and stamp your own book with the site stamp. There is an incredible connection to others through the comments that have been left. As you venture further afield, there will be more and more letterbox stamps to collect in your book.

AND, you can set up a letterbox yourself just by putting a stamp and notebook in a small watertight box (plastic food storage containers are perfect), hiding it and then posting your clues on the website. My grand-daughter Katie asked our library if she could set up that letterbox (now known as Grannie's Box), she donated the box and notebook, picked a possible hiding place in the Garden, the library staff put in their stamp and did the clues, and Katie was absolutely thrilled to be the first to stamp that letterbox's new book.

Next, let's try geocaching, kind of a step up from the letterboxing. Again, start at a website, this time http://www.geocaching.com/ but this time you'll need a bit more equipment, mainly a GPS device... one that you know how to use! (We've had one for several years and I still don't have a clue how to use it!) You'll also need a notebook and maybe a few treasures to leave at the cache.

Like the letterboxing, you go to the website, pick a locale, get clues and you're off. It sounds deceptively simple, but, no, it can be challenging! This is a recognized sport all over the world and some of the caches are downright exotic, elaborate. Okay, so using your GPS, you follow the clues, and find the cache. You write in the cache notebook (check the website for the wide array of info and other messages folks leave) and if this is a treasure cache, you take something and you leave something. If by any wild chance, you're visiting an overseas cache, leave something American... maybe a subway token from Boston or San Francisco.

And then there's orienteering, a whole 'nother level of outdoor adventuring, and one of my very favorites. Here you use a map and compass and follow a course, at the end of which there may be a treasure or not. Check out www.us.orienteering.org This sport (it's been proposed for Olympic inclusion) is a perfect way to teach/learn some valuable outdoor skills, and is perfect for inter-generational teams. There are terrific books on setting up courses (check your library, the kids' collection first), and of course tons of info at the website.

There is something inherently exciting about a treasure hunt, the promise of that pirate's chest of glittering plunder at the end of the adventure. During Gram and Gramp Camp last week, I set up a treasure hunt for Baxter and Katie, one that started with a clue on on the breakfast table. Following more short rhymed clues (on 3x5 cards sealed in snack-size bags, hidden that morning by Bert), we went to the flower box under the high school sign next door to our house, then down to the memorial stone on the village green, to the old railway station, to "in the middle of the street, a watering trough of flowers" where a final clue directed them to walk 100 steps north on Main Street. That took us to the treasure, a $10 gift card for each of them at the brand new bookstore right across the street from where we were standing. That was truly treasure of the highest order for them!

Tomorrow in this series, we'll look at being a home-town tourist.

Mary

Staycations: Saving Money, Having Fun, Making Memories

(Part One of a Five-Part Series this Week)

It was great timing! Meredith, a reporter with the Portland newspapers called to ask about some ways to save money and still have fun with a stay-at-home vacation, or what the media has now dubbed, "Staycations." It was perfect timing because it was the last full day of this year's Gram and Gramp Camp, a week when we, with Baxter, 10, and Katie, 7, have made a lot of wonderful memories without spending a whole lot of money.

Many of the things we do at Gram and Gramp Camp are perfect for a family at-home vacation, especially if the weather is damp and chilly as its been this past week. Games are often by-passed during the busy school year and long work weeks, so you may need to re-connect with some of them. Playing card, board and outdoor games are wonderful family-focused activities
that cost little yet often lead to much laughter and many memories. And kids so love to feel that they could just possibly beat the adults in their lives!

There are so many wonderful board games, old favorites such as chess, parchessi, Clue and , and new ones whose names I can't even pronounce! Then there are card games such as rummy, Rummikubs (actually played with tiles) , and new to us this year, Five Crowns, another level of rummy-like play. There are the perennial favorites such as Skip-bo, Uno, cribbage, and our family's latest game addiction, Quiddler ($12.95, beautiful cards!). If you haven't played this word game, and you like Scrabble but wish it didn't take soooooo long to play, Quiddler is THE game for you! You start with three cards and move through eight hands increasing one card each hand until the last is ten cards. The cards have letters or letter combinations and each has a point value. I'm not going to tell you anymore except to say that Quiddler, like every game that this company puts out, is top quality...nice designs, ease of learning to play, challenging and, oh, no! educational!

Maybe you want to have some kind of tournament, set outrageous end scores (I once played 36 hours of rummy with a 25,000 point score-goal...phew!), or even invent your own game. When we were kids, my siblings and I designed our own Monopoly games complete with custom boards, etc. Of course, now you can buy Monopoly games based on everything from your home state to your favorite sports team. I guess we were just ahead of our time!

Let's not overlook the outdoors games perfect for a summer's evening. Capture the flag, hide-and-seek, my goal 1-2-3, and kick-the-can never, ever grow old! Of course, there's always dodgeball (as long as no one gets too murderous!), kickball, badmitton, tetherball, croquet, four-square...oh, SO many possibilities! Half gallon milk jugs filled with water and a softball, and you've got your lawn bowling covered!

If all this sounds slightly silly to you, then you most definitely need to do it!

Tomorrow we'll look at treasure hunts from the very simple to letterboxing, geocaching, orienteering, and even scavenger hunts. You know, this summer's stay-at-home vacation may just be one of your best ever!

Mary

Garden THIS Summer?

It's NOT too Late!

Even if it's just a salad garden of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers, it is NOT at all too late to do some planting. Peas, carrots, green beans, always radishes of course, and much else can still be started in the ground or in containers. In many places, even a short-season variety of corn is still possible.

Although potatoes may seem a particularly unlikely choice to grow in a small home garden, there is nothing like new potatoes, especially with tender young green beans from you own backyard. This year we're experimenting with a lot of bucket-growing, and I can tell you, it's been a huge success so far. In the photo above you can see that the potatoes are thriving, while in the blue buckets, some green peppers are coming along nicely too.

So think about it... One bush green bean plant in a five-gallon pail, one potato plant in another, parsley and basil plants tucked into a third, and of course, lettuce, tomatoes and cukes can all be container grown if your space is seriously limited.

Where to get the buckets? Well, first off, ALWAYS ask for the buckets, NEVER just help yourself. While a construction site is the obvious first choice for those 5 gallon buckets that joint compound comes is, you might also ask about pickle buckets from a local restaurant or deli. I'm sure there are other places to find buckets too, but these come right to mind.

What kind of soil to fill the buckets? Well, I've often found that just regular old dirt really compacts in a container situation, so mix that plain soil with compost, a little peat, or even some commercial blends. I hate to even suggest that last option as I don't want you to spend money to save money. (Hmmmm ... good idea for a future posting ...)

The really nice part about container gardening is that you can move the containers to catch more rays of daily sun, especially important toward the end of the growing season. Yes, the buckets are likely to be heavy but for any (few) plants that really need extra sun, a wheeled plant thingie such as you'd put under an indoor plant, a child's wagon, a mechanic's creeper, an unused dolley ... anything along this line will be helpful.

And if all else fails, I hope you've had a chance to check out farmers' markets, farmstands, and pick-your-own operations near you. After all, it's time to get out and start picking strawberries!

Mary

Lost and Found: One

Bumbleberry Pie Recipe

I have no idea where this originally came from other than that it is an old newspaper clipping. I guess that's the way with recipes, really; they get passed down, handed on, changed a bit and discovered all over again!

Bumbleberry Pie Recipe

Your usual pie crust for a 9" double-crust pie. Line bottom of pie pan with one crust, set other one aside

Filling:

1 1/4 c sugar (add more sweetening to taste as tartness of the other ingredients may vary)
1/3 c flour
2 c cored, peeled, sliced apples
1 c raspberries
1 c blackberries
1 c blueberries
1 cup fresh rhubarb cut into small pieces

Combine all ingredients above and pour into pie crust, dot with butter, cover with second crust and seal crusts together. Be sure to cut vents in the crust. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes. If you don't have some of the berries, you can just increase the amount of other berries. BUT, the balance of these proportions is really the secret to the terrific taste of this unusual pie. As with most pies, this is even more delectable with ice cream.

Mary

Rhubarb - Delicious Alone or

with Lots Besides Strawberries!

A nice comment from Cindy on a recent Frugal Family blog posting mentioned how much she likes to make blubarb jam, a combination that I know first hand is absolutely delicious. While the traditional combination of rhubarb and strawberries is yummy, there's much more that you can do with rhubarb by itself or in combination with other fruits.

In the current edition of The Frugal Family Kitchen Book, there are three recipes using rhubarb, all very tasty, but the rhubarb cheesecake pie is extra special. The other two recipes are for a rhubarb coffeecake and scalloped rhubarb, a very simple recipe that uses stale bread, goes together quickly, has a crisp crust on top and is soft and sweet underneath. Good as a breakfast dish, or for dessert.

Scalloped Rhubarb

3 c stale bread, cubed
1 c sugar
1/2 c melted butter
2 c fresh rhubarb, diced

Combine ingredients and put in an ungreased 8 or 9" square baking pan. Add 1 TBSP water in each corner of the pan, bake at 325, about 35-45 minutes.

Last spring I came across a recipe for a Bumbleberry Pie, and although I can't lay hands on the recipe right this minute, I do remember that it had blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and rhubarb in it, all of which I luckily had in the freezer. And that pie got rave reviews! So while I think about where that recipe could be, let's look at some other combos.

Grace Additon was a food columnist for the Maine Sunday Telegram for years, and her 1983 Pantry Shelf Sampler Cookbook remains one of my favorite recipe collections to this day. She has a recipe for Rhubarb Pudding Cake that I've never tried, but I will before the next week is out, promise! I love pudding cakes which bake up with a cake layer on top and a wonderful sauce underneath, and I can't wait to try this one. A similar recipe in an old , National Grange Rural America Cookbook., is called Rhubarb Float.

Of course about the simplest thing you can do with rhubarb is just stew it, but be creative with your liquid. Apple cider, pineapple juice, a soft white or mellow red wine, even Hawaiian Punch!
I've seen recipes for rhubarb sherbet and rhubarb cream, both simple and refreshing while bananas and rhubarb make a nice baked combination.

Baked Banana Rhubarb Pudding Layer stewed, sweetened rhubarb in a baking pan, cover with sliced bananas, sprinkle with a bit of brown sugar, then mix 1TBSP lemon juice, 1 TBSP orange juice and 2 TBSP water and sprinkle over the top. Bake at 350 until top is nicely browned.

I'm sure rhubarb would be good with choclate too, but the only way to combine them that I've figured out - so far at least - is to have a rhubarb or orange-rhubarb sauce over chocolate ice cream or pudding. I'll bet apricots, almonds, and coconut would work well with rhubarb too.

Hmmm... I hope I've gotten you thinking as fresh local rhubarb is available now both in your local grocery store and at nearby farmer's markets and farmstands. Enjoy! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go look some more for that Bumbleberry Pie recipe.

Mary

The Cat, the Snake, and the Newspaper Reporter:

The Saga of Sara Jean


How innocent ... coffee with a friend on a Friday morning. Nothing unusual there. Until ... Paula asked if I could help her rescue some kittens, really young ones she'd seen living under the shrubs at the front of the Coldwell Banker office where Paula worked. Well, my goodness! Kittens? In need of help? I'm there!

It was just a year ago, we were down to one cat, and I'd been pining for a new kitty. Bert was not excited about that great idea. So off Paula and I went to see if we could save those homeless little waifs. Now, the office was located in an old house, busy streets on two sides and a wrap-around driveway on the other two sides. There were a few shrubs out front before a retaining wall dropped off sharply. Paula had been glanced out a basement window and seen the two little fluffballs we were aiming to rescue.

A mother cat? Yes, Paula'd seen one, but not in several days, and if these kitties started to wander they could be in b-i-g danger. Well, it was no small feat, but we were able to trap and pick up the kittens, a threesome, not the two we were expecting. Oh, no, Paula didn't want a kitten, but a woman in the office took the little gray one, and I headed home with a tiny calico and a tinier tiger kitty mewing piteously in the wastebasket where I had them corralled. Luckily, Bert accepted them with good grace.

MomCat returned and was of course upset that her babies were gone, but a local no-kill shelter live-trapped her, and we re-united the family. Mom seemed satisfied that her kids were doing okay in their new homes, and that was certainly part of the happy ending. MomCat was spayed and, I'm happy to say, found a loving new home thanks to H.A.R.T., the Homeless Animal Rescue Team, a truly wonderful organization.

Soon the tiger became Caleb and the calico was named Sara Jean. Sara Jean, most definitely one smart kitty, quickly had Bert calling her Sara Jean, The Loving Machine. (He's also been known to call this fickle little feline "Slut Kitty".) Then a few months later as Sara Jean ventured outside, we started calling her Sara Jean, The Killing Machine. She liked bringing her trophies in to show me which, while certainly thoughtful of her, was not properly appreciated on my part.

Fast forward to a few days ago ... Caleb and Sara Jean have been with us just one year and are adolescents in every sense. They love to tease Sam our 15-year-old cat, they like to sashay past Harley Dog flicking him on the nose with their tails, and they like to sit on my desk when I'm working at the computer. When it's nice weather out, I leave the mudroom door to the deck open a bit so they can come and go to the back yard.

So there I was doing a phone interview with a local reporter on all things thrifty, when I glanced over and there was Sara Jean with a SNAKE. In our mudroom. A big snake. Alive. Moving. YIKES!

A very hurried goodbye, a gloved hand, a slithery catch, and a trip to the edge of nearby woods for release. A furious Sara Jean.

AND a stern word of warning to a little kitty who just didn't seem half as cute I used to think she was!

Mary

P.S. Yes, photos of the terrible twosome to follow.

It's Rhubarb and Asparagus Season


Usually locally grown rhubarb and asparagus are two of the earliest foods available, not counting fiddleheads and parsnips of course. While rhubarb recipes often call for copious amounts of sugar, plain steamed asparagus is a delight. And of course there are much fancier dishes to try with asparagus. Asparagus is a pretty decent source of vitamins A, B, and C, as well as having no fat or sodium. And a serving is only a half dozen spears.

I've been using some of our fresh asparagus in frittatas, a fancy name for a dish that's essentially baked scrambled eggs, at least the way I make it. I'm not going to give you an exact-amounts recipe because... well, I don't think I could!

Oven-Baked Asparagus Frittata Heat a very small amount of olive oil in a large frypan and saute a mixture of asparagus that's been cut into small pieces, some chopped onion, a bit of fresh garlic, mushrooms if you want or any other chopped or shredded veggie you want to try. Saute a few minutes or until veggies are softened. Spread in a 9x9" baking pan (I use glass) and then pour over that a mixture of 6 beaten eggs mixed with a tad of melted butter (or use olive oil), about a 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 c grated cheese of whatever type you have on hand or better still a mix, some basil, thyme, and a sprinkle of parsley. Bake at 350 are 20 minutes or until eggs are set. I used some fresh-grated parmesan cheese on this with a bit of fontina and that was really delicious.

Farmer's markets and roadside stands are open for the season and local produce is your best buy. Don't forget to pick up a little extra to put in the freezer or can for next winter.

Mary

The Amazing Health Benefits

and Healing Power of...


grandchildren! Yes, truly. But of course a major obstacle to this incredible better-living breakthrough is that your children have to decide to have their children for you to acquire these much-sought-after health benefits.

Just how do grandchildren offer amazing health benefits and healing powers? Well, first and foremost perhaps is that they can get us to move when little else can. And darned if we don't completely forget our little aches and pains when playing catch with a granddaughter or tag with a grandson. They ask us to take them to the playground, and how can we just sit there? So, we find ourselves twirling on a swing, or skidding down a slide. And laughing. And you know how good laughter is for your health!

Grands keep our minds young in so many ways. We have to read to them of course, and then there are the card games and board games. I don't know about you but I have developed absolutely endless patience for playing Uno and cribbage, Quiddler and chess, war and checkers. When I'm playing rummy or Skip-bo with one of the grands, it feels as though there's nothing else in the world that could possibly be more important.

And then there's the challenge of "getting" all their silly jokes. Sometimes it's hard to... simplify... my thinking to catch on to the hilarious (well, in their view) stream of "knock,knock" jokes. And kids, the grands, just see things differently, and trying to go to that place and see things their way often requires mental gymnastics that must leave the mind more flexible!

But, there's also another, far more serious way in which grandchildren are good for our health: we will do things for them, to ensure being part of their futures, that we might very well skip or neglect otherwise. We need to stop here for just a minute....just in case you're thinking, but wait, I'd do those things for my KIDS, too. When my kids were younger I would have done anything humanly possible - and tried things far beyond that - for each and every one of them. But now that they are all adults, people with rich and full lives, it's different. The most important thing I learned in ten years of teaching middle school was how very important grandparents are to their grandchildren! What I will do for myself in the name of the grandchildren is of course, so much what I would have done for my children; it's just so, so much harder at this age!

Now what prompts this whole reflection? For me, continued high blood pressure readings came head-to-head with my deep-rooted aversion to medications. The alternative - and it admittedly might still not be enough - is to drop 20 pounds. Easier said than done of course, especially the older I get.

But in the past month Bert and I have shared both of the grands' birthday, a tradition I truly treasure. I want to be there for when Baxter becomes a teenager, when he gets his first car, and when he heads off to college. I want to be there when Katie becomes a teenager, goes to her first prom, and heads off to college. And I certainly want to dance at both their weddings. So, for them, although I have no intention of letting them in on this, I will take medication AND take off 20 pounds. Since I wrote "Buy Lean, Cook Light, Eat Less, Move More," I've lost almost 6 pounds so I know it will happen. Maybe then I can give up the medication!

There is a special joy in loving your child's child, isn't there!

Mary

NO Added Fat! NO Added Sugar!

A Great Date Muffin Recipe


This moist, flavorful bread will quickly become a favorite, especially with all the possible add-ins. While originally written as a muffin recipe, I often bake it as a bread, using a 9x9" pan. Of course you can use a loaf pan, but for some weird reason, I have trouble baking dense breads in a loaf pan... they never cook through in the middle.

For the dates in this recipe, don't use the pre-cut ones as they often have added sugar, and I think they have far less flavor than the fresh Medjool dates. Sometimes the fresh dates are pre-packed in 8 oz. containers, sometimes, they're just loose in their packing box in the produce department, and you just pick out what you want.

Date Muffins

8 oz. dates, cut in small pieces
1 c raisins
1 1/2 c boiling water
2 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 slightly beaten egg whites (see note below)
1 tsp vanilla

Mix date pieces and raisins, pour boiling water over and let set until cool Add other ingredients, mixing well, pour into greased muffin tin, bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, a time which can really vary so test for doneness. OR, use a greased 9x9" pan and bake 30-35 minutes, which again can vary.

NOW, because I'm using eggs from our Girls, and these eggs tend to be extra large, you may want to use three egg whites if you're using store-boughten eggs.

Add-in possibilities -

Add the grated peel of one orange ... this is THE best!

Use craisins instead of raisins, but note the added sugar in the craisins.

Add nuts, especially chopped or sliced almonds. If you do use almonds, substitute almond extract for the vanilla.

A half cup of chocolate chips is delicious, and I bet white chocolate chips would be really, really good.

Experiment with various dried fruits, but be aware of the added sugars... I think I'll try some mango next!

Enjoy these muffins (for bread) with a cream cheese topping made much healthier with yoghurt.

Cream Cheese/Yogurt Spread for Bread

I really prefer this to the reduced-fat cream cheese you can buy at the store as this has half the fat of regular cream cheese, good added protein, and great flavor. Put a coffee filter in a colander and add a generous cup of non-fat plain yogurt. Let set at room temperature for an hour or so to drain, then beat into one 8 oz pkg of cream cheese. Great on any bread OR try mixing with a firm raspberry jam to use between layers of spice cake.

Enjoy!

Mary